Cola, a carbonated soft drink made with extracts from the Cola acuminate tree in Africa contains caffeine and may increase your blood pressure. The amount of caffeine in cola varies from 15 to 50 mg per 8-oz. serving, which varies the effect of cola on your blood pressure. Determine the exact amount of caffeine in your cola by reading the nutrition label.
Caffeine and Blood Pressure
Caffeine can increase your systolic blood pressure by 3 to 15 mm of mercury and your diastolic blood pressure by 4 to 13 mm of mercury, according to a report published in the January 2008 issue of "The Annals of Pharmacotherapy." These effects typically occur after drinking enough caffeine to equal the amount of caffeine in two to three cups of coffee, or around 200 mg of caffeine each day. In other words, most people need to drink between 32 and 107 oz. of cola to experience a change in blood pressure. The blood pressure spike typically occurs within 30 minutes of the caffeine consumption and may persist for 4 hours or longer.
Caffeine Sensitivity
The blood pressure spike occurs in people with and without high blood pressure. The extent of increase varies based on your sensitivity level to caffeine. If you consume caffeine on a regular basis, you may build up a tolerance to its effects, explains Dr. Sheldon G. Sheps, a hypertension specialist at the Mayo Clinic. Sources of caffeine include coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, some nuts and some medications.
Testing Your Blood Pressure Response
Determine the effect of cola on your blood pressure levels by doing a little experiment. Take your resting blood pressure. Then, consume your normal serving of cola and take your blood pressure 30 minutes and an hour later. Compare all the blood pressure readings to determine any changes. If your blood pressure increases by 5 to 10 mm of mercury, you may be sensitive to caffeine. Do not consume large amounts of cola for this experiment without the permission of your doctor. Large intakes of cola can cause dangerous increases in blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
Considerations
If you have high blood pressure, discuss your daily caffeine intake with your physician. While an intake of 200 mg of caffeine each day is considered safe for most people, it is dangerous for others. Your doctor may even recommend eliminating all caffeine consumption. Decrease your intake gradually, over a period of a couple weeks to decrease the withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, fatigue and nervousness. MayoClinic.com recommends decreasing your cola consumption by tracking your current intake and decreasing your intake by one serving each day. If you desire the texture of cola, try replacing your cola with a non-caffeinated soft drink.
References
- "Webster's II New College Dictionary"; Webster's New World Dictionary; 2005
- South Dakota Department of Health; Caffeine; September 2000
- "The Annals of Pharmacotherapy"; Timing of Blood Pressure Measurement Related to Caffeine Consumption; Jane R Mort, et al.; January 2008
- MayoClinic.com; Caffeine: How Does It Affect Blood Pressure?; Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D; November 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Caffeine -- You May Like Caffeine's Effects, But How Much Is Too Much?; Mayo Clinic staff; March 2011
