According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects one in three adults in the United States, with many of these people taking high blood pressure medications to help control the condition. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it can cause serious issues, such as stroke or heart attack. When taking medication for your blood pressure, it is important to find out which foods could have the potential of affecting your blood pressure in an unhealthy way. For example, ginger and ginger tea can have adverse reactions to numerous medications used to treat high blood pressure.
High Blood Pressure Medications
There are different types of medications that are used to treat high blood pressure, including diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotension II receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, alpha blockers, alpha-2 receptor agonists, combined alpha and beta blockers, central agonists, peripheral adrenergic inhibitors and vasodilators. You may also be prescribed anti-coagulants such as Coumadin to thin your blood. Consult your doctor about which foods to avoid to ensure proper effectiveness of your medication.
Ginger Tea
Ginger is commonly used to treat various types of stomach problems, such as morning sickness, colic, vomiting and loss of appetite. It has also been used to treat respiratory tract infections, bacterial dysentery, stomach pain and topically to treat burns. It is also a spice in many food dishes. Ginger tea can be bought in tea bags or can be made directly from fresh ginger that steeps in hot water.
Ginger Tea and High Blood Pressure
If your physician has prescribed calcium channel blockers or Coumadin as your high blood pressure medication, use caution when drinking ginger tea. According to the National Institutes of Health, ginger can have adverse reactions for both medications. Ginger works as a natural blood thinner and if taken in large doses with Coumadin, it can increase your chances for bruising and bleeding. When it comes to calcium channel blockers, ginger also has the ability to naturally reduce your blood pressure. Because of this, you may find that drinking ginger tea in large doses could drop your blood pressure to a dangerously low level or cause irregular heartbeats.
Considerations
As with any medications and medical care, consult with your physician before you make any dietary changes. If you drink ginger tea on a regular basis or use ginger in a lot of your cooking, inform your doctor so he can adjust your medications, monitor your blood levels and monitor your blood pressure on a more regular basis to determine the best medication doses for your needs.
