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Since those first reports of no alcohol and high blood pressure increasing from excessive consumption, researchers from around the world have been telling us of the benefits associated with alcohol, particularly red wine.
The French drink a lot of wine, and they have a very low incidence of heart disease, but don’t misunderstand this approval. Excessive alcohol drinking drives up blood pressure.
Moderate drinking of alcohol has been proven repeatedly to have a protective effect on the heart. People who enjoy a daily drink or two had a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and lived longer than those who did not drink.
Still the best research study I found, asked and answered the question, "what happens when you mix alcohol and are a high blood pressure sufferer? Here is the beneficial twist, drinking alcohol in small quantities acts as a diuretic and increases sodium loss?
What a change!
Then the question became what kind of alcohol was best. Well Info on high blood pressure will give you some of the answers.
Remember the French drank a lot of wine and favored red wine. Plus they have a very low incidence of heart disease, 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 came from the antioxidants termed polyphenols and flavonoids that was in the skin of the red grapes.
Though one can 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 does 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 suffering 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 and how should we go about lowering our high blood pressure.
Drinking excessive amount of alcohol is a proven danger if you have high blood pressure. If you say I cannot cut down on my daily consumption and your high blood pressure is not under control, well here are some alternatives to alcohol that can be incorporated into your daily eating habits.
Doctor’s 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. If you can, lower your intake even more than what's recommended.
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