Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

Now it looks like we can add energy drinks to the list of agents that increase blood pressure. We ran across an interesting article on Science Daily that reported higher blood pressure with regular consumption of energy drinks.

The essence is that Wayne State University researchers in Detroit gave two cans of energy drinks containing 80mg of caffeine and 1,000 milligrams of Taurin (an amino acid found in protein-containing foods such as meats and fish) to healthy patients. The study took place over a week. Within two hours on the first day of the study the pressure caused by the contraction of the heart muscle increased by 7.9% and by 9.6% by the seventh day of the study.

This is similar to the effects on blood pressure seen with coffee consumption. While it is important to realize these effects are not necessarily detrimental to healthy adults, those who are working on managing their blood pressure should take note and modify their caffeine consumption accordingly.