What Tea Is Good for People Who Have High Blood Pressure?
Taking tea may be a grand affair involving fine china, tea sandwiches and proper etiquette, or it can be as simple as adding a teabag to a mug of boiling water. However you take your tea, understand that many varieties can offer benefits if your blood pressure is too high.
Taking tea may be a grand affair involving fine china, tea sandwiches and proper etiquette, or it can be as simple as adding a teabag to a mug of boiling water. However you take your tea, understand that many varieties can offer benefits if your blood pressure is too high. Relax with a cup of tea, and allow it to decrease your risk of hypertension.
Green Tea
The compounds in green tea are credited with many disease-fighting abilities, one of which is its influence on fighting hypertension. A study published in the October 2008 issue of "Inflammopharmacology" indicates that the polyphenols in this type of tea help combat high blood pressure. Opt for decaffeinated versions, though, as the caffeine in green tea may interfere with some blood pressure medications and trigger a spike in your blood pressure.
Hibiscus Tea
A tea brewed from hibiscus flower petals may positively influence your blood pressure. Research featured in the February 2010 edition of "The Journal of Nutrition" suggests that this tea provides antioxidant benefits and can decrease the blood pressure in adults who are prehypertensive. This finding also applies to adults who suffer from mild hypertension. Note that this tea may cause high blood pressure if taken with diuretics.
Nettle Tea
Stinging nettles are known to lower your blood pressure, so add nettle tea to your diet if you suffer from hypertension. It may influence the strength of blood pressure medications, however, so consult your physician or natural medicine practitioner for advice on the correct amount of tea to consume. Nettle tea may also interfere with some medications for diabetes and blood thinning.
Java Tea
Java tea is made from a medicinal herb native to southeast Asia that is commonly used to boost urinary flow if you have a urinary tract infection, but it may also help relieve high blood pressure. This tea provides antioxidants that can reduce blood pressure as well as compounds that directly influence the pressure of blood moving through your blood vessels. If you opt to make this tea from plants you grow yourself, take care preparing it, because some parts of the plant are poisonous.