This is The Best Tea For High Blood Pressure, According to a Dietician

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common condition that affects your arteries. Hypertension occurs when the blood pushes too forcefully against the walls of your arteries, making the heart work harder to pump blood. If left untreated, hypertension can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and other critical health issues. Having a healthy lifestyle can help prevent and treat this condition. [1] According to a dietician, drinking green tea can help lower high blood pressure. Let’s learn more about this useful tea below. 

What You Put In Your Body Affects Your Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is affected by what you eat and drink. Dieticians often recommend following a specific diet, such as the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. This diet recommends that one eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Part of the diet’s weekly nutritional goals includes consuming low-fat or fat-free dairy products, chicken, fish, nuts, beans, and vegetable oils. Those following the diet must also limit their intake of saturated fats and tropical oils. Limiting the consumption of candies and sugar-sweetened drinks is also important. [2] Dieticians also recommend including tea in your diet, most notably green tea, which has proven to be the best at lowering high blood pressure. 

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True Teas and High Blood Pressure

Tea is a very popular beverage worldwide, with water being the only beverage drunk more often. Green tea belongs to a group of teas known as ‘true teas’, which also includes black, oolong, and white tea. Tru teas differ from herbal teas, as the latter are made from a variety of spices, herbs, and plants. The four varieties of true teas, on the other hand, all actually come from one common plant, Camellia Sinensis. Their differences in form, taste, and color arise from varying growing conditions, geographical locations, and variations in the processing steps. [3] True teas are also a great source of antioxidants and other plant compounds that help maintain general health, including heart health. 

The Power of Green Tea

According to a dietician, the clinical data suggests that green tea improves blood pressure the best out of the four true tea varieties. Meta-analysis revealed that green tea was effective at lowering blood pressure if taken as a supplement or beverage. People who tried using green tea for their blood pressure typically reported a 2mmHg reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. One of the reasons green tea is beneficial for heart and blood vessel health is because it contains a type of oxidant known as catechins. This antioxidant prevents arteries from narrowing, improves the production of nitric oxide, and reduces inflammation and oxidative stress. [4] Green tea also contains moderate quantities of caffeine which triggers a short-term blood low increase, which potentially contributes to general cardiovascular health. 

Including Green Tea in Your Diet

Green tea is pretty straightforward to prepare. All you need to do is steep the leaves or a tea bag in hot water for around three to five minutes. How much you drink is up to you as there are no recommended guidelines regarding the effective dosage. However, it has been proven that just adding tea to your daily liquid intake can improve your blood pressure. If you would like to sweeten your tea, then add a little honey or sugar. However, be sure not to add too much, as high sugar levels are linked to elevated blood pressure levels in some people. 

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Other Beverages That Can Lower Your Blood Pressure

If you don’t feel like only drinking green tea throughout the day, you can spice things up by substituting it with another healthy beverage. These include a green tea and fruit smoothie in the morning, and a matcha green tea latte or apple cider vinegar tonic throughout the day. These are not your only choices though, as there are several more drinks that help lower your blood pressure. These include skim milk, tomato juice, beet juice, pomegranate juice, and grapefruit juice. Drinking water is a slightly more complicated matter, as drinking water may be fine for healthy people, yet may increase blood pressure in older people with certain neurological conditions. [5] 

The Bottom Line

When it comes to maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, what you put in your body really does make a difference. Drinking green tea has been shown to have a significant effect on blood pressure and should be consumed daily to help keep the condition under control. However, what you eat matters too, so be sure to learn more about the DASH diet if you would like to improve your blood pressure. 

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