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Risk of hypertension in women increased by drinking cola

Source: WebMD
Cola Drinks May Boost Blood Pressure

A 12 year US government-funded study into the effects of caffeine on blood pressure in women was released in the Journal of American Medical Association this week. Researchers were surprised by the findings that revealed drinking coffee had no long term effect on blood pressure, however drinking cola drinks increased the risk of hypertension substantially.

Dr. Winkelmayer from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, lead the study of 155,594 female nurses who were questioned about their diet and health over the 12 year period. Women who drank one caffeinated cola drink each day were 7% to 12% more likely to have high blood pressure compared to non cola drinkers.

The risk increases with the quantity of cola drunk. Those women who consumed 4 or more cans of cola a day had a 28% to 44% increased risk of blood pressure, compared to those women who drank none. The findings were consistent across all age groups of women and for women drinking diet or regular cola's.

Researchers agree that more research needs to be done to determine a reason, however the study does show a strong link between cola drink consumption and high blood pressure in women.

Why cola? Cola drinks contain more than just caffeine and sugar. They also have sodium, caramel coloring and corn syrup that may cause high blood pressure when consumed in large quantities.

So the good news is that coffee may not be causing long term increases in blood pressure - the bad news is it may be the cola!

Related

• Coffee can be good for your health
• Some coffee drinkers develop tolerance for caffeine
• Cut salt to 6 grams a day to reduce blood pressure

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