Blood Pressure Diet.com
Blood Pressure Diets - Alcohol's effect on Blood Pressure
What effect does drinking alcohol have on blood pressure?
Most research studies show that drinking large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis is linked to high blood pressure and can lead to
hypertension. Studies also show that alcohol consumption might be responsible for up to 7 percent of all cases of high blood pressure and up to 25 percent of the cases
of essential hypertension - high blood pressure with no known, specific cause.
No one knows exactly how alcohol works in the body to cause high blood pressure. However, some researches believe that the chemicals in alcohol may have an effect on the blood vessels and arteries, causing them to tighten and close. This raises blood pressure because it means that blood has to force its way through.
Alcohol also seems to trigger the release of certain hormones (known as adrenocordcoid hormones) from the adrenal glands that can cause higher blood pressure. long term alcohol abuse makes blood pressure sky-rocket because it damages the liver and kidneys. These vital organs are part of the bodies normal blood pressure balancing system and damaging them will cause fluid buildup and ulimately lead to very serious health problems.
Definitions - blood pressure numbers.Systolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart beats. It is shown as the top number in a blood pressure reading. Diastolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart relaxes between beats. It's shown as the bottom number in a blood pressure reading.
The link between alcohol and blood pressure levels may not be a simple one.
If you drinks small amounts of alcohol, say 1 or 2 drinks a day, then your blood pressure levels could even be lower than that of non -drinkers. But if you have 3 or more drinks per day, then your blood pressure will be on average slightly higher than teetotallers. If you are a heavy drinker and consume more 4 or more alcoholic drinks a day, then your systolic pressure is typically quite a bit higher than non drinkers. (5-6 mm Hg higher systolic pressure and the diastolic 2-4 mm Hg higher).
Clinical studies have shown that in heavy drinkers with high blood pressure, levels drop greatly after they stopped drinking. Levels promtly rose again when drinking resumed. This applies too women just as much as men. Women who drink more than 4 units a day are 90% more likely to develope high blood pressure than non drinkers.
If you have been regularly drinking more than the recommended limits (see below) and you cut down, your blood pressure should also come down too.
Keep in mind that alcoholic drinks are often high in calories and may contribute to unwanted weight gain. Also, alcohol can interfere with the effectiveness of some blood pressure medications and increase their side effects
How much alcohol is a small amount?
Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts means that if you are a man you should not be drinking more than three or four units a day and if you are a woman you should not be drinking more than two or three units a day.
A unit of alcohol is:
One half-pint of ordinary strength beer or lager
One small glass of wine
One measure of spirit.
Drinking over these amounts on a regular basis is likely to affect your blood pressure and your general health and you should cut back. Also you should avoid binge drinking and spread your drinking over the week.
How Alcohol Affects Blood Pressure
Alcohol seems to interfere with the liver’s ability to metabolize hormones, such as renin and angiotensin, which are important for maintaining blood pressure control. There is also some evidence that alcohol interferes with steroid production which is instrumental in maintaining blood pressure. {Washington Post Health, Feb. 10, 1987}
Reduce or eliminate alcohol, as regular alcohol use correlates with elevated blood pressure. Alcohol taxes the liver and reduces the ability to detoxify blood, thus causing more oxidizing and damaging substances to remain in circulation where they can harm blood vessels. Further, if the liver is busy processing alcohol, it is less able to process fats, leading to elevated cholesterol levels. If the liver becomes congested, stagnation in the portal veins, those that deliver blood to the liver, can increase blood pressure in all other vessels downstream. (JAMA 1985 study in Nutrition Science News, Mar. 1999)
Studies suggest that regular consumption of alcohol raises blood pressure during the hours that alcohol is not consumed, and can reduce
magnesium levels which can increase blood pressure.
{U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services in their 10th Report to Congress on Alcohol and Health, 2000}
The Archives of Internal Medicine (Feb. 2001) reported that the systolic blood pressure (the higher number) is increased by intake of
alcohol, while diastolic blood pressure was reduced by alcohol intake.
{nutritionnewsfocus.com - Aug. 2001} Editor's comment: The study has limited accuracy because this survey only covered the diets of the
17,000 adults for the previous 24 hours. This is how the media can manipulate figures and report that blood pressure is reduced by the
use of alcohol.
Alcohol consumption at any level tends to raise blood pressure, the effect appearing at the lowest levels of intake and increasing with
the amount consumed. Considered alone, this must be presumed to increase the risk of diseases associated with raised blood pressure, such
as heart attack and stroke. The consumption of alcohol can contribute to being overweight, which is a cardiovascular risk factor.
{“Alcohol and cardiovascular disease,” Heart Foundation, Oct. 2003}
Because of its depressive effect, alcohol at first lowers blood pressure, which then rebounds to higher than normal levels, along with
heart rate and body temperature.
{Intelligent Medicine, book by Ronald Hoffman, MD, 1997}
Even Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Hypertension
Even modest alcohol consumption can cause blood pressure to increase, according to two recent studies conducted in Japan.
Dr. Noriyuki Nakanishi, from the department of social and environmental medicine at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, lead author of the first study, concluded that "Alcohol use represents an important modifiable risk factor for hypertension."
Previous research has demonstrated some health benefits for those who drink small amounts of alcohol, but the two new studies indicate that even very low alcohol consumption can be a health risk for many -- almost one in every four Americans.
The first study involved more than 5,000 Japanese male office workers, between the ages of 23 and 59, for more than four years. The subjects were grouped into four categories: those who drank fewer than 12 grams of alcohol a day; those who drank 12 grams to 22 grams per day; those who drank 23 grams to 45 grams per day; and those who drank more than 46 grams per day.
Researchers observed that as the alcohol consumption rate went up, so did blood pressure. In the 12 grams to 22 grams per day group, systolic blood pressure went up 1.4 points in those between the ages of 25 and 35, but increased 5.4 points for men between the ages of 48 and 59, indicating that drinking affects older persons more.
In the second of the two studies, researchers from Kyushu University followed more than 1,100 people over 40 for 10 years. During that study, 101 men and 106 women developed hypertension with the risk of developing hypertension higher for both men and women who drank, even those who drank less than 23 grams daily.
More than 17,000 people die each year from high blood pressure complications in the U.S. and almost one in four Americans has high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hypertension can cause stroke, heart disease and kidney failure.