đź’§Can Drinking Water Lower Blood Pressure? (2024 update)

Today’s question is from our YouTube comments section and Gean asks:

“Dr. Robbins, I don’t like the taste of water. I never have. Unfortunately, over the past few years, my blood pressure keeps going higher and higher. I now need to take medicine and I hate how it makes me feel.

I’ve read that being dehydrated is bad for the heart, muscles and blood pressure. But can I drink any type of liquid to get more hydrated or does it have to be water?”

This is a good question and one that I related to because my mom also hates the taste of water.

Luckily, I love water and always have. I’m drinking it all day long.

Facts About High Blood Pressure

In regards to high blood pressure – it is interesting that the older you get, the higher the blood pressure. So, there’s something related to aging and the negative changes in your hormones and a weaker kidney function, that causes an increase in blood pressure.

I’ve seen older people who walk daily, are very thin, sleep well, and eat a healthy diet and yet – they have high blood pressure.

Amazingly, there are over a dozen types of blood pressure drugs, all of which can cause some big negative side effects.

Here are some really interesting facts:

1 in 3 adults actually has hypertension. That’s 33% of people. Of the remaining 67% of people, about half have pre-hypertension.

So, about 70% of adults have some kind of blood pressure issues and they are not in a lower, healthy range.

Now, what’s also interesting is that about 75% of adults are dehydrated.

blood pressure

And, about 73% of the heart is made up of water!

Personally, I think that’s really interesting… maybe you do as well.

Unfortunately, most people don’t know they have blood pressure problems because there are no real symptoms. This is why it’s called “the silent killer”.

Unfortunately, no liquid will do the job of clean water. Soda obviously won’t, not diet soda either. Juice or milk, no way. Alcohol, never. Coffee can cause dehydration due to caffeine. Tea can be okay, as long as it’s low in caffeine.

Well, you get it.

Anyway, the answer to your question is that you DO need to increase your water intake because it can certainly help improve your blood pressure.

And this is because when you’re dehydrated, your muscles have to work harder – including your heart. The blood is thicker and has lower volume and all of this increases pressure and stress.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

Well, thirst isn’t a good indicator. Heck, hunger and fatigue are both signs of dehydration.

Honestly, I think the minimum is 8 glasses of water. That’s at least 64 oz or almost 2 liters or about half a gallon.

DrinkWater

I have double this amount, about a gallon a day.

If you do have other liquids, such as soda or caffeine products or alcohol, you’ll need more water.

If you have more stress, exercise, sweat, etc… you’ll need more water.

If you don’t like the taste of water, add in some lemon juice or stevia sweetener and it tastes like lemonade. It’s great. That’s what I do.

There are simple and natural ways, including the best vitamins and minerals that also help make big improvements in your blood pressure.

Just know that high blood pressure negatively affects all your organs, your brain, eyes, energy levels, libido, and hair loss and accelerates aging.

And the older you get, the worst the blood pressure.

So, please don’t be like other people who just passively listen. Take action right now, increase your water intake even if it’s just one cup a day.

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555956/