“It doesn't matter what beverage if you have a high risk, it's all about the amount,” Klatsky says. “There's plenty of research that shows heavy beer drinkers, heavy wine drinkers, it doesn't matter, they are all at risk of increasing high blood pressure when drinking in excess.”
Drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day may increase your blood pressure. If you're a big fan of coffee, tea or other caffeine-rich drinks, such as cola and some energy drinks, consider cutting down.
Drinking alcohol increases blood pressure and repeated drinking causes sustained high blood pressure. Alcohol consumption is an entirely preventable cause of severe hypertension (the medical name for sustained high blood pressure) in both men and women.
Whether the drink of choice is a frosty beer or a full-bodied red wine, the effect is the same – higher blood pressure, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Heavy drinkers who want to lower blood pressure should slowly reduce how much they drink over one to two weeks. Another non-pharmacological prevention and treatment of alcohol-induced hypertension is physical conditioning or exercise training.
Beverages like skim milk, tomato juice, and beet juice may help decrease blood pressure. But it's always important to remember moderation — more of these drinks is not always better.
If you have high blood pressure, avoid alcohol or drink alcohol only in moderation. For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men.
The bottom line
Mixing alcohol can decrease how well your medication works and put you at risk for dizziness, fainting, and heart rhythm problems. Even though research is limited on this subject, most providers suggest limiting or trying to avoid drinking if you are taking blood pressure medications.
Can excess alcohol affect your blood pressure? Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, your health care professional may advise you to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink.
Lower Your Blood Pressure
If you drink a lot and your blood pressure is too high, you might be able to bring your numbers back down to normal by doing one simple thing: giving up alcohol. Even simply easing back on drinks can have a big payoff.
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Drinking a lot of alcohol can affect the muscles in your blood vessels. This can cause them to become narrower. The more alcohol you drink, the higher the risk of developing hypertension.
Drinking heavy amounts of alcohol over time will cause your blood pressure to rise. When you consume alcohol above a level that your body can regularly process, it can cause your blood pressure to increase. For the duration of your drinking, and for some time after your blood pressure will remain elevated.
Foods high in potassium also can interfere with some medications for high blood pressure and heart failure. It certainly would take more than one banana to raise potassium levels to a dangerous level for the average person, Spees said.
Drinking too much alcohol can cause your blood pressure to rise over time. After 3-4 weeks of not drinking, your blood pressure will start to reduce.
Some research suggests coffee can lower the risk for high blood pressure, also called hypertension, in people who don't already have it. But drinking too much coffee has been shown to raise blood pressure and lead to anxiety, heart palpitations and trouble sleeping.
High‐dose alcohol has a biphasic effect on BP; it decreases BP up to 12 hours after consumption and increases BP > 13 hours after consumption. High‐dose alcohol increases HR at all times up to 24 hours.
Red wine consumed in moderation appears to help reduce high blood pressure in part because of the antioxidants (polyphenols) found naturally in the grape. However, fitness professionals should not encourage individuals to drink wine, especially if the person doesn't currently drink alcohol.
Red wine, whiskey, tequila, and hard kombucha are healthier options than beer and sugary drinks. The CDC recommends you limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day if you're male and 1 if you're female.
Red wine is widely recognized as one of the healthiest alcoholic drinks out there. Poon notes that it's "relatively low in calories and also offers some health benefits."9 She adds that red wine is rich in antioxidants such as resveratrol and proanthocyanidins and can promote cardiovascular health.
Potential Health Benefits of Gin
While light drinking has a positive impact on them, heavy drinking negatively affects or increases the risk for the following: Blood Pressure. Coronary Artery Disease. Heart Failure.
The top drinks for lowering blood pressure include water, fruit juices (pomegranate, prune, cranberry, cherry), vegetable juice (tomato, raw beet), tea (black, green), and skim milk.
Unfortunately, there is no quick way to lower blood pressure without medical intervention. The best way to lower blood pressure is with long-term behavioral changes—like reducing stress, getting better sleep, exercising, and eating a low-sodium diet—but this takes time. Certain medications can also help.
But you might not know that a banana a day keeps high blood pressure at bay. This fruit is packed full of potassium — an important blood pressure-lowering mineral. Potassium helps balance sodium in the body.