Colas might increase the risk of high BP

Drinking cola beverages might increase the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) in women rather than the habitual coffee drinking.Researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that these findings should pacify women who drink a lot of coffee that's its not putting them at a risk of hypertension. The association between cola beverage use and hypertension was a big surprise because this association has never been reported before and because there are no ingredients in colas that should have this effect.Approximately 50 million Americans have hypertension. Previous reports had tied caffeine intake with acute elevations in blood pressure, but the long-term effects were unclear. The researchers studied 155,594 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Studies (NHS) I and II. The subjects were free of high blood pressure when the studies began in the early 1990s and were followed over 12 years.During follow-up, a total of 19,541 and 13,536 cases of hypertension were observed in the NHS I and II cohorts, respectively. In both cohorts, caffeine intake was not directly linked to incident hypertension.When an analysis by beverage type was performed, habitual coffee intake was not linked to an elevated risk of high blood pressure. By contrast, drinking cola beverages, either sugared or diet, seemed to increase the risk of hypertension significantly.While the findings should provide reassurance to coffee drinkers, further research is needed to shed light on the association between cola beverages and hypertension.