Hakim
Moderator
I drink 4-5 cups of coffee most days, and it does not correlate with any high BP. In fact, several studies have shown that coffee is actually good for you.
"Reducing Disease Risk
After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders."
"Though the scientists give the customary "more research is needed" before they recommend you do overtime at Starbuck's to specifically prevent diabetes, their findings are very similar to those in a less-publicized Dutch study. And perhaps more importantly, it's the latest of hundreds of studies suggesting that coffee may be something of a health food -- especially in higher amounts."
See WebMD article here Health Benefits of Coffee - WebMD
It is MUCH MORE likely that the culprit is high sodium, which most people have no idea just how much is added to most foods.
I was astonished recently when I studied the sodium content in various popular restaurants. Macaroni Grill (the phony Italian restaurant) as just one example, has an item "Chicken Portobello", with a whopping 7300 mg of salt. And that does not include added sodium in any soft drinks, bread or salad they may also have eaten.
Here are a few other Macaroni Grill menu items with salt content:
Meatball Sandwich: 4660 mg
Chicken Florentine 5640 mg
Bowl Chicken soup 5240 mg
Fat free Italian dressing 440 mg
Kid's Macaroni & Cheese 5450 mg
Grilled Salmon Teriyaki 6690 mg
And on it goes. It is entirely possible to sit down and ingest more than 10,000 mg of salt -- in a single meal. The total daily salt requirement for an adult is around 2000 mg, or about one teaspoon.
Here is the link to the PDF of the label on this food item: http://www.brinker.com/gr/Nutritional/Mac_NutritionalInfo.pdf
The current recommendation is to consume less than 2,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day. This is about 1 teaspoon of table salt per day. It includes ALL salt and sodium consumed, including sodium used in cooking and at the table.
The US sodium RDA of less than 2,400 mg is higher than the UK Recommended Nutritional Intake (RNI) whose upper limit for sodium is 1,600 mg.
Sodium RDA vs. Average Intake
The average intake in the United States is between 4,000 and 5,000 mg of sodium per day.
No Specific Sodium RDA for Children
Specific recommendations regarding sodium intake do not exist for infants, children, and adolescents. However, since eating habits and attitudes about food formed during childhood are likely to influence eating habits for life, moderate intake of sodium is suggested. I advise around 1,000 mg for children under 10 years old.
Next time you go to the store or a restaurant, read the label and check out the sodium. Chances are, unless you make specific efforts to avoid foods with such huge amounts of added sodium, you may unknowingly be pushing your blood pressure through the roof. I know I was -- was 140/90, now 115/72 --- accomplished by reducing salt intake).
"Reducing Disease Risk
After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders."
"Though the scientists give the customary "more research is needed" before they recommend you do overtime at Starbuck's to specifically prevent diabetes, their findings are very similar to those in a less-publicized Dutch study. And perhaps more importantly, it's the latest of hundreds of studies suggesting that coffee may be something of a health food -- especially in higher amounts."
See WebMD article here Health Benefits of Coffee - WebMD
It is MUCH MORE likely that the culprit is high sodium, which most people have no idea just how much is added to most foods.
I was astonished recently when I studied the sodium content in various popular restaurants. Macaroni Grill (the phony Italian restaurant) as just one example, has an item "Chicken Portobello", with a whopping 7300 mg of salt. And that does not include added sodium in any soft drinks, bread or salad they may also have eaten.
Here are a few other Macaroni Grill menu items with salt content:
Meatball Sandwich: 4660 mg
Chicken Florentine 5640 mg
Bowl Chicken soup 5240 mg
Fat free Italian dressing 440 mg
Kid's Macaroni & Cheese 5450 mg
Grilled Salmon Teriyaki 6690 mg
And on it goes. It is entirely possible to sit down and ingest more than 10,000 mg of salt -- in a single meal. The total daily salt requirement for an adult is around 2000 mg, or about one teaspoon.
Here is the link to the PDF of the label on this food item: http://www.brinker.com/gr/Nutritional/Mac_NutritionalInfo.pdf
The current recommendation is to consume less than 2,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day. This is about 1 teaspoon of table salt per day. It includes ALL salt and sodium consumed, including sodium used in cooking and at the table.
The US sodium RDA of less than 2,400 mg is higher than the UK Recommended Nutritional Intake (RNI) whose upper limit for sodium is 1,600 mg.
Sodium RDA vs. Average Intake
The average intake in the United States is between 4,000 and 5,000 mg of sodium per day.
No Specific Sodium RDA for Children
Specific recommendations regarding sodium intake do not exist for infants, children, and adolescents. However, since eating habits and attitudes about food formed during childhood are likely to influence eating habits for life, moderate intake of sodium is suggested. I advise around 1,000 mg for children under 10 years old.
Next time you go to the store or a restaurant, read the label and check out the sodium. Chances are, unless you make specific efforts to avoid foods with such huge amounts of added sodium, you may unknowingly be pushing your blood pressure through the roof. I know I was -- was 140/90, now 115/72 --- accomplished by reducing salt intake).