Drink fewer: Soft drinks

Eat your way to lower blood pressure

Need to lower your blood pressure? Stock up on foods that take the pressure off, while skipping meals that could blow your gasket. Here's how

By Lesley Young

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Drink fewer: Soft drinks

One soft drink a day—even the sugar-free kind—jacked up blood pressure risk by 18 percent, according to a 2007 study published inCirculation. Its author, Harvard Medical School instructor Ravi Dhingra, says the high caramel content in some soft drinks may promote blood vessel inflammation, which in turn increases blood pressure.Related:

• High Blood Pressure and Hypertension
• Low Blood Pressure
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