Does Coffee Affect Blood Pressure?
Editor’s Comment: While the primary focus of this website is on Type-2 Diabetes, the article following, without direct reference to diabetes, does seem appropriate since most of us who are diabetics also have to battle high blood pressure, among other health conditions. It should be noted that the caffeine in coffee tends to raise blood sugar levels and it has been suggested that frequent coffee drinkers should consider switching to decaffeinated coffee. On the plus side, coffee contains anti-oxidants that offer protection against liver, colon, and Parkinson’s diseases and in one official study it was reported that the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease was reduced when coffee intake was increased — it is assumed the increase would not be to an unreasonable amount.
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Good news for coffee drinkers !
Consuming too much coffee does not increase high blood pressure risk, says a recent US study, good news for coffee drinkers.
Dr. Liwei Chen, researcher at Louisiana State University School of Public Health based in New Orleans found that people who drank more than five cups of coffee a day were no longer likely to have hypertension compared to people who drank too little coffee. This study contradicted the previous concerns that said excess coffee triggers hypertension.
High blood pressure, or hypertension has been associated with heart disease, stroke and shorter life expectancy. Some scientists also suggested that coffee might actually increase the problem.
However, in a report published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the above outcome is reversed. The report was prepared based on the data pooled from six previous studies, covering 170,000 people.
The report clearly states that usual coffee consumption of more than 3 cups per day was not linked to an increased risk of hypertension compared to less than one cup per day, regardless if the cups were drank at home or while sipping from a travel cup holder.
For the study, the researcher surveyed data from the participants on the question: how many cups of coffee they drank each day (from less than one to more than five) and then followed them for up to 33 years.
Only one out of five participants ultimately developed high blood pressure. Also, the condition was no different for people who said they drank more than five cups of coffee a day and those who said they drank too little.
Lawrence Krakoff, who studies high blood pressure at New York based Mount Sinai Medical Center says he does not think coffee is a risk factor for high blood pressure. “But if people are drinking 12 cups of coffee a day and aren’t sleeping, I assume that’s an important issue”, he adds.
Dr. Chen however also said that the link between coffee consumption and blood pressure is complicated. There is a possibility that it doesn’t work in the same manner for everyone. People with different genetic backgrounds may respond differently to coffee. For some people it may be okay to drink a lot of coffee, but for some others it may not, she added.
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