The 5 Healthiest Alcohols to Drink and Which You Should Avoid

The findings of a 2020 review suggest that cherry and cranberry juice may lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is widespread, affecting almost half of adults in the United States. Alcohol increases the risk of several other can alcohol lower blood pressure short- and long-term health issues. Although these values can be helpful, there is some variation in alcohol content. For example, some beers — especially craft beers — can contain about twice as much alcohol as above.

• However, there were far fewer studies that focus on African Americans for the researchers to review, and more research may be needed.
• When you drink alcohol, it can lead to an increase in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) excitability.
• “I do think we need to communicate clearly to the public that alcohol is not beneficial—that a little bit of alcohol is probably not harmful, but don’t expect benefits,” Dr. Nissen explains.
• One study found that three glasses of nonalcoholic red wine a day over a month led to a significant drop in blood pressure in men with heart disease risk factors.
• According to research, several types of fruit and vegetable juices, as well as skim milk and green tea, may help to control your blood pressure.
• To learn more about the alcoholic drinks not to choose, we talked with some expert dietitians.

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This article explains the connection between alcohol and hypertension, explores the effects of different types of alcohol, and discusses safe alcohol consumption. Your age and other risk factors linked to heart and blood pressure health will ultimately aid your decision https://ecosoberhouse.com/ with your doctor about drinking. But don’t expect any “all clears” for anything beyond light-moderate drinking. Sometimes, it’s hard to avoid alcoholic beverages at social events, but excessive alcohol consumption may increase your risk of high blood pressure.

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Ramnauth said alcohol can also impair or diminish “baroreceptors in the brain that would sense blood pressure.” These baroreceptors regulate blood pressure by detecting changes and signaling the body to adjust. When they become impaired by alcohol intake, the body might not respond as effectively to changes in blood pressure, leading to persistent high blood pressure. In a study from 2021, researchers gave 500 mL of orange juice, around 2 cups, daily to people with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension. According to research, several types of fruit and vegetable juices, as well as skim milk and green tea, may help to control your blood pressure. Another review published in Naturein 2016 found that consuming berries lowered both systolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol.

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Healthcare professionals may recommend people with hypertension decrease the amount of alcohol they consume. The effect of coffee on blood pressure has been a longstanding source of controversy in the scientific community. But if you choose to limit dairy consumption due to environmental concerns, lactose intolerance or dietary preferences, make sure to include other sources of key nutrients such as potassium and calcium in your diet. Low-fat dairy products such as fat-free or low-fat milk and yogurt are a key component of Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, a science-based set of recommendations for preventing and treating high blood pressure. This means paying attention to portion size is important, too, as a wine glass filled to the brim or an oversized margarita may actually count as two or three drinks, says Sheth. To understand how much alcohol is too much, it may be helpful to know the definitions of excessive drinking.

This article suggests some drinks people can choose or avoid if they wish to manage their blood pressure. A moderate to high intake of alcohol may cause high blood pressure. This may be due to alcohol affecting the chemicals in the body that control blood vessel constriction and fluid levels. Researchers also found that people who drank heavily were 69% more likely to have stage 1 hypertension than people who do not drink and 2.4 times more likely to have stage 2 hypertension. Consuming alcohol can increase the risk of high blood pressure and other metabolic conditions in several ways. For example, alcohol can affect calcium levels, cortisol levels, and baroreceptor sensitivity, all of which can lead to increases in blood pressure.

More on Hypertension

In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into six different types of drinks that may help lower your blood pressure. In addition to certain foods that may help lower your blood pressure, some types of drinks may also be helpful. A drink is 12 ounces (355 milliliters) of beer, 5 ounces (148 milliliters) of wine or 1.5 ounces (44 milliliters) of 80-proof distilled spirits. Bloody Marys are a popular brunch choice, but even though people may assume it’s healthier because of the veggies, this isn’t usually the case for those with high blood pressure. However, whether alcohol can really be heart-healthy is still debated, and it’s likely better to indulge in other antioxidant-rich treats like dark chocolate. We’ve all heard about the antioxidant benefits of red wine — and research has found that whiskey can have a similar effect.

What are the age-related risk factors of alcohol on blood pressure?

Despite this finding, women should try not to engage in binge drinking. The CDC also states that to reduce alcohol-related health risks, adults of legal drinking age should limit their alcohol consumption to two drinks or less a day for men and one drink or less for women. If you have high blood pressure, it’s important to discuss any risk factors with your healthcare provider, including alcohol consumption.

Red wine contains an antioxidant called resveratrol, which some studies have shown reduces cholesterol and lowers blood pressure. You need to determine your lifestyle and genetic risk factors first, says Arthur Klatsky, MD, an investigator for Kaiser Permanente’s research division and formerly its chief of cardiology in Oakland, CA. In addition to cutting back on alcohol, you can incorporate other lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and stress management, to help lower your blood pressure. The type of alcohol doesn’t matter, but rather the frequency of your consumption, according to Sameer Amin, MD, a cardiologist and chief medical officer at L.A. Alcohol also stimulates the release of adrenaline and puts the body in a fight-or-flight mode, leading to elevated blood pressure. Alcohol consumption is categorized into different levels based on the amount consumed.

A note on binge drinking

The key with alcohol is drinking in moderation, and weighing any health benefits against the negative impacts of drinking. Knowing the health benefits of some alcoholics is great, but it’s equally important to know which drinks to skip. If you’re trying to stay healthy, take these drinks out or rotation, Kober says. While alcohol certainly has some negative health effects, there can also be advantages to moderate consumption. Systolic blood pressure had a direct and linear association with alcohol dose. A person’s sex and geographical location influence the effects of alcohol on diastolic blood pressure.