Effect of Tea, Coffee, Milk, Beer, Wine, Alcohol, Soft Drink, Junk Food and Smoking on Blood Pressure : A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Intrinsic Physiological Regulatory mechanism brings back blood pressure to normality due to changes in external environmental and internal physiological activities performed to maintain life by getting food, shelter, security, etc., in daily life till survival. Recent advances in society have changed the basic pattern of livelihood and reduced day-to-day activities by changing the work format, increasing the sedentary life activities, and introducing artificial sweeteners, preservatives for food items, different forms of alcoholic non-alcoholic beverages etc. All these new entrees in the food habits and reduced physical activities dampen the regulatory mechanism. Consequently altered the reset of the normal blood pressure to a higher level. This high range in the long run keeps damaging the vital organs and increases cardiovascular mortality as well as morbidity.
1. The blood pressure alleviating effect of tea is due to its metabolites which have been proven. On the other hand, coffee intake has no effect on Blood Pressure on moderate consumption while it increases in higher amount per day Since Milk is the integral component of both tea and coffee in the many parts of the world, so its properties of reducing Blood Pressure due to smaller peptides produced by gut bacteria should not be ignored while evaluating the effect of tea and coffee on Hypertension.
2. Alcohol causes hypertension by different mechanisms so all those beverages like beer and wine which are not pure spirits but have a smaller content of it, are also implicated in Hypertension despite older belief in society that says –“Wine is good for heart”.
3. Young generation is fast and synonymous to fast food such as pizza, burgers, fries, chips, cake soft drinks etc. High salt, sugar and preservatives are the ingredients in it that shoot the blood pressure. Thus, they are the main factors of hypertension among children and youth of the society.
4. Smoking is another factor among large population of youth and adults which fall prey to addiction due to the style statement and fashion of smoking in the peers which cause an increase in blood pressure mainly due to sympathetic drive.
Conclusion: This feeding behavior along with the poor physical activity of modern society collectively weakens intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, alters the physiological activities of the cardiovascular system, and sets the blood pressure at the new high normal. Persistent high level of BP leads to the generation of the primary type of hypertension at an early stage and in the long run gives birth to secondary hypertension as well as damage to the vital organs such as the Kidney, Retina, cerebral vasculature of the Brain and coronary circulation and musculature of Heart.