As you age, you may be someone who experiences high or low blood pressure. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, happens when your blood puts too much pressure on the walls of your arteries over an extended amount of time.
If you have been told by a doctor that you have high blood pressure, there are plenty of things you can do to help lower these numbers. Avoiding cigarettes, lowering your sodium intake, eating a healthier diet, and exercising regularly can all have a positive impact on your blood pressure levels.
Not only do your daily eating habits have an impact, but what you drink on a regular basis does as well. To learn more about this, we talked with a few expert dietitians about the worst drinking habits for your blood pressure. Read on, and for more on how to eat healthy, don’t miss The #1 Best Juice to Drink Every Day, Says Science.
Drinking sugary beverages such as soda or juices with a lot of added sugar can negatively impact your blood pressure levels and even other aspects of your health, too.
“Drinks high in sugar increase arterial blood pressure and can be dangerous for hypertensives. For this reason, avoiding juices that everyone loves so much is recommended. Most of them are high in sugar, which stimulates the production of bad cholesterol, and puts you at risk for diabetes and heart disease,” says Edibel Quintero, RD and Medical Content Author at Health Reporter.
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Another drinking habit that may negatively impact your health and blood pressure levels is drinking too many energy drinks on a regular basis.
“Several studies have shown that energy drinks can cause hypertension (high blood pressure). One reason is the caffeine in energy drinks can cause your blood pressure to rise. Drinking energy drinks daily can cause even higher blood pressure than drinking one occasionally. And energy drinks should never be combined with alcohol,” says Lindsay Delk, RDN and owner Food and Mood Dietitian.
This one may sound strange, but drinking milk can actually help those with hypertension.
“Research shows that your risk of high blood pressure decreases as you drink more dairy. So, you will lose this benefit if you are not drinking any milk. Aim for 2 to 3 servings of dairy each day,” says Delk.
Lastly, drinking too much coffee can have a negative impact on your health and blood pressure.
“Drinks containing caffeine, like tea, coffee, energy drinks, and some sodas, can increase blood pressure. It is not entirely clear why this happens, but studies have shown that caffeine intake causes a measurable increase in blood pressure. These effects of caffeine are more short-term, meaning that blood pressure rises relatively quickly after drinking a caffeinated beverage. This side effect of caffeine may or may not last long-term and depends on several factors, including how often someone is drinking caffeine and how much they are drinking,” says Vincenza Zurlo, MS, RD.
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