What You Need To Know About Alcohol and Blood Pressure

When it comes to the relationship between health and alcohol, the term ‘French Paradox’ gets thrown around often. In short, it refers to the theory that the French have lower chances of contracting heart disease than people from the United States and the United Kingdom – The evidence backing this theory is: Red wine consumption. 

With the popularity of this term, people might wonder whether the theory is true, and whether drinking red wine would reduce your chances of catching heart disease. Regrettably, this theory is false.

How Does Alcohol Consumption Affect Blood Pressure?

So, is alcohol good for the heart?

Consistent and excessive consumption of alcohol could be the tipping point for developing high blood pressure.

Having more than three drinks in one sitting or moderate drinking with one drink could raise your blood pressure levels. One effect of alcohol overconsumption is hypertension which consequently, damages renal and cardiac tissues by making them narrower, leading to an increase in health risks such as strokes and heart attacks.

Repeated binge drinking, especially when you are over the age of 35, is a risk factor for long-term high blood pressure.

To make matters worse, your body will try to manage high blood pressure by increasing your blood calcium levels and hormones, and this will narrow your blood vessels. When alcohol consumption is increased, increased amounts of calcium will clog the arterial and arteriolar smooth muscle cells.¹

As a result, the heart pumps harder because the blood flow in the blood vessels is blocked with calcium, thus worsening alcohol-induced hypertension.

What is a Standard Drink?

If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. Ladies should have no more than one standard drink a day, and gentlemen could indulge in one or two drinks in a day.

A standard drink contains 10g of pure alcohol and is equivalent to 2/3 can of beer (220ml), a glass of wine (100ml), or a nip (30ml) of spirits.

Levels of Drinking Alcohol

According to the United State’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)², there are three definitions of drinking levels.

• Moderate Drinking:
  • 2 drinks or less in a day for men
  • 1 drink or less in a day for women

This aligns with the Singapore’s Health Promotion Board’s recommended limit on alcohol consumption.

• Binge Drinking:
  • 5 drinks or more in two hours for men
  • 4 drinks or more in two hours for women
• Excessive Drinking:
  • Consuming more than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week for men
  • Consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks a week for women

Does Red Wine Lower Blood Pressure?

Red wine rose in popularity after studies suggested that it could reduce blood pressure levels because of the antioxidants in fermented grapes.

One example would be polyphenols, which are reducing agents that protect the body from pathologies such as cancer and inflammation. They are found in high amounts primarily in the skins of fermented grapes, showing their presence in wine.

Polyphenols also appear in various other food items such as vegetables and fruit and other foods containing antioxidants, which help the body to break down oxygen, and carry out daily tasks like respiration.

Other Risks of Drinking Too Much Alcohol

Alcohol’s negative effect on blood pressure

Alcohol has harmful effects on many body systems, with the most prevalent being the circulatory system; excessive drinking could lead to high blood pressure, heart muscle disease and atrial fibrillation, which in turn could result in blood clots, stroke and heart failure.

Gin, vodka, and whiskey have been found to pose the greatest risk of cardiovascular disease.

Excessive alcohol consumption could lead to the inflammation of the pancreas, also known as pancreatitis, causing other health conditions which affect systems such as the central nervous system and the digestive system.

Prolonged drinking also causes digestive tissues to be damaged. This means the intestines do not absorb nutrients properly (which results in malnutrition), causing diarrhoea and indigestion.

In the long run, alcoholic drinks, which are abundant in calories, contribute to a high risk of obesity and extreme triglyceride levels in the blood. Young adults who drink alcohol are hence at a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke than their peers who do not.

Low levels of alcohol consumption are associated with a slight increase in breast cancer and other risk factors, with the most consistent measure being cumulative alcohol intake throughout adult life.

Alcohol intake both early and later in adult life has been associated with the risk of hypertension.

How much can alcohol raise blood pressure?

When four or more drinks of more than 30g of alcohol are ingested, the blood pressure is increased for both men and women.

It is found that people who drink between six to eight glasses of alcohol per day have 9.1 mmHg higher systolic blood pressure and 5.6 mmHg higher diastolic blood pressure values than individuals who do not drink.

Does quitting alcohol lower BP?

It has been proven by several studies that discontinuing alcohol consumption does reduce high blood pressure. It has been confirmed that after at least 3-4 weeks of alcohol withdrawal and abstinence, your high blood pressure will fall. However, it is a process that takes time; it does not happen immediately.

Health Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

Besides having a healthier heart, quitting alcohol could ensure a healthier liver. Clearing toxins in alcohol takes a toll on the liver. Hence, breaking free of drinking patterns would give your liver less work to do, allowing it to regenerate and repair itself.

Consuming less alcohol could also lead to a better sleep pattern. Sure, alcohol might be a good sedative, but it could lead to you waking up multiple times in the middle of the night. Drinking alcohol in excess might also cause excessive exhaustion and insomnia. Hence, drinking less would assure you of healthy, consistent sleep.

Finally, the advantage of quitting alcohol is weight loss! A beer contains 150 calories while a glass of wine contains 120 calories. Reducing the consumption of alcoholic drinks could even lead to you losing the calories that you usually gain from drinking.

Conclusion

All in all, the theories of the cardiovascular benefits surrounding the French alcohol-blood pressure Paradox are mostly false. Instead, we should remember that alcohol is always best consumed in moderation (up to two drinks a day for men, one for women). Most importantly, adhering to a healthy lifestyle will help us to achieve the other cardiovascular health metrics that help lower one’s chance of getting cardiovascular diseases. For those with a family history of high blood pressure, it is even more crucial to manage your alcohol consumption to prevent the affliction of hypertension.

References