In recent years, the proportion of people suffering from high blood pressure has been rising, which is related to the westernization of diet and the increase in the number of people eating out. In addition, modern people are usually under a lot of pressure. After get off work, they often get together with friends to drink and talk about life events. However, can you still drink alcohol if you have high blood pressure? Let this article answer your questions one by one and provide you with some suggestions on drinking!

Can you drink alcohol if you have high blood pressure?

Moderate drinking can indeed lower blood pressure. Even so, everyone is not encouraged to drink alcohol. After all, drinking more than 3 drinks a day means drinking too much, which will affect the heart muscle cells in the body and cause blood pressure to rise instantly. In severe cases, it may even cause heart failure. Long-term excessive drinking can cause high blood pressure, and if patients with high blood pressure drink alcohol after taking blood pressure-lowering drugs, the drugs may lose their effectiveness.

In addition, alcohol is not low in calories. For example, a 330ml can of beer has about 161 calories, which is equivalent to half a bowl of rice. Drinking too much will not only make people gain weight, but may even increase the risk of hypertension. blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease risks.

Before deciding to drink this drink, patients should evaluate all risk factors. For example, many people have a family history of heart disease or liver disease. Such people should avoid drinking alcohol as it can increase the risk of serious complications. People who are addicted to alcohol should control their daily alcohol intake to avoid soaring blood pressure.

However, patients with high blood pressure should also try to avoid drinking alcohol. They must also adopt a low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt and high-fiber diet, exercise regularly (at least 30 minutes a day), and control blood pressure within 120/80mmHg. Prevent cardiovascular disease.

Can you drink red wine if you have high blood pressure?

Some studies have shown that polyphenols (Polyphenols) contained in red wine can increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), which is beneficial to health and can reduce the incidence of blood clots and blood vessel pressure. A glass of red wine will not increase blood pressure. , but the alcohol in red wine is not so friendly. Some experts and scholars believe that alcohol will actually reduce the antioxidant effect of red wine and is not good for heart health.

Practical drinking advice

If you are an alcoholic and want to quit drinking, please gradually reduce your intake, because if you stop drinking suddenly, it will increase the risk of high blood pressure. If you already suffer from high blood pressure, please stop drinking or control your intake of alcoholic beverages. It is recommended that if you are under the age of 65, you should not drink more than 2 drinks a day.

If you have to drink, please try to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink to reduce the risk of disease. According to information provided by the National Health Service of the Ministry of Health and Welfare:

It is recommended that men should not drink more than 2 cans of 330ml beer per day (about 20g of pure alcohol)
For women, no more than 1 can of beer (about 10g of pure alcohol)
If you are a woman preparing to become pregnant, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, for the health of your baby, please avoid drinking alcohol.

Although the general public does not need to abstain from alcohol, they should still drink moderately in order to prevent high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke. After all, not every hobby in life is good for health. , as long as you control the portion well, you can live a happy and healthy life.

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