by Vic Shayne, PhD

Some people seem to eat right, get exercise and avoid transfats. They may even do yoga or meditate to relieve stress, but they still are dealing with high blood pressure. What to do? Can coffee be the culprit? Or something else? Or a combination?

Every disease and symptom requires investigation to get to the cause. This is something that most medical doctors don’t bother to do. They either don’t have the time, the interest or curiosity. Possibly all three. So, instead of trying to find a logical action you can take to resolve your problem, the answer usually is an injection, a prescription or even a dismissal. The last item is nothing to scoff at, because it is all too commonplace for doctors to say that they have no idea what’s wrong and “Good luck, and good bye.” This “treatment” is frustrating and enervating.

Back to blood pressure. Sometimes you just have to look for clues. This isn’t always easy because it can be hard to monitor yourself objectively. So get out a journal and write down everything you eat, drink and do. Maybe you’ll see a pattern emerge. It could be that you seem to be doing all the right things, but you are drinking several cups of coffee a day.

The Mayo Clinic states, “To see if caffeine raises your blood pressure, check your pressure within 30 minutes of drinking a cup of coffee or another caffeinated beverage you regularly drink. If your blood pressure increases by five to 10 points, you may be sensitive to the blood pressure raising effects of caffeine. Regardless of your sensitivity to caffeine’s effects, doctors recommend you drink no more than 200 milligrams a day — about the amount in two cups of coffee.”1

It is my opinion that two cups is WAY TOO MUCH. Switch to organic decaf and if you want regular, drink it rarely.

“Coffee abstinence is associated with a lower hypertension risk than is low coffee consumption.”2

Sources:

1. Mayo Clinic: “10 ways to control high blood pressure without medication,” mayoclinic.com, Jul 08
2. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, No. 3, 718-723, March 2007

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