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Coffee, Good or Bad for High Blood Pressure? |
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Caffeine, Good or Bad for the Blood Pressure? This
is another one of those “is it or isn’t it” issues
that probably by and large depends on a whole
variety of associated issues but as it is one of the
most regular of all of our queries I thought I would
go ahead and try and provide some form of opinion.
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Firstly from my own point of view, I have just
started drinking Coffee again after an absence
of about 15 years and thought that while I was
undergoing a review of my medication for High
Blood Pressure that I would see whether I could
resume my on/off love affair with Caffeine.
To be honest the jury is still out as far as I
am concerned in that yes there are the positives
of being able to sit down every now and then
with a hot cup of coffee and savour the rich and
glorious aroma of freshly ground coffee but
there is the down side also. For my part this is
now a recurrence of the headaches that made me
give up drinking the stuff in the first place
and then there is the caffeine “hit” that has
now started to resemble a punch!
It is probably best to try and understand the
chemistry behind Coffee and the human being
before you start to make what comes remotely
close to a definitive pronouncement of whether
Coffee is good or bad for you. How does Coffee
manage to have this sort of effect that one
minute has legions of aficionados claiming it to
be the “nectar of the gods” and the next minute
claiming it to be the “juice of the devil!”
The famous Native American hero, Chief Crazy
Horse is widely acclaimed to have made the
following statement about Coffee. “If the Great
Spirit has something better than coffee, he
keeps it for himself.” Now it is a medical fact
that Caffeine increases blood pressure. For
those with normal blood pressure this is not a
problem. For those with an already increased
blood pressure then this can be an issue that
causes further problems.
The whole situation is further complicated by
the fact that Caffeine is such a widely
available substance by which I mean that it is
present in a great many different beverages and
drinks and also in a wide variety of freely
obtainable over the counter (OTC) medicines such
as certain types of Painkillers, weight loss
drugs and various cold remedies.
The other side issue with the consumption of
Coffee is that coffee increases the excretion of
calcium which in turn tends to compound the
whole “High Blood Pressure Cycle” by further
acting as another cause of increased Blood
Pressure.
As far as Women are concerned, the Calcium loss
can have a further side effect and this is
especially the case with regards to Woman who
already have issues with a calcium deficiency.
Because Coffee acts as a diuretic as has been
mentioned above this further loss of calcium is
aggravated via increased excretion. For those
who already suffer from Osteoporosis, studies
have shown that the diuretic qualities of Coffee
can be an issue.
And the conclusion to all of this?
I’m afraid it is the same with Coffee as with
most things, there is a lot to be said of the
old saying that “a little bit of what you fancy
does you good” but in this case it really does
mean a little.
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