Which is more likely to cause high blood pressure -- chugging cola or gulping coffee? In this Health Smarts video, Kevin Soden, MD, explains how the soda boosts hypertension risk -- especially in women.
Read Transcript
Which is more likely to lead to high blood pressure, chugging colas, or gulping coffee? HI I'm Dr Kevin Soden. and the answer is soda. In recent study of women a cola a day habit was associated with about 15% higher risk of hypertension, but coffee drinking appeared to have little impact on blood pressure, in fact the more cola that women drank daily the higher their hypertension risk appear to be, even if they drank diet cola.
Because the same effect, was not seen with coffee drinkers, the resaerch speculate that is not the caffeine that makes cola bad for blood pressure, but something else entirely. It may be the corn syrup used to sweeten it or the coloring used to give it that caramel color, but caffeine can temporarily increase blood pressure in people who are sensitive to it, so it's best to cut back if you have high blood pressure or are risk for it.
Get more great tips and information to keep you healthy right here.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, boosts your risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. Our experts share smart nutrition, exercise and lifestyle tips to help prevent and treat hypertension.
