Alcohol And High Blood Pressure

I clearly remember my cardiologist saying no alcohol and high blood pressure.

But happily today physicians around the world recognize the benefits of alcohol consumption, even for people with blood pressure problems.

The French drink a lot of wine, and they have a very low incidence of heart disease.

Since those first reports of no alcohol and high blood pressure, researchers from around the world have been telling us of the benefits of alcohol consumption, particularly red wine.

It has become obvious that people who enjoyed a daily drink or two had a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and lived longer than those who did not drink.

What a change.

Then the question became what kind of alcohol was best.

Wines

Remember the French favored red wine, so of course wine merchants touted that.

Then it was beer, enjoyed here in the US and in other countries around the world.

And what about spirits used to make martinis, and other deliciously mixed drinks.

According to Greek researchers in 2005 drinking red wine reduced arterial stiffness in heart disease patients.

It was further stated that the benefits of red wine come from the antioxidants termed polyphenols and flavonoids that was in the skin of the red grapes.

But one can also easily get these polyphenols and flavonoids from red grape juice, and pomegranate juice.

These same benefits can also be derived from beer, green tea, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

It turns out that any type of alcohol do yield good things for the body.

Alcohol, whichever one that is your preference, raises the levels of protective good HDL cholesterol.

Moderate drinking of alcohol and high blood pressure individuals reduced the inflammation in their arteries. Individuals with little inflammation are at a lessened risk of developing heart disease or suffer a heart attack or stroke.

Of course drinking large amounts of alcohol will cause your blood pressure to rise. Why this happens is not clear. But drinking large amounts of alcohol also contributes to weight gain and this reason alone raises blood pressure.

So how much is too much.

Doctors safe advice is, for men up to two servings a day, for women it is one serving a day, and a serving is half a pint of ordinary strength beer or lager, or one small glass of wine or one shot of spirits.

Individuals who have high blood pressure are advised to limit their alcohol consumption to no more than fourteen servings a week for men and no more than seven servings a week for women.

So now with regards to drinking alcohol and high blood pressure we can confidently raise our glass and say to good health.