The Surprising Effect Of Coffee On Blood Pressure

Lower blood pressure linked to one of the most popular drinks in the world.

Lower blood pressure linked to one of the most popular drinks in the world.

Coffee is one of the most common drinks around the world yet due to its natural stimulant effect, caffeine has been controversial.

Caffeine can cause a short spike in blood pressure by affecting adenosine production, a compound that relaxes blood vessels.

However, antioxidants in coffee reduce this effect, helping the blood vessels to widen and improve blood flow.

Phenolic compounds in coffee have antioxidant activity that can provide anti-inflammatory benefits and improve insulin sensitivity.

Contrary to what many believe, a study has found that drinking coffee helps maintain low blood pressure.

Participants who consumed two or three cups of coffee every day had notably lower blood pressure than those who did not drink coffee.

The research team observed that moderate coffee consumption was associated with lower peripheral and central (aortic) systolic blood pressure (SBP).

Elevated central aortic pressure is a strong indicator of cardiovascular disease.

Professor Arrigo Cicero, the study’s first author, said:

“The results obtained show that those who regularly drink coffee have significantly lower blood pressure, both on peripheral and central levels, than those who do not drink it.

This is the first study to observe this association in the Italian population, and the data confirm the positive effect of coffee consumption on cardiovascular risk.”

Despite the side effects linked to its powerful stimulant effect, several studies show that people who drink coffee regularly, but in moderation, are less likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and certain neurodegenerative conditions.

Professor Cicero said:

“Caffeine is only one of the several coffee components and certainly not the only one with an active role.

Positive effects on human health have indeed been recorded even among those who consume decaffeinated coffee.

We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to counterbalance this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure levels.”

To find out the impact of coffee on blood pressure, the study compared central and peripheral BP values in 1,503 Italian adults.

Participants’ coffee drinking habits (the amount and how often) and blood pressure levels were recorded.

Professor Cicero said:

“The results are very clear: peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in individuals consuming one to three cups of coffee a day than in non-coffee drinkers.

And for the first time, we were also able to confirm these effects with regard to the central aortic pressure, the one close to the heart, where we observe an almost identical phenomenon with entirely similar values for habitual coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers.”

Their data shows that coffee drinkers had lower values in central aortic pressure, peripheral circulation, SBP, and pulse pressure suggesting the beneficial health effects in lowering cardiovascular disease risk.

The study was published in the journal Nutrients (Cicero et al., 2023).

The Familiar Drink That Lowers Blood Pressure

People do not get enough of this in their diet.

People do not get enough of this in their diet.

A glass of orange juice a day can help to lower blood pressure, studies find.

Orange juice is rich in potassium, which has a powerful effect in lowering blood pressure.

Bananas, green leafy vegetables, avocados and beans are also high in potassium.

A typical Western diet is low in potassium and high in salt, which is bad for blood pressure.

Salt tastes particularly good to us because our ancestors got little in their diet.

The study involved 300 nurses who were split into five groups and given different combinations of supplements to test their effects.

Along with potassium, the researchers also tested the effect of magnesium and calcium, with blood pressure readings taken over a 24-hour period.

The results showed that potassium had the greatest effect on lowering blood pressure.

Professor Frank M. Sacks, the study’s first author, said:

“Surprisingly, when we put the three together, the effect was no greater than potassium alone.

In fact, it was a little lower.”

The results showed that 1,600 milligrams of potassium was enough to lower blood pressure by a modest amount.

However, people in the study did not have high blood pressure.

For people with high blood pressure, the gains would be more significant, said Professor Sacks:

“Previous studies have shown that potassium in people with high blood pressure has a greater effect of lowering blood pressure 4 to 5 mm Hg.

If he or she already has high blood pressure, then they should eat a diet high in potassium or take supplements.”

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Sacks al., 1998).

This Red Vegetable Significantly Lowers Blood Pressure (M)

Lower blood pressure naturally in 3 months by taking 70 ml of this vegetable juice a day.

Lower blood pressure naturally in 3 months by taking 70 ml of this vegetable juice a day.


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The 2 Best Ways To Lower Your Blood Pressure

Two simple activities that can lower your blood pressure.

Two simple activities that can lower your blood pressure.

Half-an-hour of brisk walking in the morning can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and keep you healthy, research finds.

Morning exercise at a moderate-intensity level such as 30 minutes brisk walking or walking on the treadmill can lower blood pressure for eight hours of the day.

By adding frequent breaks from sitting during the day, you will increase the effect of morning exercise on lowering blood pressure, the study found.

Older adults participated in this study, who were overweight or obese.

Average blood pressure — especially systolic blood pressure — was reduced in participants who did half-an-hour’s treadmill walking at moderate-intensity in the morning.

The effect lasted for a period of 8 hours afterwards.

Systolic blood pressure is the top number of the two blood pressure readings and diastolic blood pressure is the second number.

Systolic blood pressure is more important of these two as it is an indicator of cardiovascular disease.

In this study, the benefit of lowering blood pressure lasted throughout the day when the morning walk was combined with three-minute breaks from sitting every half hour.

These three-minute frequent breaks involved casual walking (light-intensity physical activity) during frequent breaks from sitting throughout the day.

Mr Michael Wheeler, the study’s lead author, said:

“For both men and women, the magnitude of reduction in average systolic blood pressure following exercise and breaks in sitting, approached what might be expected from antihypertensive medication in this population to reduce the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.

However, this reduction was greater for women.”

The combination of exercise and breaks from sitting benefited women more than men in regards to lowering blood pressure.

This might be because adrenaline (epinephrine) increased in men but decreased in women.

The other factor is that women were post-menopausal, which is a time when women are at greater chance of cardiovascular disease.

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Wheeler et al., 2019).

The Hot Drink That Lowers Blood Pressure

The compounds found in this hot drink may provide new ways of treating high blood pressure.

The compounds found in this hot drink may provide new ways of treating high blood pressure.

Both black and green tea contain specific compounds that cause blood vessels to relax and widen, leading to lower blood pressure.

The antihypertensive properties of tea could provide promising treatment candidates for lowering blood pressure, scientists predict.

Tea leaves contain epigallocatechin-3-gallate and epicatechin gallate flavonoids, members of the catechin family.

A study found that these catechins can activate KCNQ5 which in turn causes blood vessels to relax.

KCNQ5 is a potassium channel found in the smooth muscle of blood vessels.

The catechins are antioxidants which have been shown to be effective against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Geoffrey Abbott, the study’s lead author, explained:

“We found by using computer modeling and mutagenesis studies that specific catechins bind to the foot of the voltage sensor, which is the part of KCNQ5 that allows the channel to open in response to cellular excitation.

This binding allows the channel to open much more easily and earlier in the cellular excitation process.”

Nearly one-in-three of the adult population have high blood pressure which is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death across the world.

Therefore, finding ways to treat this condition would save lives.

Past studies have suggested that drinking tea can consistently lower blood pressure in small amounts.

Understanding the effect of catechins on KCNQ5 can help with the development of anti-hypertensive drugs with higher efficacy.

Many countries, such as the USA and the UK, drink tea with milk but the antihypertensive benefits of tea may be reduced when it is mixed with milk.

The research team experimented with this idea and found that when milk was added to black tea it blocked the activation of KCNQ5.

However, Professor Abbott thinks that the human body will react differently:

“We don’t believe this means one needs to avoid milk when drinking tea to take advantage of the beneficial properties of tea.

We are confident that the environment in the human stomach will separate the catechins from the proteins and other molecules in milk that would otherwise block catechins’ beneficial effects.”

Moreover, the team has examined the effect of temperature on tea and found that at 35 °C the tea’s composition changes, giving greater effects on KCNQ5 activation.

Professor Abbott explained:

“Regardless of whether tea is consumed iced or hot, this temperature is achieved after tea is drunk, as human body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius.

Thus, simply by drinking tea we activate its beneficial, antihypertensive properties.”

KCNQ5 is also expressed in the brain, playing a role in the regulation of neuronal function.

Mutations in KCNQ5 gene variants stops its channel working properly, causing brain disorders known as epileptic encephalopathy (seizures).

However, catechins have the ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier and activate KCNQ5.

This discovery might help scientists to develop a treatment for fixing broken KCNQ5 channels and amend brain sensitivity regarding seizure.

The study was published in the journal Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry (Redford et al., 2021).

The Probiotics That Reduce High Blood Pressure

The probiotics that offer a protective effect, returning blood pressure to normal levels.

The probiotics that offer a protective effect, returning blood pressure to normal levels.

Hypertension is a common medical condition and a key risk factor for heart disease affecting nearly half of the global adult population.

Studies show that higher sugar intake, particularly fructose, has resulted in rising prevalence of hypertension globally.

Experts also suggest that some probiotics might influence the gut microbiome in regulating blood pressure.

An animal study found that two probiotics, Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, have an antihypertensive effect.

During a 16 week experiment, some mice were fed water mixed with fructose and some also supplemented with Bifidobacterium lactis M8 or Lactobacillus rhamnosus M9 every day.

The probiotic treatment significantly reduced the animals’ blood pressure, returning levels to normal.

The study also suggests that the probiotic efficacy in lowering hypertension is connected to some gut microbes and metabolic pathways.

Dr Jun Li, the study co-author, said:

“Accumulated evidence supports an antihypertensive effect of probiotics and probiotic fermented foods in both in vitro and in vivo experiments.

So we believed that the dietary intake of probiotic foods would well supplement traditional hypertension treatment.”

It seems that excessive sugar intake increases hypertension through different mechanisms, including reduced renal nitric oxide production, insulin resistance, increased salt retention, and gut microbiota alteration.

However, maintaining blood pressure at normal levels in fructose-fed mice suggests that probiotic interventions can improve gut microbial composition.

This study used a method to explore the link between changes in blood pressure and gut microbiota alterations.

The research team noticed that the fructose diet led to a reduction in Firmicutes bacteria and elevated levels of Bacteroidetes.

However, supplementation with either probiotic made the populations of these bacteria return to normal levels.

Moreover, the study identified several bacterial species that affected blood pressure levels.

For example, depleted levels of Alloprevotella and Alistipes and elevated levels of Pyrolobus and Lawsonia species were linked to lower blood pressure.

Dr Zhihong Sun, the study’s co-author, said:

“Probiotics present a promising avenue in preventive medicine.

offering potential in regulating hypertension and reshaping our approach to cardiovascular health.”

Related

The study was published in the journal American Society for Microbiology (Zhang et al., 2023).

The 8 Best Lifestyle Changes To Treat High Blood Pressure

The best things to do in order to prevent and treat high blood pressure.

The best things to do in order to prevent and treat high blood pressure.

Lifestyle changes should be the first line strategy for preventing and treating high blood pressure, a review suggests.

Good quality sleep, mindfulness, eating dietary fibre, and exercise are among those changes that should be implemented as part of a healthy lifestyle.

While avoiding or reducing exposure to air pollution, smoking, eating salt or sugar, and drinking alcohol are among necessary lifestyle modifications for blood pressure control.

The findings are based on clinical and scientific evidence from 18 countries that looked at effective lifestyle changes for the treatment of hypertension.

Lifestyle interventions

  1. Build healthy habits from early life.
  2. Eat healthy: more fruits and vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy, and fish but less red meat, sugar, and salt.
  3. Drink healthy: consider beetroot juice, pomegranate juice, cocoa, and hibiscus tea, drink unsweetened coffee and tea moderately, and avoid or reduce alcohol.
  4. Physical activity: increase exercises including brisk walking, muscle strengthening and aerobics, avoid sedentary behaviours such as sitting too long.
  5. Healthy weight: monitor weight values and waist circumference.
  6. Stress reduction: good quality sleep, mindfulness, yoga, breathing techniques, meditation, music therapy, acts of kindness, and gratitude.
  7. Reduce exposure to pollution: exercise in parks or gardens and stay away from busy roadways, consider air filtration systems.
  8. Avoid passive smoke and stop smoking.

Hypertension is characterized as systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 140 mmHg or higher and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 90 mmHg or more.

The condition affects 1.5 billion people globally.

While there are some effective drugs, due to their side effects it is best to begin with some lifestyle modifications.

Professor , the study’s first author, said:

“Our aim was to provide a holistic set of recommendations for changes to lifestyle, which focus on all areas of health, including movement and bodyweight, food and drink, the body and mind, as well as other factors such as exposure to air pollution.”

Professor Bryan Williams, the study’s senior author, said:

“It all sounds like it is a bit soft and fluffy and not as dynamic, for example, as taking drugs but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system and the evidence is accumulating.

There’s so much people can do for themselves.

All of us need to take a step back and say, actually, I should be able to find half an hour in my day to have a little bit of time to myself and decompress and just relax—whether it’s listening to music, going for a walk or going to the gym and doing some exercise.”

Related

The study was published in the Journal of Hypertension (Fadi et al., 2023).

The Familiar Pill That Reduces Dementia Risk By 13%

Treating this condition in mid- or later life can halt dementia.

Treating this condition in mid- or later life can halt dementia.

Medication to lower blood pressure reduces the risk of dementia by around 13 percent, the strongest evidence yet finds.

Currently, there are very few dementia treatments on the market, therefore finding that lowering blood pressure can significantly reduce the disease or stop its progression is of practical benefit.

Dr Ruth Peters, the study’s first author, said:

“Given population ageing and the substantial costs of caring for people with dementia, even a small reduction could have considerable global impact.

Our study suggests that using readily available treatments to lower blood pressure is currently one of our ‘best bets’ to tackle this insidious disease.”

About 60 million people live with dementia and the condition is rapidly increasing amongst older population at such a rate that it will have tripled by 2050.

According to Dr Peters, while numerous clinical trials have shown the beneficial effects of lowering blood pressure on heart disease and stroke risk, its effect on dementia has not been identified.

Dr Peters said:

“Most trials were stopped early because of the significant impact of blood pressure lowering on cardiovascular events, which tend to occur earlier than signs of dementia.”

The team analysed five trials, each using a different treatment to lower blood pressure of 28,000 older adults across 20 countries.

The participants were followed over four years.

Dr Peters said:

“We found there was a significant effect of treatment in lowering the odds of dementia associated with a sustained reduction in blood pressure in this older population.

Our results imply a broadly linear relationship between blood pressure reduction and lower risk of dementia, regardless of which type of treatment was used.”

The authors believe this finding can help improve public health strategies in decreasing the risk of dementia and its progression.

Dr Peters said:

“Our study provides the highest grade of available evidence to show that blood pressure lowering treatment over several years reduces the risk of dementia, and we did not see any evidence of harm.

But what we still don’t know is whether additional blood pressure lowering in people who already have it well-controlled or starting treatment earlier in life would reduce the long-term risk of dementia.”

The study was published in the European Heart Journal (Peters et al., 2022).

A High-Fat Food That Reduces Blood Pressure

Two servings a day of this high-fat food could lower diabetes risk and reduce high blood pressure.

Two servings a day of this high-fat food could lower diabetes risk and reduce high blood pressure.

Eating more whole fat dairy is linked to a lower incidence of diabetes and hypertension, a study has found.

Having dairy products twice a day in your regular diet reduces the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, the risk factors of Metabolic syndrome.

Diabetes, hypertension, and obesity together will lead to metabolic syndrome, a disorder that puts people at higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Past studies suggest that higher consumption of dairy products  reduces the odds of high blood pressure, diabetes, and so metabolic syndrome.

This study suggests that full-fat dairy foods but not low-fat dairy have the strongest effect on lowering the incidence of metabolic syndrome and its related risk factors.

To test if this is true for populations in different countries, researchers included 21 countries on five continents.

Participants were between 35- and 70-years-old and the average follow-up was over nine years.

Dairy intake was either low-fat (1–2%) or whole-fat, including mixed dishes prepared with dairy ingredients, milk, yogurt, cheese, yogurt drinks, butter, and cream.

Average diary intake was 179 grams (g) per day, with whole-fat dairy intake counting almost twice as much as low-fat.

The standard serving and portion sizes were used, for example, 5 g for one teaspoon of butter, 15 g for a slice of cheese, and 244 g for a cup of yogurt or a glass of milk.

Compared with eating no dairy, two servings a day of dairy foods reduced the risk of metabolic syndrome by 24 percent and for whole-fat diary by 28 percent.

The likelihood of developing diabetes and hypertension was reduced up to 12 percent.

The risk was reduced to 14 percent with a dairy intake of 3 servings per day.

The authors concluded:

“If our findings are confirmed in sufficiently large and long term trials, then increasing dairy consumption may represent a feasible and low cost approach to reducing [metabolic syndrome], hypertension, diabetes, and ultimately cardiovascular disease events worldwide.”

The study was published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care (Bhavadharini et al., 2020).

The Simple Treatment That Slows Brain Aging And Cognitive Decline

A common complaint that increases brain aging, unless treated.

A common complaint that increases brain aging, unless treated.

High blood pressure, at any age or for any duration, accelerates brain aging, a study finds.

People with high blood pressure are at greater risk of memory problems and difficulties concentrating and talking fluently.

Around half of all Americans have high blood pressure, which is simply treated with a combination of lifestyle changes and medication.

The cut-off for high blood pressure is around 120 to 130 mmHg (this is the top number on the reading).

Sometimes this range is known as ‘prehypertension’, but the study still found this level damaging to cognitive skills over time.

High blood pressure is problematic for young and old, explained Professor Sandhi M. Barreto, study co-author:

“We initially anticipated that the negative effects of hypertension on cognitive function would be more critical when hypertension started at a younger age, however, our results show similar accelerated cognitive performance decline whether hypertension started in middle age or at older ages.

We also found that effectively treating high blood pressure at any age in adulthood could reduce or prevent this acceleration.

Collectively, the findings suggest hypertension needs to be prevented, diagnosed and effectively treated in adults of any age to preserve cognitive function.”

The conclusions come from an analyses of over 7,000 people in Brazil who were tracked for almost four years.

The results showed that people’s cognitive skills declined if their blood pressure was over 121 mmHg and they did not take medication.

People with uncontrolled hypertension showed the worst declines in thinking skills.

Professor Barreto said:

“In addition to other proven benefits of blood pressure control, our results highlight the importance of diagnosing and controlling hypertension in patients of any age to prevent or slow down cognitive decline.

Our results also reinforce the need to maintain lower blood pressure levels throughout life, since even prehypertension levels were associated with cognitive decline.”

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Teles De Menezes et al., 2020).