Hard Liquor and BP - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

Editor · 07-04-2006, 08:28 PM

Greetings,

I rarely drink hard liquor, I'm more of a beer kind of guy. On a rare occasion I will however. One time, a few months back, I had a few shots of peach brandy and decided to check my BP. I was amazed to get a 128/72 reading. Normally alcohol raises my BP slightly (a few points) except for red wine, which seems to lower it a few points.

Anyway, I thought maybe it was a coincidence, so I ignored it. Well, last night I did the same thing and got the same results. Does anyone know why this might be? I thought that perhaps the liquor might wide your vessels a little and reduce BP. Anyone else have any thoughts?

Regards, Brenden.

ofacto · 07-04-2006, 09:14 PM

I'm not a much of a drinker but doesn't alcohol also act as a diuretic so it would leech water from your body and maybe lower your BP.

Uff-Da! · 07-04-2006, 11:08 PM

Do you, by chance, have postprandial hypotension? (Meaning your blood pressure goes down 20 points or more systolic after meals?) Almost no one in their 20s has it, but by age 65 about one-third of people have it from what I've read. I'm one of them. Carbohydrates, and especially glucose apparently affects the blood pressure lowering the most. So I find that a margarita tends to lower my BP, I assume from the carbs in the Triple Sec. But my BP tends to go up if I just have a Scotch and water. I would think that there would be enough sugars in the peach brandy to make my BP go down.

If you don't already know how eating affects your BP, try taking your pressure just before a meal, then 15-30-60 minutes after a few times. The low for me usually hits 15-30 minutes after the start of the meal, but people differ. And also the type of foods in the meal supposedly affect that, too.

Editor · 07-05-2006, 11:47 PM

Thanks for the replies. No, eating doesn't seem to affect it all that much, maybe a little, but not enough to notice. I am familiar enough with my readings to note that the brandy definately lowers it. For an experiment tonight, I took a shot and a half and checked my BP one half hour later, 135/80. Typically my evening readings are 140-145/90-95.

I did some googling and found that a shot of Scotch or other hard liquor used to be something that was used by doctors way back when if people passed out or were having heart troubles. Apparently, the Scotch would immediatley dilate their vessels, and allow for quickly absorbed glucose. Maybe I will try an experiment and see how long the effects last. Hey, if a shot with breakfast, lunch and dinner keeps it down all day long, it can't be any worse than these pills they keep trying to peddle! LOL!

Regards, Brenden.

Uff-Da! · 07-06-2006, 06:36 AM

I have an old copy (1985) of Food Values of Portions Commonly Used by Pennington and Church, a reference that used to be used by dieticians and nutritionists. According to it, liquor (gin/rum/vodka/whisky) contains only a trace of carbohydrate. Beer (4.5% alcohol by volume, 3.6% by weight) was shown as 13.2 grams carbohydrate, and light beer as 6.0 grams CHO for a 12 oz serving, though it was noted that CHO varied considerably by brand. Cordials and liqueurs, 54 proof, were shown as 11.5 grams CHO for a one oz serving. That would reflect the added sugars not found in liquors. It would be the added sugars in peach brandy and the Triple Sec in my margarita that would lower the BP, not the liquor itself, if glucose is what is doing it.

I may not have a margarita with breakfast, lunch and dinner to lower my BP, but I accomplish the same thing with eating all day long. Instead of eating three big meals, I eat small ones about six or more times a day to keep my BP down. The recommendation for someone with postprandial hypotension, though, is not to include much food with added sugars, but to use mainly low-glycemic carbohydrates which are digested and absorbed more slowly. That keeps not only the blood sugar on a more even keel, but also keeps the blood pressure from such a wild ride up and down. It sounds as though you are only mildly affected, though. Either that or there is some other factor involved.