While having a glass of wine or beer may help you feel relaxed, doing so regularly may stress your heart.
Experts have known for a while that heavy drinking—eight drinks per week for women and 15 for men—is linked with an increased risk of hypertension. Newer research shows that even moderate drinking, as little as one drink per day, can also increase that risk.
Interestingly, having an alcoholic beverage can lower blood pressure—at first. For about 12 hours after you drink, alcohol relaxes the blood vessels. That makes your blood pressure decrease. Once your liver begins to process the alcohol, however, the blood vessels start to constrict, which sends blood pressure higher.
Over the long run, drinking can lead to an increased risk of hypertension or make it harder to manage high blood pressure. Alcoholic beverages also add unnecessary calories to your diet, which can lead to weight gain—itself a risk factor for hypertension.
What counts as an alcoholic beverage? One 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor. There has been some research showing that the polyphenol compounds in red wine can have a positive impact on cholesterol levels. This, however, does not cancel out the fact that any alcoholic beverage can increase blood pressure. Moreover, polyphenols can also be found in foods like dark chocolate, berries and olive oil.
If you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension or are at risk for hypertension, not drinking is probably your best bet. Even cutting back on the number of drinks you have each week can impact your blood pressure readings.