Drinking water helps to normalize blood pressure, but does not lower blood pressure unless your dehydrated. Blood is made up of 90% water, when you are dehydrated the overall volume will decrease. When this happens, the body will respond by narrowing blood vessels, which will cause the blood pressure to rise.
While drinking water is not a “treatment” for high blood pressure, by drinking six to eight glasses of water daily, will keep you well hydrated and help to control your blood pressure and other health measures.
Dehydration occurs, when the body loses too much of water. The main reason for this is when you don’t drink enough water or not replenishing water lost to sweat, excessive urination, diarrhea or vomiting.
Sodium is what you get from salt, which is an essential mineral which serves two important roles in your blood pressure. It helps to contract and relax muscles throughout the body, including those in blood vessels, and it also helps to maintain the proper balance of water so that the body’s systems are in a constant state of equilibrium (homeostasis).
These functions can be severely impaired, when sodium levels are abnormally high (hypernatremia) or abnormally low (hyponatremia). There can be significant consequences, even when sodium levels are modestly affected.
When you are hydrated, the volume of water in your body goes down, concentrating sodium levels. When sodium increases, in turn, causes your body to secrete a hormone called vasopressin that prevents the kidneys from releasing water in urine, thereby preventing water loss.
At the same time, vasopressin causes the constriction (narrowing) of blood vessels, thereby increasing blood pressure, sometimes precipitously. Though studies are lacking as to how much dehydration impacts hypertension, animal studies which was conducted by Monash University reported, that Chronic dehydration increases the risk of severe kidney damage and worsens high blood pressure in mice.
If you have been diagnosed with hypertension or are prehypertensive, then being well hydrated will help to normalize your blood pressure.
It’s generally recommended, that you drink six to eight- ounce cups of water daily. Consult your healthcare provider to determine how much water you need based on your fitness level, general health, age and other factors.
