High Blood Pressure – Can Italian Red Wine Help You Lower it?

Your blood pressure is always one of those things that your doctor talks about.

They’ll tell you that you need to get a handle on it. If it goes too high, you’re opening yourself up to all sorts of potential issues.

Anybody reading this can tell you that high blood pressure is a bad thing.

But why is that? And what can you do about it if your blood pressure starts edging up?

That’s what we’re going to cover in this article.

Bear with us. We know this doesn’t seem like it has a lot to do with Italian wine. But we promise that there’s a little revelation at the end that will show you just what role a good glass of wine may play in all of this.

What is Blood Pressure?

Your blood pressure is all about how much force your blood exerts on your arteries as it flows through your body.

When that pressure starts to get too high, you’re creating constant wear and tear for your arteries.

Think of your arteries like a hose pipe. If you put the pipe at full power all of the time, the sheer force of the water will eventually cause a split. But if you keep it lower, the hose will last a lot longer.

It’s the same for your arteries.

Remember that they’re pumping blood around your body all day, every day. They never stop, which means they’re under constant pressure.

You’re creating more wear and tear when your blood impacts against those artery wars harder than it should.

So What Causes it?

This is where it gets a little bit tricky.

There’s no definite cause of high blood pressure.

Some people just have a genetic predisposition towards it. Even if they work hard to control their diets, they’re likely going to struggle with it at some point.

However, there are some factors that have links to the condition.

These include the following:

• Blood pressure has a tendency to go up as you age. This is a natural thing as your blood vessels become less flexible with age. This means that blood has a harder time flowing through them, which creates even more wear and tear.
• Being overweight also makes it more likely that you’ll have high blood pressure. Your heart has to work that much harder to keep your blood flowing around your body.
• Ethnic background may play a part in developing the conditions. Studies show that Africans and other people who have darker skin complexions tend to suffer from high blood pressure at a higher than expected rate.
• Men tend to suffer from the condition more than women. However, the risk factor goes up for women as they age. The key difference here is that men are more likely to develop high blood pressure before they hit 55.
• Bad habits, such as smoking, have a tendency to cause issues. This is because such habits cause your blood vessels to narrow. Worse yet, smoking also lowers the oxygen content of your blood. This means that your heart has to beat even faster to keep oxygen going to different parts of your body.

There are other potential issues, such as your diet, levels of stress, and your cholesterol intake.

Usually, you can’t narrow down the cause of high blood pressure to one of these issues alone. Typically, a combination of several factors will increase the risk of having the condition.

What Are the Symptoms?

There are several symptoms that may indicate that you have a high blood pressure issue.

These include the following:

• Persistent headaches
• Dizziness
• You struggle to catch your breath
• You’re getting fevers or stomach pains
• You experience chest pains or heart palpitations
• Nosebleeds

These are all fairly common symptoms that you can associate with other conditions. However, it’s still worth taking a trip to the doctor if you experience any of them. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, you may unveil another issue that needs attention.

And you definitely need to get yourself checked if you experience several of these symptoms at the same time.

The Risks of High Blood Pressure

The real issues related to high blood pressure don’t became apparent immediately.

It’s a condition that chips away at your health until you reach a point where you’re at major risk of other health issues.

For example, the constant wear and tear of high blood pressure places you at risk of suffering from a stroke. That’s because the condition makes it easier for blood clots to form in your vessels, especially if you engage in habits that narrow the vessels.

Of course, high blood pressure also causes damage to your heart. You’re forcing it to work harder than it should, which creates even more wear and tear.

So Where Does Italian Red Wine Come Into This?

This is where Italian red wine comes in.

Now, when consumed to excess, any form of alcohol can be a contributing factor to high blood pressure.

However, when you drink in moderation, you actually experience some benefits.

According to the NHS, a single glass of red one per day helps to relax your blood vessels. This increases their flexibility, which makes it easier for blood to flow through them. This, in turn, pulls down your blood pressure and reduces the wear and tear on your vessels.

The key here lies in moderation.

The NHS says that a second glass of wine may actually reverse the positive effects that the first glass had. So you have to be very careful if you’re hoping to use Italian red wine to manage your blood pressure.

The Key Takeaway

Does this mean you should never drink more than a glass of red wine per day?

No, of course not. As long as you’re not drinking to excess constantly, you should be okay. Try to stick to one glass per day on most days, with the occasional couple of extra glasses for special occasions.

That should help you to enjoy the benefits without putting yourself at risk. Of course, you also have to consider all of the other factors we’ve mentioned in this article.