Is tea good for high blood pressure?
In this busy world, people are always in a rush, and unhealthy habits, such as unhealthy dieting and skipping physical activities, have become a daily routine. This resulted in an immense increase in high blood pressure patients all around the globe.
Because high blood pressure leads to serious health conditions such as heart attack, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases, it requires constant attention. At times, high blood pressure can be managed by adapting to healthy lifestyles such as avoiding fatty or high-sodium foods and engaging in physical activities.
You may be surprised to know that drinking tea may also help to lower pressure. So, how is drinking tea good for high blood pressure patients? Well, tea is an antioxidant-packed beverage that offers multiple health perks including the one to relax your blood vessels muscle which aids in lowering blood pressure. It’s not like you consume tea and your blood pressure automatically lowers.
It depends on the types of tea you consume. There are a few tea types that positively affect your high blood pressure. In this blog, we will go through the best teas for high blood pressure which can naturally aid in maintaining blood pressure at a healthy level. If you are a hypertension patient, this article is a must-read for you to identify how different varieties of tea work for you to live a healthy life. Keep on reading.
What is high blood pressure?
Before diving into the best teas for high blood pressure, let’s understand what high blood pressure is to develop an idea of how different tea characteristics may help manage it.
Your heart supplies blood to organs and tissues through your circulatory system for them to function well. To push the blood, your heartbeat creates pressure on your blood vessels in two measures - systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Here, systolic pressure refers to the pressure when your heart pumps out blood and diastolic pressure is the pressure that occurs in between the time in heartbeats. When your blood pressure reads 120/80 mm Hg (120 being systolic pressure and 80 being diastolic pressure), it is considered normal blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a health condition when your blood pressure is elevated above normal consistently. Numerous reasons lead to abnormal blood pressure including lack of exercise, unhealthy foods, and existing other health conditions such as obesity, kidney diseases, and diabetes.
So, is high blood pressure dangerous? Yes, certainly. As discussed earlier, it leads to numerous cardiovascular diseases. In fact, high blood pressure is the culprit for around half of heart disease-related deaths globally. Moreover, it can also seriously impact your vital organs including, the eyes, brain, genitals, and kidneys if not attended to in time.
So, every single step counts to put yourself far from life-threatening health conditions. And, drinking tea regularly may be one of the easiest, yet very impactful preventive measures you can ever imagine.
How can tea help regulate blood pressure?
High blood pressure is the result when your circulation system needs to push the blood through your vessels with consistent high force. One of the common causes is the narrowing of your blood vessels which prevents smooth blood flow. Tea contains numerous antioxidants to reduce or eliminate the substances that narrow your blood vessels, hence, aiding smooth blood circulation which helps in lowering blood pressure.
Just so you know, obesity and stress are also critical risk factors for high blood pressure for many. When you are overweight, your circulatory system needs to increase the blood flow level to supply essential nutrients to the tissues. This puts extra pressure in your arteries which leads to high blood pressure.
Likewise, your body releases excessive hormones as you go through stress and anxiety. As a result, your blood vessels taper, and your heartbeat rate increases quickly. It also leads to high blood pressure.
Fortunately, drinking tea regularly also helps in losing weight, preventing obesity, and managing stress, and ultimately helps prevent high blood pressure.
Best Teas for High Blood Pressure
People often brand most teas as “superfoods”. The plentiful natural healthy compound content in it justifies its branding. Among those healthy compounds, flavonoids and polyphenols are touted to be the reasons for tea’s benefit on high blood pressure. But, every tea may not be as magical. This is because every tea is unique and the type and amount of the antioxidant content varies accordingly to impact its level of benefits.
So, which tea is ok for high blood pressure and how are they best for this particular health condition? We will explore next.
Black Tea
Black tea is perhaps the most popular tea variety which is commonly found in most households all around the world. If you are also a regular consumer of this mind-awakening drink, you are about to love the tea even more to learn its benefits in managing blood pressure. The tea works in several ways for this particular perk.
Firstly Black tea increases the function of the protein named KCNQ5 which contributes to relaxing blood vessels, ultimately lowering blood pressure.
Secondly, as blood pressure fluctuations are highly linked with endothelial dysfunction, black tea contributes to blood pressure management by improving endothelial function. Hence, black tea for high blood pressure is an impactful idea.
Plus, the flavonoids in black tea also contribute by preventing overweight, which is also one of the risk factors for high blood pressure for many.
To get the maximum benefits from black tea in lowering blood pressure, comprehend the tea to approach healthy-lifestyle including stress management and regular physical exercise. This will help you to reduce both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.
Green Tea
There are scientific-proven reasons for green tea to be named as the healthiest amongst the wide tea variety, thanks to the polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids, catechins, and tannins that are ample in the beverage. From those compounds, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is a backstage hero behind its benefits for lowering blood pressure. The powerful antioxidants play a role by relaxing the muscles around your blood vessels and improving the blood flow, which benefits you by lowering blood pressure.
In addition, the anti-inflammatory characteristics of the antioxidants help to relieve the inflammation in the heart tissues and improve heart cell function for smooth blood flow. So, green tea for high blood pressure patients is really ideal to help them recover quickly. However, be mindful, although green tea in numerous research has been identified to be significant in lowering systolic blood pressure, the impact on diastolic blood pressure has not been that impressive. So, always check with your doctor first to avoid possible side effects, especially when you are already on medication.
Oolong Tea
The antioxidant content in green tea and oolong tea are similar. To establish the relationship between oolong tea and high blood pressure compared to green tea, numerous scientific research has been conducted lately. And fortunately, they indicate that oolong tea may be the best alternative available to offer the health perks to lower blood pressure for those who are not fans of the grassy flavor in green tea and prefer their tea much sweeter and stronger.
Additionally, they found that oolong tea is effective in boosting the varieties of intestinal macrobiotics which contribute to the growth of beneficial bacteria and elimination of harmful bacteria, thus, balancing the microbial metabolism that regulates your blood pressure. This process aids in lowering the blood pressure caused specifically due to high salt intake.
Hibiscus Tea
Not a fan of caffeine? Well, no need to worry at all. There are many herbal tea options for you to enjoy to lower your blood pressure among which hibiscus tea tops the list. The tea is helpful to lower both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.
Thanks to healthy antioxidants including polysaccharides and organic acids aid in lowering blood viscosity for smooth blood circulation, eventually placing less pressure on the heart. Also, the vitamin C content in Hibiscus tea plays a role in preventing coagulation and narrowing of the blood vessels to smoothen the blood flow.
Tulsi Herbal Tea
Native to Nepal and South Asia in General, tulsi, also popular as holy basil, is a culturally important herb in Nepal. Enormously praised in Ayurveda, the herb has been used as a traditional treatment for centuries. And numerous scientific studies and research have also indicated the green light for its abounding medical properties including the ones for lowering blood pressure. The major ingredient in tulsi tea to fight high blood pressure is eugenol which protects against the narrowing of the blood vessels due to toxic substances. Plus, the other healthy nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C makes the fighting force even stronger.
To make the most of tulsi herbal tea, drink it on an empty stomach.
FAQs
How else can I naturally lower my blood pressure?
There are several natural remedies for lowering blood pressure. Some of the effective remedies include regular exercise, avoiding high-sodium foods, limiting alcohol intake, quitting smoking, and managing stress.
Can tea cure high blood pressure?
Certain polyphenols in the tea may aid your muscles around blood vessels to relax and ease, which may further result in lowering blood pressure. Also, tea is greatly helpful if your reason for high blood pressure is stress.
Can I drink tea if I have high blood pressure?
Yes, you can drink tea if you have high blood pressure. In fact, it may actually help you to lower your blood pressure, thanks to its antioxidant content. However, you may want to check with your medical service provider before including the tea in your diet plan to avoid side effects.
What helps high blood pressure ASAP?
If you are looking for a quick fix for high blood pressure, techniques such as breathing exercises, taking a warm bath, and managing stress may be helpful. However, these techniques may not provide you with long-term benefits. So, always consult with your doctor for the successful management of high blood pressure.
What kind of tea is good for high blood pressure?
The teas rich in catechins, vitamin C, potassium, and eugenol compounds are good for high blood pressure. Some of the best teas to consider are black tea, green tea, hibiscus tea, oolong tea, and tulsi herbal tea.
How does tea lower blood pressure?
Tea lowers blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessel muscles and preventing their narrowing. This results in smooth blood flow ensuring less pressure on the heartbeat, thus, lowering the blood pressure.
Conclusion
With so many healthful antioxidants and compounds in the above-mentioned best teas, tea might be helpful for you. However, you should consult with your doctor before certain lifestyle changes, especially if you have certain health conditions or are under medications.
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