Previous experience showed that sucrose ingestion exceeding 50% of tot
al calories consistently increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) in ra
ts, but ingesting 36 or 13% of calories as sucrose did not. In fact, t
he mean SBP of rats ingesting 36% of calories as sucrose was not diffe
rent from rats ingesting 13% of calories as sucrose. This was not the
case in the present study where the dietary salt content was increased
. Adding dietary salt (NaCl) to raise low concentrations of Na (0.14%
wt/wt) to higher concentrations (0.80% wt/wt) in diets with 36 and 13%
of calories from sucrose significantly elevated SBP in spontaneously
hypertensive rats eating both diets, but significantly more in the for
mer. Accordingly, an interplay exists between sugar and salt in SBP re
gulation, and it is suggested that amounts of sugar characteristically
consumed by an average human are capable of increasing BP. Compositio
n of diets, especially with respect to sugar and salt, should be consi
dered when interpreting results from studies on various aspects of hyp
ertension.