How To Take Caffeine Without Raising Blood Pressure

[sun-maid]

Hi everyone,

I recently added caffeine in the mix. It really makes me feel good, however it seems to gives me high blood pressure. In the morning without anything in me, i am around 120/75. With coffee (I sometime take multiple 200mg caffeine pill during the day). I get reading from 135/75 to 145/80 later in the day...

How can I avoid the blood pressure rise ? And why does it seems to increase only my systolic blood pressure ?
I have been supplementing caffeine for about 3 weeks now.

Thank you,
Sun-Maid

 

[Chris-R]

Personally, I take my coffee with an enormous amount of sugar and good quality milk. Almost like a super sweet coffee-milk. For example: 10 oz. coffee + 6-10 oz. milk and anywhere from 50 to 100 grams of sugar. With this recipe I find that I am able to get all the benefits of coffee without the all too common, uncomfortable stress effect. For this same reason (reap benefits + avoid stress) I also prefer to take my coffee with some food such as a couple pieces of fresh fruit. If you're getting in all of that caffeine (increasing energy demand) and not taking in any food with it (energy source), you're likely to get a stress response. The bare caffeine pill would be a perfect example of that. Also, seems like a pretty high daily intake to me. Perhaps too high and beyond what is healthy/tolerable. Why so much? Caffeine can be like a horse rider whipping a horse during a race. Sure it can make the horse run faster, but that doesn't mean it's good for the horse...

 

[redsun]

Hi everyone,

I recently added caffeine in the mix. It really makes me feel good, however it seems to gives me high blood pressure. In the morning without anything in me, i am around 120/75. With coffee (I sometime take multiple 200mg caffeine pill during the day). I get reading from 135/75 to 145/80 later in the day...

How can I avoid the blood pressure rise ? And why does it seems to increase only my systolic blood pressure ?
I have been supplementing caffeine for about 3 weeks now.

Thank you,
Sun-Maid

Its typical of a CNS stimulant, its going to increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and raise BP.

 

[lampofred]

More calcium and sucrose might help by lowering stress hormones and increasing CO2.

 

[sun-maid]

Personally, I take my coffee with an enormous amount of sugar and good quality milk. Almost like a super sweet coffee-milk. For example: 10 oz. coffee + 6-10 oz. milk and anywhere from 50 to 100 grams of sugar. With this recipe I find that I am able to get all the benefits of coffee without the all too common, uncomfortable stress effect. For this same reason (reap benefits + avoid stress) I also prefer to take my coffee with some food such as a couple pieces of fresh fruit. If you're getting in all of that caffeine (increasing energy demand) and not taking in any food with it (energy source), you're likely to get a stress response. The bare caffeine pill would be a perfect example of that. Also, seems like a pretty high daily intake to me. Perhaps too high and beyond what is healthy/tolerable. Why so much? Caffeine can be like a horse rider whipping a horse during a race. Sure it can make the horse run faster, but that doesn't mean it's good for the horse...

More calcium and sucrose might help by lowering stress hormones and increasing CO2.

I will try adding more sugar with it before lowering the dose. Thank you for the advice!

 

[sun-maid]

Its typical of a CNS stimulant, its going to increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and raise BP.

It makes sense, but Haidut posted a lot of study concerning caffeine and It seems overall good. This one in particular, claim it lower parathyroid hormone Inhibition of Parathyroid Hormone Secretion by Caffeine in Human Parathyroid Cells

 

[redsun]

It makes sense, but Haidut posted a lot of study concerning caffeine and It seems overall good. This one in particular, claim it lower parathyroid hormone Inhibition of Parathyroid Hormone Secretion by Caffeine in Human Parathyroid Cells

Never said caffeine was bad, but that raising BP is a natural effect of taking a CNS stimulant. Some people arent as susceptible to getting high BP from caffeine, some are. Taking it with plenty of food and carbs may help. It may also go away on its own with more time.

 

[boris]

Definitely avoid on empty stomach. After a big meal with plenty of milk/cream and sugar is the best way. When you get jittery it means you are stimulating too much and don't have enough food or reserves to metabolize. Caffeine works similar to thyroid. You wouldn't take thyroid on a fast.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

You're new to using it? Just give it time and slow it down some -- don't go overboard with 200-400-600-800-etc. doses per day nonstop.

I started caffeine again infrequently and it hasn't had any negative effects after months of being off, but I only use up to 200mg a day or so max on days of use.

Basically just start low at ~200mg a day max and work up to 1 gram max after several weeks or months, but tapering off sometime is probably good too than always being "on" caffeine.

I can't say much about the systolic concern though.

 

[ddjd]

could it be caused from increased adrenaline?

 

[Sativa]

use a source of Theanine,it entirely neutralizes the adrenergic-esque style effects of caffeine

 

[Hans]

Second the theanine. Ornithine and taurine might also help.

 

[Broken man]

Taurine and magnesium.

 

[rob]

@sun-maid Pre-synaptic neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) - located in the brain stem - are known to modulate blood pressure via sympathetic innervation.

Glycine - along with GABA as already mentioned (theanine is indeed a good option) - has potent inhibitory effects specifically within the brain stem/CNS (see: Glycinergic neurotransmission in the rostral ventrolateral medulla controls the time course of baroreflex-mediated sympathoinhibition. - PubMed - NCBI). These two neurotransmitters counteract the excitatory effects of glutamate on the RVLM and, thus, subsequent catecholamine-mediated hypertensive states.

So, technically, a good dose of glycine powder stirred in to a caffeinated drink should also be beneficial and, certainly, complementary to any GABA-stimulating substances.

Generally speaking, you might also want to be mindful of your B6 intake as it’s needed to synthesise GABA from glutamate.

 

[sun-maid]

use a source of Theanine,it entirely neutralizes the adrenergic-esque style effects of caffeine

Second the theanine. Ornithine and taurine might also help.

Taurine and magnesium.

@sun-maid Pre-synaptic neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) - located in the brain stem - are known to modulate blood pressure via sympathetic innervation.

Glycine - along with GABA as already mentioned (theanine is indeed a good option) - has potent inhibitory effects specifically within the brain stem/CNS (see: Glycinergic neurotransmission in the rostral ventrolateral medulla controls the time course of baroreflex-mediated sympathoinhibition. - PubMed - NCBI). These two neurotransmitters counteract the excitatory effects of glutamate on the RVLM and, thus, subsequent catecholamine-mediated hypertensive states.

So, technically, a good dose of glycine powder stirred in to a caffeinated drink should also be beneficial and, certainly, complementary to any GABA-stimulating substances.

Generally speaking, you might also want to be mindful of your B6 intake as it’s needed to synthesise GABA from glutamate.

What dose of theanine and taurine do you guys suggest ? I heard that taurine raise prolactin tho ?

I do eat a lot of glycine (great lakes gelatin). For the b6, I eat a lot of potato and banana. And weekly liver

 

[rob]

What dose of theanine and taurine do you guys suggest ? I heard that taurine raise prolactin tho ?

I do eat a lot of glycine (great lakes gelatin). For the b6, I eat a lot of potato and banana. And weekly liver

Dosing for things like l-theanine and glycine can be extremely individual, some are supersensitive and others less so.

For me, 200mg of Suntheanine is effective.

As for glycine, note that some people - me included - get more cognitive/CNS benefits from the free form, not collagen. Personally, I think collagen’s relatively high glutamate levels could be one problem. Also, the other amino acids in collagen may inhibit the uptake of glycine limiting its CNS actions.

 

[sun-maid]

Dosing for things like l-theanine and glycine can be extremely individual, some are supersensitive and others less so.

For me, 200mg of Suntheanine is effective.

As for glycine, note that some people - me included - get more cognitive/CNS benefits from the free form, not collagen. Personally, I think collagen’s relatively high glutamate levels could be one problem. Also, the other amino acids in collagen may inhibit the uptake of glycine limiting its CNS actions.

Do I need to cycle theanine or is it safe as a daily supplement ?

 

[rob]

Do I need to cycle theanine or is it safe as a daily supplement ?

Personally, I haven't noticed any build up of tolerance and I can't find any research directly suggesting it would do this. Though everyone's different so, if you found the effects waning, just take a break - though it could be that you're just more stressed and need a higher dose.

In general, it seems a very safe supplement. The only negative I can think of regarding l-theanine is that some studies have shown that it might promote innate immunity, which, technically speaking, could be bad if you have a Th1-mediated disease. That said, its potent stress-reduction benefits probably outweigh any slight immuno-steering effects in chronic disease sufferers, but it may be worth bearing in mind for some people.

 

[Braveheart]

Hi everyone,

I recently added caffeine in the mix. It really makes me feel good, however it seems to gives me high blood pressure. In the morning without anything in me, i am around 120/75. With coffee (I sometime take multiple 200mg caffeine pill during the day). I get reading from 135/75 to 145/80 later in the day...

How can I avoid the blood pressure rise ? And why does it seems to increase only my systolic blood pressure ?
I have been supplementing caffeine for about 3 weeks now.

Thank you,
Sun-Maid

The BP rise from 200 mg is only temporary...and yes, if you are popping these throughout the day it will continue...no need to over analyze and complicate this issue...as is done so often here.

 

[Mike wolff]

More calcium and sucrose might help by lowering stress hormones and increasing CO2.

Should men supplement calcium