Study Can’t Prove Coffee – Hypertension Link

A recent study in Finland was designed to determine, among other things, if drinking coffee caused high blood pressure. Unfortunately, even though the study revealed a lot of information, it was imperfect in that it failed to account for and isolate other variables that have been proven to affect blood pressure.

For example, coffee drinkers, as a rule, smoke cigarettes more than non smokers. Smoking tends to harden the blood arteries and constrict blood flow. The heart has to pump harder to force the blood through the narrow arteries and blood pressure rises as a result. In addition, studies have also demonstrated that discontinuing tobacco smoking will likely lead to a decrease in blood pressure. The study did not control for smoking.

Other lifestyle factors, that were not controlled for, come into the mix as well. Factors such as eating habits, gender, weight, exercise, and salt sensitivity and intake. Diet, as we know, has a great impact on whether a person develops hypertension. Is a person who drinks coffee more likely to also have bad eating habits which can lead to high blood pressure?

We know that exercise is extremely beneficial to the heart and arterial system. Could test results be attributed to the fact that a coffee drinker is more likely to be sedentary than a non coffee drinker?

For more than a few decades, it seems like we’re constantly being told that some food or other that we have become used to eating is somehow harmful to us. First we were told to eat fish, only later to be told that if we eat fish we risk ingesting too much mercury. A vegetarian diet is good for health, but are we willing to risk bone loss? Fruits have loads of healthy antioxidants, but will the sugar content in them rot our teeth?

However, hidden within the study was one excellent piece of health news. It appears as if coffee drinking actually lowers the risk of getting type 2 diabetes. At this point, we’ll take all the good news we can get.

Melissa Chow is a freelance writer who pens articles for her website on topics such as how to lower high blood pressure, herbs that lower blood pressure, and little known natural cures for high blood pressure. Please visit her site for more details.