The Pressure's On

Cutting back on soda and other sugary beverages may lower your blood pressure.

In a 1 and 1/2 year study people with prehypertension or hypertension, blood pressure fell by 1.8 points (systolic) over 1.1 points (diastolic) among those who cut out one serving a day of soft drinks or other sugar-sweetened beverages.

A 3-point drop in systolic pressure, note the authors, would reduce stroke deaths by 8 percent and heart disease deaths by 5 percent nationwide.

WHAT TO DO: Drink mostly water (filtered from the tap) or choose drinks that aren't sweetened with sugar.

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