What to Drink to Lower Your Blood Pressure

While you'll want to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to lower your blood pressure, beverages also matter. Here's what you should know.

Diet is a big part of lowering blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor might have already suggested adding more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol to your meals.

What you choose to drink with those foods is also important. While no beverage can replace blood pressure-lowering medication, a few drinks are worth incorporating into your diet for their overall cardiovascular benefits.

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Tomato juice

Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a natural pigment that gives these fruits their rich red color and healthful properties. Lycopene has several positive effects on your cardiovascular system, including its ability to bring down inflammation and protect arteries from damage.

A few studies have noted blood pressure reductions in people who took lycopene supplements. When you buy tomato juice, stick to the low-sodium or no-salt-added varieties. Excess sodium could counteract the benefits of tomatoes on your blood pressure.

Hibiscus tea

This herbal tea made from the tropical plant Hibiscus sabdariffa is a source of natural plant compounds with cardiovascular benefits. An analysis of five randomized controlled trials showed that hibiscus tea significantly lowered both systolic (the top number) and diastolic (the bottom number) blood pressure.

Hot cocoa

Back in 1944, researchers working in the San Blas Islands of Panama discovered that Kuna Indians who drank three to four cups of cocoa a day had lower blood pressure than those who didn't drink cocoa daily. Evidence of cocoa's benefits on blood pressure continues to mount. A review of 20 studies showed that 50 grams of cocoa a day lowered blood pressure by 2 to 3 millimeters of mercury, on average, in people with high blood pressure.

It's worth noting that hot cocoa can be high in sugar. Excess sugar contributes to weight gain, which is hard on your heart and blood vessels. Making your hot cocoa with low-fat milk or almond milk and using a low-sugar or sugar-free cocoa powder makes for a healthier version of this comfort drink.

Yogurt

A study in the Journal of Hypertension found that people who consumed five or more servings of yogurt each week had a 16 percent lower risk of high blood pressure. Combining yogurt with a blood pressure-lowering DASH diet lowered the risk by 30 percent. The study offered evidence that other low-fat dairy foods also have positive effects on blood pressure.

Beetroot juice

The sweet and earthy flavor of this juice, which is pressed from the red root vegetable of the same name, is just one reason to try beetroot juice. It's also a good source of nitrate and other natural plant chemicals, and research shows it has the potential to lower blood pressure.

Pomegranate juice

This other red juice is high in antioxidants and fiber, and it might exert protective effects on blood vessels. An analysis of eight randomized controlled trials showed significant reductions in blood pressure among people who drank pomegranate juice.

What you can do

Along with adding more of the beverages listed above, consider cutting back on certain drinks, which have been linked to higher blood pressure.

• Coffee. The caffeine in your morning cup causes a temporary boost in blood pressure. Although that jolt is generally short-lived, you may want to stick to decaf or avoid coffee entirely if you already have high blood pressure.
• Soda. These sugary beverages land on most dietitians' "do not drink" list, and for good reason. Soda offers zero nutrition, and it can increase the risks of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Just one extra soda per day over a 10-year period increased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by two points, according to a study in Nutrition Journal. If you want to drink an occasional soda, choose diet, which didn't have the same effect on blood pressure in the study. Be aware, however, that drinking diet soda every day can contribute to other health problems
• Alcohol. You might have heard about the supposed heart benefits of red wine. While the jury is still out on that claim, experts do know that drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends limiting alcoholic drinks to no more than one glass a day for women, two glasses daily for men.

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