Green tea against blood pressure. The effect of green tea on blood pressure

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Cultivation of tea as a cultivated plant began in China in the 4th century AD. Much later, black tea became known in Europe, and from the end of the 20th century, green tea began to be consumed in the West and in our country. Today, on the shelves of stores you can find a huge number of different varieties of raw materials, from which a fragrant drink is brewed, which helps to improve well-being and cleanse the body. However, many are still interested in the question of whether green tea can be used against blood pressure.

A bit of history

As already mentioned, tea has been cultivated in China since ancient times. Moreover, initially it was used as a medicine and was available only to the highest nobility and clergy. It is not known whether Chinese healers then used green tea against blood pressure, but manuscripts have survived that contain recipes for ointments for rheumatism based on the leaves of this plant. In addition, waterinfusions of dried leaves were considered the best medicine for eye diseases.

Tea came to Europe thanks to Dutch and English merchants and at first was considered a medicine that could maintain vitality. Since the aristocrats, tired of nightly balls and drinking parties, often resorted to this remedy to get in shape, for example, to attend meetings of Parliament, drinking this drink became part of the daily routine. By the way, tea came to Russia even earlier than to England. In particular, it is known that in 1567 its dried leaves were brought from China to Moscow by Cossack chieftains Petrov and Yalyshev.

What is the difference between black tea and green tea

Remember the joke about the debate about whether olives and black olives can grow on the same tree or not? So, it turns out that the raw materials for black and green tea are grown on the same bush. Another thing is that the leaves are processed differently to obtain raw materials for brewing a particular drink. In particular, for green tea they are subjected to enzymatic oxidation by no more than 12 percent, and for black - by 80. At the same time, experts say that in the second case, a significant part of the useful substances contained in the raw material is lost.

What properties does green tea have

It is known that the leaves of this plant are a real storehouse of useful substances. So, they contain in large doses some rare vitamins and useful trace elements: fluorine, zinc, copper,iodine, manganese, calcium and phosphorus. In addition, green tea contains a lot of vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant that boosts immunity and helps the body fight viruses and infections. It also contains a significant amount of vitamin P (an order of magnitude more than in black), which is known for its ability to have a beneficial effect on the walls of blood vessels. That is why there is an opinion that green tea affects blood pressure. Whether this is so will be discussed in more detail in the future, but the ability of this drink to maintain normal blood sugar levels has been proven by clinical trials. As already mentioned, special antioxidant substances are also present in tea leaves, so regular consumption of a drink prepared by brewing them helps to preserve the beauty and youth of the skin, and also slows down the aging process of the body as a whole.

Low blood pressure symptoms

Today, doctors are trying to show an individual approach to patients. This also applies to blood pressure. In particular, the term “low pressure”, or hypotension, is now used to denote a person’s condition, accompanied by a drop in blood pressure below the levels that are observed in him in his usual state. If you still want specifics, then the average patient's norm is at least 100/60 mm. rt. Art. However, some people may feel great even with a value of this indicator of 90/60 mm. rt. Art. and even lower. Thus, concern should not only be caused by themselvesthe numbers that the tonometer fixes, but also the presence of such accompanying symptoms as:

• lethargy, general weakness, increased fatigue;
• headaches localized in the back of the head;
• feeling short of breath;
• shortness of breath, excessive sweating;
• dizziness that occurs when trying to get up or sit down from a lying position;
• nausea and vomiting.

Why a person may have hypotension

Before discussing how green tea and low blood pressure are connected, you should understand the reasons for this phenomenon. So, the first group of such patients inherit it from their parents, mainly from mothers. It is clear that in this case, the effect of green tea on pressure can hardly be so strong as to radically change the situation for the better. As for the rest, hypotension usually affects those who have been subjected to prolonged mental or psycho-emotional stress for quite a long time. By the way, it is this category of people who most often wants to know what is the effect of green tea on blood pressure.

Among the causes of hypotension can also be called low physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle. The fact is that in the latter case, there is a deterioration in the condition of the heart and a decrease in lung ventilation, as well as a violation of mineral metabolism. Oddly enough, low blood pressure is sometimes observed in athletes whose body goes into “economical mode” in order to withstand systematic physical exertion.

Symptoms of high blood pressure and the consequences of this phenomenon for human he alth

If hypotension leads to a deterioration in the patient's well-being, then hypertension in especially pronounced forms poses a great danger to their lives. At an early stage, both diseases occur with almost the same symptoms, such as fatigue, irritability, frequent headaches and dizziness, but later in people with high blood pressure, the heart can increase in size, and dilations and aneurysms appear in the vessels.

Why a person may have hypertension

Among the most common reasons why a person may develop hypertension are the following: violations of vascular tone and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, hormonal disruptions, muscle dystrophy, diseases of the adrenal glands or kidneys, heart disease, inflammation and injury, problems with the spine and others. Obviously, when a patient has one or another of them, then green tea against blood pressure is unlikely to help. In addition, risk factors for developing hypertension include alcohol abuse, a sedentary lifestyle, destructive behavioral reactions, and poor nutrition.

Does green tea increase blood pressure, and is it worth using for hypotensive patients

To find out what effect this drink can have on the circulatory system and heart of a person, you should get acquainted with the results of serious scientific research. So, on the question of how the greentea and low blood pressure, scientists argue that drinking a decoction of tea leaves will not give any effect. The fact is that caffeine, which it contains, stimulates the work of the heart, and it increases the volume of pumped blood, but the same substance activates the vasomotor center in the brain. As a result, the vessels dilate, and there is no change in pressure.

Should I use green tea for blood pressure

Japanese scientists put forward the version that drinking green tea by he althy people can reduce the risk of myocardial infarction by 40 percent and reduces the likelihood of developing hypertension. Thus, on the question of how green tea and pressure are related, we can say that this drink is a good prophylactic to prevent problems with blood vessels. At the same time, skeptics argue that the data obtained are true only in relation to the inhabitants of the Japanese islands, who have an original food culture that is radically different from that adopted in most countries of the world. So whether green tea raises or lowers blood pressure when it comes to residents of other regions of the planet remains to be seen. In any case, there is not a single confirmed fact indicating that the regular use of this drink can worsen a person's well-being.

Summarizing all that has been said, it can be argued that on the issue of how green tea and pressure are connected, experts do not have a consensus,however, it has been proven to help lower bad cholesterol levels and strengthen blood vessels.