Cognac is a strong alcoholic drink produced from grapes; its unique properties and indescribable taste are due to the fact that the alcohol is aged in oak barrels for several years. It is believed that cognac and brandy can influence a person’s blood pressure.
Cognac and pressure - how are these concepts related to each other? This question worries people with hypertension and a diagnosis of hypotension. Every person wants to know how blood pressure changes when cognac affects the body.
The effects of cognac on the body as a whole
Cognac is of French origin. This alcoholic drink is made by distilling white grape wine and aging in oak barrels. Since ancient times, it has been noted that in small doses, cognac has a medicinal effect and can relieve many diseases.
- the tannin present in the drink promotes the absorption of ascorbic acid entering the body, as a result of which the immune system becomes stronger and the risk of colds is minimized;
- the drink stimulates the production of gastric juice, which increases appetite;
- it improves metabolism and accelerates metabolic processes;
- the drink has a pronounced antibacterial effect, so it is often added to coffee or tea for sore throat and other throat diseases;
- cognac reduces the pain of migraines caused by spasms in the capillaries;
- drinking cognac before bed helps relieve stress and fall asleep faster;
- the drink stabilizes myocardial function after an attack of angina.
Drinking cognac
Despite the fact that cognac is beneficial in small doses, the effect of the drink on the body largely depends on the initial state of health and the presence of diseases.
On a note! Since cognac is an alcohol-based drink, it is recommended to consume it with caution for people suffering from gallstone disease and diabetes.
What is cognac?
Real cognac was born in France. This is a strong alcoholic drink made using a special technology from certain grape varieties grown in the Charente department. The variety also affects the quality; depending on this, the drink increases or decreases blood pressure.
GOST allows the use of the name in Russia for wine drinks made from cognac distillates. Russian distillates are obtained from table grape wines aged in oak barrels for at least three years. According to the Russian standard, the volume fraction of ethyl alcohol in such a drink should not be less than 40%, since this drink affects health and increases or decreases blood pressure.
The cognac drinks of the pre-revolutionary wine empire “Shustov and Sons” received the right to bear the name “Cognac” at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. His Yerevan factories became the founders of the most beloved brand in the USSR, “Armenian cognac”. Winston Churchill and Agatha Christie loved to drink Armenian cognac. At this time, the Armenian government introduced the term “Arbun” for brandy-type drinks produced from Armenian grapes and bottled in Armenia.
Knowledge of such nuances will be useful when assessing the effect of cognac and brandy on health, as well as for studying the topic of increasing or decreasing blood pressure at the time of consumption. The production and composition of French cognacs is regulated and controlled very strictly. Its quality differs significantly from all kinds of brandies produced in different countries.
On the shelves of Russian stores you can find a huge number of counterfeits of “Russian cognac”. Domestic producers, in pursuit of profit, manage to violate even the less stringent regulations of the Russian GOST, not taking into account that alcohol affects the body, increasing or decreasing blood pressure. Methods to combat counterfeiting are still being developed. Consumers of cognac products who have pressure surges should think about whether purchased cognac increases or decreases blood pressure, and whether this drink can even be called cognac.
How does the drink affect the condition of blood vessels and blood pressure?
What effect cognac will have on blood vessels, whether it will increase or decrease blood pressure, directly depends on the amount drunk. Studies have revealed that in small doses the drink promotes relaxation of the myocardial walls and subsequent dilation of blood vessels. In connection with such changes, blood pressure also stabilizes, while the indicators remain within normal limits for a long time after taking the drink.
When consumed in small doses
Hippocrates also assured that only the dose distinguishes a medicine from a poison. A similar statement is typical for cognac. In minimal doses (up to 70 ml per day), the drink acts as a vasodilator. As a result, within a few minutes after drinking a glass, high blood pressure decreases, and the spasmodic syndrome in the capillaries disappears.
In addition, small doses of cognac help lower cholesterol levels, which minimizes the risk of developing atherosclerosis. This effect from consuming the drink is due to the presence of tannins and tannins in the composition, which are not contained in other alcoholic products.
Important! To understand how cognac affects blood pressure in a particular case, you need to use a tonometer before drinking the drink, and then take measurements after 15 minutes.
When consumed in large quantities
If you drink more than 80 ml of cognac at a time, the effect of consuming the drink will be the opposite - your blood pressure will rapidly increase. This happens because when a large amount of drink enters the bloodstream, the heart rate increases. At the same time, the heart muscle tries to function at an accelerated pace in order to pump more blood. As a result, cognac increases the load on the veins and capillaries, and blood pressure rises.
It is also worth considering that cognac in large quantities negatively affects the functioning of the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. And, as is known, dysfunction of these organs increases the risk of various cardiac pathologies.
In confectionery products
Many people suffering from problems with blood pressure are interested in whether it is dangerous to consume sweets filled with cognac if they have hypertension or hypotension.
Candies with cognac
It is worth considering that in the production of confectionery products, it is not real alcohol that is used, but a cognac component, which is obtained as a result of certain chemical reactions. Cardiologists assure that 1 or 2 candies are not able to have any significant effect on blood pressure.
Cognac and blood pressure: its beneficial properties
To achieve the desired effect, you need to clearly know how much cognac you can take without harm to your health. With hypertension, the brain, heart and blood vessels are the first to suffer. After drinking alcohol, blood vessels dilate, and accordingly, blood pressure decreases. Cholesterol levels are also reduced, which leads to a slowdown in the development of atherosclerosis, which affects the elasticity of vascular walls. When consuming a moderate dose of cognac, the heart rate does not increase.
The minimum dosage of cognac has the following effect on the body:
- Relieves the feeling of fatigue;
- Normalizes the activity of the digestive system;
- Reduces the risk of developing atherosclerosis and cholesterol plaques;
- Relieves vascular spasm;
- Relieves headaches.
Doctors' concerns are that patients may misinterpret their words regarding the ability to drink cognac in small portions. Many people may begin to abuse alcohol, pointing out that doctors allow it, pointing out its benefits for the body.
But doctors also say that if the permissible dosage is exceeded, alcohol has the opposite effect, as it increases blood pressure. Moreover, this process proceeds rapidly, a person develops tachycardia, the vessels dilate, and the pressure rises. Therefore, the heart begins to work more intensely, sending more blood into the arteries.
How to use?
To prevent complications from drinking alcohol, hypertensive and hypotensive patients need to know how cognac affects blood pressure, increases or decreases levels. It is important to remember the following:
- from 2 to 10 ml of cognac do not have a significant effect on lower and upper pressure;
- if you drink from 10 to 50 ml , cognac will have a mild vasodilating effect, slightly lower blood pressure and stabilize blood circulation in general;
- from 60 to 80 ml - this amount of drink not only reduces blood pressure, but also contributes to mild intoxication. If you have hypertension, in this case the person’s condition may worsen;
- from 80 to 100 ml - after such a dose enters the body, the vessels sharply expand and then narrow, as a result of which the load on them increases several times. With hypotension, cognac rapidly increases blood pressure, which can cause a hypertensive crisis and even a stroke.
At low pressure
People suffering from hypotension are not recommended to drink cognac more than 4-5 times a week, and the daily dose should not exceed 50 ml. If the drink is taken for medicinal purposes, then preference should be given to dark cognac, which contains more acids and tannins.
With high blood pressure
When asked whether it is possible to drink cognac with high blood pressure, most doctors give a positive answer. In this case, you need to remember the following:
- the daily dose of the drink should not exceed 70 ml;
- cognac should not be eaten with sweet or salty foods, as sugar and salt provoke a jump in blood pressure;
- The most preferred are light varieties of the drink that have a minimum aging period.
How to protect yourself from high blood pressure?
There are a number of hereditary diseases, but in most cases these are acquired diseases. High blood pressure is a common companion for people living under stress. If you add bad habits and irregular nutrition, the risk of such health problems increases.
Men after thirty years of age are more vulnerable in this regard, their blood vessels are weaker; women at this age are still protected by hormones. But the older you get, the more people fall into this category.
To help yourself, you need to avoid bad habits as much as possible, eat right, get proper rest and avoid stress. If you are predisposed to such problems, you should periodically visit a cardiologist and drink less alcohol.
Contraindications for use
Despite the fact that cognac is a medicinal drink and, when consumed correctly, has a positive effect on blood pressure, there are diseases for which you should avoid drinking this drink.
There are contraindications
Main contraindications:
- diabetes;
- stones in the organs of the urinary system;
- allergy to alcohol.
It is also not recommended to drink cognac while pregnant or breastfeeding.
Important! Patients who are prescribed antihypertensive medications on an ongoing basis should not drink cognac.
Combination of alcohol and hypertension
Many copies have been broken on this slippery topic. Some hypertensive patients say that cognac literally brings them back to life with high blood pressure. Others, on the contrary, assure - no, alcohol makes them feel bad and almost immediately. At the same time, we established above that the effect of alcohol-containing drinks always leads to vasodilation. What's the matter?
But the fact is that hypertension comes in different forms. Conventionally, it can be divided into two large types. The main one, which occurs most often and is best identified, is the so-called essential hypertension. This type is diagnosed in approximately 9 out of 10 all patients with hypertension and is caused by... genetics. Yes, that’s right - all these sick people have a special gene in their body, which is a predisposition and cause of the development of the disease.
For some later, for others earlier, but gradually the pressure begins to rise for all these unlucky owners of the genome and, in the end, they receive a medical diagnosis with all the consequences.
The second group, which accounts for less than 10% of all patients, is the owners of a rarer type, the so-called secondary (or secondary, which is also found in formulations) hypertension. This type of disease is not independent - it does not develop just like that, but against the background of some other pathology.
And in the second type, the reaction to alcohol may be different. If the first type, after drinking cognac in adequate doses, most often feels better, since his poor health is due precisely to high blood pressure, then the second type may have options. Here cognac does not always help - other internal organs may react and, for one reason or another, react negatively even to small doses.
Therefore, there is only one piece of advice - listen to yourself and treat your body with respect. If he feels bad from alcohol, you shouldn’t deceive yourself by imagining how you will feel better. If, on the contrary, you feel an improvement, well, you know the healthy doses.
Can alcohol suddenly raise your blood pressure instead of lowering it? The answer is yes. And we describe the mechanism of such a reaction below, in the next chapter.
A sharp rise in blood pressure after drinking cognac
If, after several glasses of cognac, a person’s blood pressure has risen significantly and the pulse has accelerated, the following recommendations will help normalize the condition:
- it is necessary to stop taking the drink;
- the victim needs to drink a glass of water, and then warm tea with sugar;
- for the next few hours you should avoid physical activity, or even better, lie down;
- Additionally, you can take a sedative based on herbal components.
If the measures described above do not give a positive result, you must immediately call a team of doctors.
How much can you drink if you have hypotension?
Acceptable use within normal limits. A complete ban for severely elevated or significantly low blood pressure.
For people with hypertension and hypotension, not only increased and decreased blood pressure levels are unfavorable. Its sharp changes are also dangerous.
The same recommendation is for hypotensive patients, whose pressure readings are so low that they are comparable to critical ones. Cognac in reasonable quantities will not harm healthy people with normal blood pressure.
You just need to consider:
- The safe amounts of alcohol listed above are very approximate. Susceptibility to alcohol is higher in women compared to men, and in people with a fragile physique compared to large people. Surely there are those for whom a tablespoon of the drink is the real limit. Therefore, you need to focus not only on average indicators, but also on your own feelings. Also look at the tonometer readings (if problems with hypertension are suspected).
- The properties of first lowering and then raising blood pressure are characteristic of real cognac. Counterfeits, imitations, cognac drinks and other products with compromise recipes and prices force the body to react differently, often unpredictably.
- There may be medical restrictions on alcohol. In particular (as for a strong drink) or for any alcohol that is not associated with blood pressure disorders.
- It is naive to think that daily “therapeutic” libations, even with a good drink, are absolutely harmless. Years of such habits form real alcoholism, and this means problems not only with blood pressure.
People often ask: “Does cognac increase blood pressure?” Most likely, they are asking themselves the question because they want to drink more. After all, if a person drinks a symbolic dose (a glass), he will not even have such thoughts. And the effect of the drink will be minimal.
Exceptions are possible
The drink is used not only to drink in its pure form. It is recommended to add a teaspoon of alcohol to tea or coffee for people with a slight cold. Cognac is an ingredient in a number of game dishes (it improves its taste) and fish. Some desserts made from seafood or meat, according to the cooking technology, are supposed to be doused with alcohol and set on fire (the so-called flambéing).
In all of the above cases, grape alcohol is either used in negligible quantities or changes its properties (under the influence of temperature, when interacting with other foods). And then there is no need to talk about the negative effect of the drink on blood pressure levels.
THERE ARE CONTRAINDICATIONS CONSULTATION WITH YOUR DOCTOR IS REQUIRED
The diagnosis of “hypotension” excludes the use of strong alcohol, but when it comes to cognac, not everything is so clear. For example, English doctors quite often recommend this drink in strictly defined doses to hypotensive patients.
The fact is that cognac is not just an abstract alcohol diluted with water to the required degrees. This drink has a very complex composition that has a complex effect on health in several directions, like all biologically active natural products, such as honey.
Hypotension - not only low blood pressure, but also a number of other symptoms - migraines, “icy” hands and feet, dizziness and much more is an integral part of this disease.
It is these manifestations that cognac fights. In addition, the drink contains tannins that have a beneficial effect on the vascular walls and heart muscle - strengthening, promoting faster regeneration and increasing tissue elasticity.
But hypotension certainly imposes restrictions on the use of this drink. General recommendations for the optimal amount for a person are the weight indicator, divided in half for men, and into three for women. That is, a man weighing 90 kg per day can drink 45 ml of cognac. A woman weighing 60 kg would benefit from a dosage of 20 ml.
Recipes
Since cognac has medicinal properties, it is often used as an aid to combat various pathologies. The most common use regimen is to drink 1 tablespoon of the drink 30 minutes before lunch. The duration of such therapy should not exceed 3 weeks.
Alternative medicine also offers many recipes based on this drink to normalize blood pressure.
To lower blood pressure
Important! If you have high blood pressure, it is recommended to consult a doctor before using traditional medicine recipes, as any errors in treatment can lead to irreversible consequences.
The most effective recipes for lowering blood pressure are:
- Tincture of honey and viburnum. To prepare you will need honey and viburnum (0.5 kg each) and cognac (250 ml). Viburnum must be crushed using a meat grinder, add honey and cognac to the resulting mass and mix well. The mixture is left to infuse in a dark place for 21 days. To reduce blood pressure, take the finished medicine 3 times a day, a tablespoon.
- Tincture with calendula. 2 tablespoons of dry calendula should be poured into 200 ml of cognac and left to infuse for 2 weeks. The medicine is taken in the morning and evening before meals, a tablespoon.
- Tincture with rosehip. Pour 4 tablespoons of rose hips with cognac and put in a dark place for 2 weeks. The medicine is taken half a tablespoon before meals. This remedy not only reduces blood pressure, but also helps eliminate cholesterol plaques.
Tincture with rosehip
To increase blood pressure
The following cognac-based recipes will help you gently and safely raise your blood pressure:
- Cognac with coffee. To 150 ml of coffee you need to add 3 tablespoons of high-quality cognac. The drink must be drunk at once.
Attention! The resulting product helps stabilize blood pressure, but is not suitable for daily use.
- Infusion with ginseng. 3 tablespoons of ginseng should be poured into 400 ml of cognac and the medicine should be left to infuse in a dark place for 3 weeks. After this time, take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day (before meals).
How does it affect health?
Cognac can have both positive and negative effects on the human body.
Benefit
The good effects of cognac on health are as follows:
- Improved absorption of vitamin C due to the content of tannins in the drink. This helps boost the immune system, so cognac is a good remedy for preventing infectious pathologies.
- Normalization of metabolic processes in the body.
- Relieves spasms, which eliminates pain.
- Strengthening the nervous system. This allows you to normalize sleep, eliminate tension, and promote relaxation.
- Relieving sore throat.
- Strengthening blood vessels.
- Normalization of blood pressure.
Only a high-quality drink has beneficial properties
Cognac also helps prevent the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system. With a small intake of alcohol, a person has a minimal chance of encountering atherosclerotic disease and heart ischemia.
Harm
The negative effects of cognac include the following:
- High calorie content and increased appetite. People who are overweight should not drink this drink, because it contributes to excess weight gain.
- Increased blood pressure. Hypertensive patients should not get carried away with cognac, because in large doses it can significantly increase blood pressure.
- Slow action. This is fraught with sudden and severe intoxication.
The negative effects of cognac are observed mainly at large dosages. If you know the rules of admission, you can successfully avoid negative influences.
Cognac, like any other type of alcohol, can cause addiction if used regularly
Who should not drink cognac drink
It is contraindicated to consume alcoholic beverages:
- People with heart disease. It is better for them to give up any alcoholic beverages.
- People with high upper, or systolic, blood pressure. In women, over the years, the upper, and in men, the lower, diastolic blood pressure often increases. Therefore, women need to especially take this fact into account.
You cannot drink cognac with coffee if you have:
- persistent hypertension;
- diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
- pregnancy.
Of course, the effect of cognac on blood pressure is obvious. Whether or not to drink a cognac drink should be decided by everyone, taking into account individual characteristics and the stage of development of the disease. Drinking alcohol in small doses is even beneficial for healthy people, but it is contraindicated for people with heart disease. Hypotonic patients should use cognac drink with caution, and hypertensive patients should use it only depending on the stage of the disease and after consulting a doctor.
