If you have high blood pressure, you may be curious about lifestyle changes that can help lower your blood pressure. A healthy diet and regular exercise can have a big impact on your cardiovascular health. But researchers have also reviewed drinks that can help lower the risk for cardiovascular disease by lowering your blood pressure.
Key takeaways:
- Researchers have looked into how different drinks can help lower blood pressure. And some drinks — like beet juice — lower blood pressure quickly.
- Grapefruit juice may help lower blood pressure. But it can also cause a dangerous interaction with certain blood pressure medications.
- There are also some drinks to avoid if you have high blood pressure — like alcohol and energy drinks.
Early research shows that certain drinks may be helpful. But current data has only looked at a small number of people. So, it’s hard to know if the findings apply to everyone just yet.
Let’s take a closer look at what the science says about nine drinks that may help lower blood pressure fast.
1. Skim milk
Skim milk contains potassium, calcium, and magnesium — minerals that are known to help decrease blood pressure. Some studies have shown that drinking 1 to 2 glasses of skim milk a day can help decrease blood pressure over time. This is especially the case in people who are 55 years old or older. And the change can happen in as little as 4 weeks.
2. Tomato juice
Tomatoes contain antioxidants like lycopene, which have been shown to have several different health benefits. One scientific review found that tomato juice decreased systolic blood pressure (the top number). Researchers found that when people 55 years old and older drank 200 mL a day (a little less than 1 cup), they saw an improvement in systolic blood pressure over a year.
3. Beet juice
Beet juice contains nitrate, which can improve blood flow in the body. And a clinical trial showed that when someone drank a little more than 2 cups of beet juice once a day, their blood pressure decreased.
Beet juice can help lower blood pressure almost immediately: The drop can happen as soon as 30 minutes after drinking. And this effect can last almost 24 hours.
Daily consumption may have a longer-lasting effect on lowering blood pressure, but research is ongoing.
4. Hibiscus tea
Hibiscus tea contains the antioxidant anthocyanin. Limited research shows that drinking 2 cups of hibiscus tea every day for at least 2 weeks can help decrease blood pressure. Most studies examine the effects after 4 weeks. So, it’s difficult to say how quickly hibiscus tea can work.
Some research suggests it can take effect in 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, other studies saw no effect up to 4 hours after drinking it. This might be due to the variation in the amount of anthocyanins in each cup.
5. Pomegranate juice
Like hibiscus, pomegranate juice also contains anthocyanins. And it may also interact with an enzyme that plays an important role in regulating blood pressure.
Small studies showed that people who drank pomegranate juice daily for at least 2 weeks lowered their blood pressure. It’s unclear exactly how much juice is needed for the blood pressure lowering effect. But some research was based on at least 8 oz. While the data is mixed, many researchers agree that pomegranate juice can help decrease blood pressure.
6. Grapefruit juice
Does grapefruit lower blood pressure? Yes, it can. Grapefruit juice can be a great after-meal or morning drink for some people with high blood pressure. Grapefruit contains potassium, lycopene, fiber, and other natural plant nutrients that help lower blood pressure. But grapefruit juice has mostly been studied in combination with other juice or medications that lower blood pressure.
If you take medication, talk to your primary care provider before drinking grapefruit juice. It can interact with certain medications — including those that treat high blood pressure.
7. Green tea
Green tea has been enjoyed for centuries. It has also been used for medicinal purposes.
One recent study looked at green tea’s effect on blood pressure. It found that drinking green tea daily lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (the top and bottom numbers). This study only looked at healthy people, though, who didn’t have high blood pressure.
Other studies on green tea have been promising in those who have hypertension (high blood pressure). But more research is needed to figure out just how helpful drinking green tea can be in people with high blood pressure.
8. Black tea
Teas are the second most common drink, after water, for humans. Black tea differs from green tea in that the tea leaves have been fermented. Green tea uses fresh, dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.
Black tea, like green tea, has been shown to reduce blood pressure. It’s unclear why tea might lower blood pressure. But the active chemicals in tea might do one of the following:
- Relax muscles in the blood vessels
- Reduce hormones that raise blood pressure
- Increase nitric oxide (which opens blood vessels)
9. Cardamom tea
Cardamom is derived from a fruit, and it’s usually used as a spice. But cardamom is also used as a tea in many cultures. If you do a quick internet search, you’ll find many articles touting the effect of cardamom tea to lower blood pressure. One small study tested that theory and found that cardamom tea does reduce blood pressure overall. It also improved blood clots in the body.
Does drinking water lower blood pressure?
The effect of drinking water on blood pressure is complicated. Water has been shown to increase sympathetic nervous system activity (think “fight or flight” response) in older adults and people with certain neurological conditions. This means that drinking water could cause a significant increase in blood pressure in these groups.
But a study in Japan of people with no underlying conditions found very different results. In the study, people were asked to drink a glass of water when they got up in the morning and before bed. They found people who drank this extra water every day had lower blood pressure than before the study started.
Another study looked at how hydration affects your blood pressure. They found that people with low body-water levels had a harder time regulating their blood pressure than people with normal body-water levels.
Since it’s still unclear if water helps to lower blood pressure, you should talk to a healthcare professional before increasing your water intake. Drinking too much water can cause complications. This is especially true if you’re someone with:
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Cardiovascular disease
- Advanced age
Is it OK to drink grapefruit juice if you take blood pressure medication?
If you take certain blood pressure medication, you may need to avoid drinking grapefruit juice. This is because grapefruit juice causes the body to absorb too much of the medication.
This can cause your blood pressure to drop lower than it should. And low blood pressure can be just as dangerous as high blood pressure. When this happens, blood might not reach vital organs like your brain or your heart. And this can lead to problems like a heart attack and stroke.
Grapefruit juice affects certain blood pressure medications, like calcium channel blockers. The calcium channel blockers that grapefruit juice is most likely to affect include:
- Nicardipine (Cardene)
- Felodipine (Plendil)
- Nimodipine (Nymalize)
The general recommendation is to wait 2 to 3 days after drinking grapefruit juice before starting one of these medications.
Other calcium channel blockers may interact with grapefruit juice but lead to a less serious reaction. Examples include:
- Procardia
- Verapamil (Calan)
- Amlodipine (Norvasc)
If you’re taking medication of any kind, it’s a good idea to talk to your prescriber before you change your diet. They can help you avoid any interactions or unwanted complications and change your medications as needed.
Which drinks should you avoid with high blood pressure?
There are also some drinks that can raise blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, it’s best to avoid or limit your consumption of:
Other lifestyle recommendations to help lower blood pressure
Paying attention to what you drink isn’t the only way to help lower blood pressure. Other lifestyle and dietary changes can make a difference too. You can try the following:
- Follow the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
- Follow the Mediterranean diet.
- Decrease your salt intake.
- Decrease your sugar intake.
- Cut back on red meat.
- Look for foods that are low in total and saturated fat.
- Lower your daily stress.
- Avoid or quit smoking.
The bottom line
Your daily habits can have a big impact on your blood pressure — and that includes what you drink. Beverages like skim milk, tomato juice, and beet juice may help decrease blood pressure. But it’s always important to talk to a healthcare professional first.
Don’t feel discouraged if you need medication to help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. Your provider can help you develop the best treatment plan for you to keep your blood pressure in check.
By Cherilyn Davis, MD, a board-certified pediatrician in New York City. She has held local and national roles at the American Medical Women’s Association including board member of the physician division and physician chair of social media.
