Coffee is one of the most popular drinks worldwide, with many enjoying a nice brew every morning. Sometimes, people even have three or more cups daily. Not everyone agrees whether this widely-loved drink is healthy or not. Several studies suggest that coffee might be good for you, reducing your risk of various health complications like cancer and type 2 diabetes.
A Japanese study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) decided to dive deeper into how coffee may affect cardiovascular mortality in patients with high blood pressure. The research team also looked at how green tea might affect those same people. The results suggested that drinking too much coffee can be deadly for patients with severe hypertension
Just how bad is it? If you have hypertension and you don’t want to drop dead, should you stop drinking coffee immediately?
How Does Coffee Affect Severe Hypertension Patients?
Hypertension, better known as high blood pressure, is a relatively common and long-term condition that affects your blood vessels and organs. The CDC’s latest shocking figures reveal that up to fifty percent of US adults have high blood pressure. Unfortunately, most of those don’t have their blood pressure under control, and some don’t even know they have hypertension.
People with hypertension are more likely to develop other serious health problems like heart disease or stroke. However, several studies found that drinking a cup of coffee a day can lower your risk of developing heart-related diseases. Shouldn’t people with hypertension be drinking lots of coffee, then?
Maybe not.
Researchers who aimed to discover how coffee affects people with hypertension followed 18,609 participants between the ages of 40 and 79. The study divided each participant into one of four categories — normal blood pressure, high-normal blood pressure, grade 1 hypertension, and grade 2 to 3 hypertension. The study documented 842 cardiovascular deaths during nearly 19 years.
According to the results, drinking only one cup of coffee per day did not affect any of the groups. However, once participants started consuming two cups, the researchers made an intriguing revelation. Although drinking two cups of coffee still did nothing to participants with normal blood pressure and grade one hypertension, it did affect people with severe hypertension.
The study found that drinking two cups of coffee can do as much as double your risk of cardiovascular-related death. Specifically, patients with a blood pressure of 160/100 or higher entered the danger zone.
What About Green Tea?
Green tea, which comes from Camellia sinensis leaves, is famous for its numerous health benefits. This tea contains many antioxidants and vitamins, which are great for your health. A few health benefits of drinking green tea are boosting your brain function, a lower risk of certain cancers and dementia, and weight loss. Surprisingly, green tea is also said to lower your risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Unlike coffee, green tea didn’t negatively impact people in any of the four groups of the study. So, if they both contain caffeine, what’s the difference between these two drinks?
The reason green tea doesn’t put people with high blood pressure at increased risk could be precisely the nutrients found in the calming beverage. Polyphenols are plant compounds and micronutrients which offer a wide array of benefits. According to the researchers, the health benefits of green tea might be why coffee was linked with an increased cardiovascular disease mortality risk, but green tea wasn’t. They also noted that this is only an observation and may not be the whole story.
One thing is clear — green tea is a beneficial drink with no adverse effect on hypertension patients.
Oh Sh*t, Do I Need to Quit Coffee?
Coffee has become integral to many people’s mornings, and it can be tough to let go of that. If you’re an avid coffee lover with hypertension, you might be freaking out. Do I need to quit coffee?
No, you don’t need to quit coffee. However, if you have severe hypertension, it’s likely a good idea to reduce the amount of coffee you drink.
According to the study, just a cup of coffee every day doesn’t do any harm. When you start drinking more than one, you’ll start running into problems. Though this study might not be completely entirely, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Try limiting your coffee intake to one cup a day; if you’re still low on energy, you might want to try alternate drinks and snacks. Things like fruit and veggie smoothies, matcha, and, yup, you’ve guessed it, green tea are all great alternatives.
Green Tea Good, Coffee Bad
When we get to the bottom of it, this study uncovers that drinking coffee is potentially deadly for people with severe hypertension. At the same time, green tea may be a good alternative. Not only is green tea okay for you if you have high blood pressure, but it’s also a healthy drink. Coffee enthusiasts may find green tea incredibly dull. Still, you may want to give it a shot if you suffer from severe hypertension.