Coffee’s Paradoxical Blood Pressure Effects
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Usually, when we talk about coffee (and/or caffeine) and cardiovascular health, the question is more about potential increase of health risks, often because of dipterpenes such as cafestol and kahweol, which can raise LDL cholesterol:
However, that’s not the whole story…
A matter of time
The crux here, when it comes to “is coffee good or bad for blood pressure?”, is the question of “in the moment, or generally?”
Because most of coffee’s interesting effects come from:
- its stimulant qualities in the moment
- its antioxidant qualities in general
The stimulant qualities are relevant in the moment because they will invariably increase adrenaline release, narrow blood vessels, and sometimes (depends on the person) raise heart rate, all of which can increase systolic pressure by about 3-15 mmHg and diastolic pressure by about 4-13 mmHg for several hours after consumption, especially in people who are caffeine-sensitive, infrequent users, or already hypertensive.
Note: caffeine levels peak 30–120 minutes after oral intake and/but caffeine’s half-life is 3–6 hours, hence the “for several hours” qualification.
You can read more about this, here: Timing of Blood Pressure Measurement Related to Caffeine Consumption
The antioxidant qualities are relevant in general because of how they improve endothelial function and nitric oxide bioavailability in the arterial vasculature.
You can read more about this, here: Antihypertensive effects and mechanisms of chlorogenic acids ← this paper is just about the chlorogenic acids, but the broad principles apply to most if not all of the many antioxidants found in coffee.
Indeed, in a recent meta-analysis of 13 studies:
❝We included a total of 13 longitudinal cohort studies, which involved a total of 64,650 incident cases of hypertension among 314,827 participants. In a random effects model meta-analysis of all the studies, coffee intake was not significantly associated with the risk of hypertension (relative risk [RR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90–1.05; I2 = 58.0%; n = 13). In the subgroup meta-analysis, coffee intake was associated with a decreased risk of hypertension in studies conducted in America (RR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87–0.98; I2 = 4.6%; n = 5) and in low-quality studies (RR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88–0.96; I2 = 0.0%; n = 7). In the remaining subgroup meta-analyses by amount of coffee intake, gender, type of coffee (decaffeinated vs. caffeinated), smoking, and years of follow-up, coffee intake was not significantly associated with the risk of hypertension.❞
Source: Coffee Intake and Risk of Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies
In other words: coffee can temporarily raise blood pressure, but moderate consumption is usually actively heart-healthy for most people; your overall cardiovascular will still depend on your baseline blood pressure, genetics, and other lifestyle factors, though.
What else does coffee do for us?
As a quick recap:
- 43% reduced risk of liver cancer for coffee-drinkers
- 53% reduced suicide risk for coffee-drinkers
- Coffee is the world’s biggest source of antioxidants
- 65% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s for coffee-drinkers
- 67% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes for coffee-drinkers*
*See also: The Other Thing Coffee Does To Your Blood Sugars
As well as other benefits, such as Coffee & Your Gut ← gut bacteria do not, by the way, have a preference about how you make your coffee or whether it is caffeinated or not
Aaaaaand, we recently shared new research on how coffee appears to be protective against frailty in older age. We say “appears to be”, because it was a longitudinal study and so technically we cannot say categorically that the link was causal, but the association is very strong, to the point that it’d take quite some explaining if it’s anything other than the coffee consumption that caused it.
You can read about that here: Coffee vs Frailty!
Not a fan of coffee?
If you’re not a fan of coffee, but also not a fan of high blood pressure, frailty, cancer, Alzheimer’s, suicide, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and more, fear not; there is a supplement option available:
Green Coffee Bean Extract: Coffee Benefits Without The Coffee?
Enjoy!
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The Modern Art and Science of Mobility – by Aurélien Broussal-Derval
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We’ve reviewed mobility books before, so what makes this one stand out?
We’ll be honest: the illustrations are lovely.
The science, the information, the exercises, the routines, the programs… All these things are excellent too, but these can be found in many a book.
What can’t usually be found is very beautiful (yet no less clear) watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches as anatomical illustrations.
There are photos too (also of high quality), but the artistry of the paintings and sketches is what makes the reader want to spend time perusing the books.
At least, that’s what this reviewer found! Because it’s all very well having access to a lot of information (and indeed, I read so much), but making it enjoyable increases the chances of rereading it much more often.
As for the rest of the content, the book’s information is divided in categories:
- Pain (what causes it, what it means, and how to manage it)
- Breathing (yes, a whole section devoted to this, and it is aligned heavily to posture also, as well as psychological state and the effect of stress on tension, inflammation, and more)
- Movement (this is mostly about kinds of movement and ranges of movement)
- Mobility (this is about aggregating movements as a fully mobile human)
So, each builds on from the previous because any pain needs addressing before anything else, breathing (and with it, posture) comes next, then we learn about movement, then we bring it all together for mobility.
Bottom line: this is a beautiful and comprehensive book that will make learning a joy
Click here to check out The Modern Art and Science of Mobility, and learn and thrive!
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Endure – by Alex Hutchinson
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Life is a marathon, not a sprint. For most of us, at least. But how do we pace ourselves to go the distance, without falling into complacency along the way?
According to our author Alex Hutchinson, there’s a lot more to it than goal-setting and strategy.
Hutchinson set out to write a running manual, and ended up writing a manual for life. To be clear, this is still mostly centered around the science of athletic endurance, but covers the psychological factors as much as the physical… and notes how the capacity to endure is the key trait that underlies great performance in every field.
The writing style is both personal and personable, and parts read like a memoir (Hutchinson himself being a runner and sports journalist), while others are scientific in nature.
As for the science, the kind of science examined runs the gamut from case studies to clinical studies. We examine not just the science of physical endurance, but the science of psychological endurance too. We learn about such things as:
- How perception of ease/difficulty plays its part
- What factors make a difference to pain tolerance
- How mental exhaustion affects physical performance
- What environmental factors increase or lessen our endurance
- …and many other elements that most people don’t consider
Bottom line: whether you want to run a marathon in under two hours, or just not quit after one minute forty seconds on the exercise bike, or to get through a full day’s activities while managing chronic pain, this book can help.
Click here to check out Endure, and find out what you are capable of when you move your limits!
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Eating disorders don’t just affect teen girls. The risk may go up around pregnancy and menopause too
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Eating disorders impact more than 1.1 million people in Australia, representing 4.5% of the population. These disorders include binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa.
Meanwhile, more than 4.1 million people (18.9%) are affected by body dissatisfaction, a major risk factor for some types of eating disorders.
But what image comes to mind first when you think of someone with an eating disorder or body image concerns? Is it a teenage girl? If so, you’re definitely not alone. This is often the image we see in popular media.
Eating disorders and body image concerns are most common in teenage girls, but their prevalence in adults, particularly in women, aged in their 30s, 40s and 50s, is actually close behind.
So what might be going on with girls and women in these particular age groups to create this heightened risk?
Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock The 3 ‘P’s
We can consider women’s risk periods for body image issues and eating disorders as the three “P”s: puberty (teenagers), pregnancy (30s) and perimenopause and menopause (40s, 50s).
A recent report from The Butterfly Foundation showed the three highest prevalence groups for body image concerns are teenage girls aged 15–17 (39.9%), women aged 55–64 (35.7%) and women aged 35–44 (32.6%).
We acknowledge there’s a wide age range for when girls and women will go through these phases of life. For example, a small proportion of women will experience premature menopause before 40, and not all women will become pregnant.
Variations in the way eating disorder symptoms are measured across different studies can make it difficult to draw direct comparisons, but here’s a snapshot of what the evidence tells us.
Puberty
In a review of studies looking at children aged six to adolescents aged 18, 30% of girls in this age group reported disordered eating, compared to 17% of boys. Rates of disordered eating were higher as children got older.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, eating disorder prevalence is estimated at 7.5%. Almost 70% of women are dissatisfied with their body weight and figure in the post-partum period.
Pregnancy can represent a major change in identity and self-perception. Pormezz/Shutterstock Perimenopause
It’s estimated more than 73% of midlife women aged 42–52 are unsatisfied with their body weight. However, only a portion of these women would have been going through the menopause transition at the time of this study.
The prevalence of eating disorders is around 3.5% in women over 40 and 1–2% in men at the same stage.
So what’s going on?
Although we’re not sure of the exact mechanisms underlying eating disorder and body dissatisfaction risk during the three “P”s, it’s likely a combination of factors are at play.
These life stages involve significant reproductive hormonal changes (for example, fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone) which can lead to increases in appetite or binge eating and changes in body composition. These changes can result in concerns about body weight and shape.
These stages can also represent a major change in identity and self-perception. A girl going through puberty may be concerned about turning into an “adult woman” and changes in attitudes of those around her, such as unwanted sexual attention.
Pregnancy obviously comes with significant body size and shape changes. Pregnant women may also feel their body is no longer their own.
While social pressures to be thin can stop during pregnancy, social expectations arguably return after birth, demanding women “bounce back” to their pre-pregnancy shape and size quickly.
Women going through menopause commonly express concerns about a loss of identity. In combination with changes in body composition and a perception their appearance is departing from youthful beauty ideals, this can intensify body dissatisfaction and increase the risk of eating disorders.
These periods of life can each also be incredibly stressful, both physically and psychologically.
For example, a girl going through puberty may be facing more adult responsibilities and stress at school. A pregnant woman could be taking care of a family while balancing work and other demands. A woman going through menopause could potentially be taking care of multiple generations (teenage children, ageing parents) while navigating the complexities of mid-life.
Research has shown interpersonal problems and stressors can increase the risk of eating disorders.
Body image concerns and eating disorders are not limited to teenage girls. transly/Unsplash, CC BY We need to do better
Unfortunately most of the policy and research attention currently seems to be focused on preventing and treating eating disorders in adolescents rather than adults. There also appears to be a lack of understanding among health professionals about these issues in older women.
In research I (Gemma) led with women who had experienced an eating disorder during menopause, participants expressed frustration with the lack of services that catered to people facing an eating disorder during this life stage. Participants also commonly said health professionals lacked education and training about eating disorders during menopause.
We need to increase awareness among health professionals and the general public about the fact eating disorders and body image concerns can affect women of any age – not just teenage girls. This will hopefully empower more women to seek help without stigma, and enable better support and treatment.
Jaycee Fuller from Bond University contributed to this article.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For concerns around eating disorders or body image visit the Butterfly Foundation website or call the national helpline on 1800 33 4673.
Gemma Sharp, Professor, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow & Senior Clinical Psychologist, The University of Queensland; Amy Burton, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Technology Sydney, and Megan Lee, Assistant Professor, Psychology, Bond University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Despite the Hoopla, Vaccines Should Be in Reach This Cough-and-Cold Season
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For people whose autumn agenda includes getting vaccinated against respiratory diseases — covid, flu, and, for some, RSV — this year may be surprisingly routine.
Following several confusing months this summer when federal officials announced and then retreated from changes to covid vaccine recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 6 announced updated fall immunization schedules that are not that different from last year’s. That should clear the way for most people who want shots this fall to get them, public health experts say.
“From a patient’s experience, there shouldn’t be anything different from what they’ve experienced in the past, except maybe they’ll get a little more information from the pharmacist,” said Hannah Fish, senior director of strategic initiatives at the National Community Pharmacists Association.
Here’s what you need to know:
Covid Vaccine
This fall, the covid vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months or older, with one caveat. People need to have a conversation with their provider first, a model called “shared clinical decision-making.” Providers can be doctors, pharmacists, or the health professionals giving the shots. For people younger than 65, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices emphasized that vaccination is generally more beneficial for those who are at higher risk for severe covid.
Although the shots are recommended for the same age range as last year, there are a few possible wrinkles. Even though the CDC’s approval is broad and means that health plans have to cover the shot without charging consumers for it, some providers may balk at giving the vaccine to people under 65 unless they have an underlying condition that puts them at risk for severe covid if they get infected. That’s what the Food and Drug Administration’s label for the covid vaccine advises.
“It’s a nuance that could occur in an interaction between a provider and a patient,” said Jen Kates, a senior vice president and the director of global and public health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
However, if a provider refused to administer the shot to a healthy person because doing so would be “off-label,” another provider would probably be willing to give someone the jab, experts said.
“They could go to a different pharmacy,” Kates said.
Many states have stepped in to ensure that people can get vaccines if they want them, according to a KFF analysis. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have adopted recommendations that are broader than those of the federal government, Kates said.
However, the percentage of people opting to get the covid vaccine continues to drop. At the end of April, 23% of adults said they had received the current vaccine, according to the CDC.
With uptake so low, fewer pharmacies and doctors may choose to stock the shot this year, said Jeff Levin-Scherz, a primary care doctor who is the population health leader for the management consultancy WTW and an assistant professor at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health.
Large chains, including CVS and Walgreens, say they have enough supply available to meet demand.
The additional hoops people might have to go through — such as having to find a different pharmacy or physician — could have an impact on uptake of the covid shot, though.
“To get more people to get vaccines, the key is making vaccination really easy and to take steps out,” Levin-Scherz said.
Influenza Vaccine
More people seek out the flu vaccine than the covid vaccine, but even so, only 47% of adults got a shot last flu season.
The CDC recommends that virtually everyone 6 months or older get a flu shot annually. This year is no different. The shots should be widely available at pharmacies and physician offices, and health plans will cover the shots without charging people for them.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services announced in July that flu vaccines must not contain thimerosal, a preservative that prevents bacterial growth in vaccines. There is no evidence that the mercury-based additive, which has been used for decades, is harmful, according to vaccine researchers. Last year, the CDC estimated that only 6% of flu vaccines use thimerosal as a preservative.
RSV Vaccine
This vaccine protects against respiratory syncytial virus, a highly contagious seasonal virus that infects the lungs and respiratory tract. Although symptoms are typically mild, RSV can lead to serious lung infections, particularly in older people.
A vaccine was approved in 2023. The CDC recommends it for everyone 75 or older and for people 50 to 74 who have medical conditions that put them at risk for severe disease.
People who meet the criteria should be able to get the RSV vaccine at their local pharmacy, Fish said.
The RSV vaccine is not an annual vaccine. If you’ve already received it, you don’t need to get it again, according to current guidelines.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.
This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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10 “Healthy” Foods That Are Often Worse Than You Think
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“This is healthy, it’s a…” is an easy mistake to make if one doesn’t read the labels. Here are 10 tricksters to watch out for in particular!
Don’t be fooled by healthy aesthetics on the packaging…
Notwithstanding appearances and in many cases reputations, these all merit extra attention:
- Yogurt: sweetened yogurts, especially “fruit at the bottom / in the corner” types, often have 15–30g of sugar per serving. Plain Greek yogurt is a better choice, offering 15–20g of protein with no added sugar. You can always add fresh fruits or spices like sweet cinnamon for flavor without added sugar.
- Oatmeal: prepackaged oatmeal can contain 12–15 grams of added sugar per serving, similar to a glazed donut. Additionally, finely milled oats (as in “instant” oatmeal) can cause blood sugar spikes by itself, due to the loss of fiber. Better is plain oats, and if you like, you can sweeten them naturally with sweet cinnamon and/or fresh fruit for a healthier breakfast.
- Sushi: while sushi contains nutritious fish, it often has too much white rice (and in the US, sushi rice is also often cooked with sugar to “improve” the taste and help cohesion) and sugary sauces. This makes many rolls much less healthy. So if fish (the sashimi component of sushi) is your thing, then focus on that, and minimize sugar intake for a more balanced meal.
- Baked beans: store-bought baked beans can have up to 25g of added sugar per cup, similar to soda. Better to opt for plain beans and prepare them at home so that nothing is in them except what you personally put there.
- Deli meats: deli meats are convenient but often are more processed than they look, containing preservatives linked to health risks. Fresh, unprocessed meats like chicken or turkey breast are healthier and can still be cost-effective when bought in bulk.
- Fruit juices: fruit juices lack fiber (meaning their own natural sugars also become harmful, with no fiber to slow them down) and often contain added sugars too. Eating whole fruits is a much better way to get fiber, nutrients, and controlled healthy sugar intake.
- Hazelnut spread: hazelnut spreads are usually 50% added sugar and contain unhealthy oils like palm oil. So, skip those, and enjoy natural nut butters for healthier fats and proteins.
- Granola: granola is often loaded with added sugars and preservatives, so watch out for those.
- Sports drinks: sports drinks, with 20–25g of added sugar per serving, are unnecessary and unhelpful (except, perhaps, in case of emergency for correcting diabetic hypoglycemia). Stick to water or electrolyte drinks—and even in the latter case, check the labels for added sugar and excessive sodium!
- Dark chocolate: dark chocolate with 80% or more cocoa has health benefits but still typically contains a lot of added sugar. Check labels carefully!
For more on each of these, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
From Apples to Bees, and High-Fructose Cs: Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?
Take care!
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The Fruit That Can Specifically Reduce Belly Fat
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Gambooge: Game-Changer Or Gamble?
The gambooge, also called the gummi-gutta, whence its botanical name Garcinia gummi-gutta (formerly Gardinia cambogia), is also known as the Malabar tamarind, and it even got an English name, the brindle berry.
It’s a fruit that looks like a small pale yellow pumpkin in shape, but it grows on trees and has a taste so sour, that it’s usually used only in cooking, and not eaten raw
which makes this writer really want to try it raw now.Its active phytochemical compound hydroxycitric acid (HCA) rose to popularity as a supplement in the US based on a paid recommendation from Dr. Oz, and then became a controversy as supplements associated with it, were in turn associated with hepatotoxicity (more on this in the “Is it safe?” section below).
What do people use it for?
Simply put: it’s a weight loss supplement.
Less simply put: least interestingly, it’s a mild appetite suppressant:
Safety and mechanism of appetite suppression by a novel hydroxycitric acid extract (HCA-SX) ← this talks more about the biochemistry, but isn’t a human study. Human studies have been small and with mixed results. It seems likely that (as in the rat studies discussed above) the mechanism of action is largely about increasing serotonin, which itself is a well-established appetite suppressant. Therefore, the results will depend somewhat on a person’s brain’s serotonergic system.
We’ll revisit that later, but first let’s look at…
Even less simply put: its other mechanism of action is much more interesting; it actually blocks the production of fat (especially: visceral fat) in the body, by inhibiting citrate lyase, which enzyme plays a significant role in fat production:
Effects of (−)-hydroxycitrate on net fat synthesis as de novo lipogenesis
More illustratively, here’s another study, which found:
❝G cambogia reduced abdominal fat accumulation in subjects, regardless of sex, who had the visceral fat accumulation type of obesity. No rebound effect was observed.
It is therefore expected that G cambogia may be useful for the prevention and reduction of accumulation of visceral fat. ❞
~ Dr. Norihiro Shigematsu et al.
As to why this is particularly important, and far more important than mere fat loss in general, see our previous main feature:
Visceral Belly Fat (And How To Lose It)
Is it safe?
It has shown a good safety profile up to large doses (2.8g/day):
Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of hydroxycitric acid or Garcinia cambogia extracts in humans
There have been some fears about hepatotoxicity, but they appear to be unfounded, and based on products that did not, in fact, contain HCA (and were merely sold by a company that used a similar name in their marketing):
No evidence demonstrating hepatotoxicity associated with hydroxycitric acid
However, as it has a serotoninergic effect, it could cause problems for anyone at risk of serotonin syndrome, which means caution is advisable if you are taking SSRIs (which reduce the rate at which the brain can scrub serotonin, with the usually laudable goal of having more serotonin in the brain—but it is possible to have too much of a good thing, and serotonin syndrome isn’t fun).
As ever, do check with your pharmacist and/or doctor, to be sure, since they can advise with regard to your specific situation and any medications you may be taking.
Want to try some?
We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon
Enjoy!
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