For those who have high blood pressure, taking a prescription drug can literally save lives. While medications are never a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle, scientific studies have shown how powerful blood pressure lowering medications can be.
For example, according to a 2024 scientific study published in Cureustaking a blood pressure-lowering drug significantly reduced high blood pressure in older adults with high blood pressure, which in turn reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke.
As with any medication, it’s important to know how certain foods and drinks may interact with your blood pressure medication. This way, you can ensure that you get the maximum benefit from the drug while staying safe. With that in mind, there’s one drink combination that a pharmacist says most people don’t realize can interact negatively with blood pressure medication.
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The drink combination to avoid if you are taking high blood pressure medication
It’s common to turn to an energy drink when you’re feeling tired, but if you’re on high blood pressure medication, you may want to avoid it, especially if you like to pair it with a sugary drink like grape juice. It’s a surprisingly common combination, and Welch’s grape juice even has its own energy drink.
Dr. Taylor Clark, PharmD, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies, explains that caffeinated beverages can raise blood pressure. She shares that caffeine raises blood pressure by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and releasing catecholamines, which are molecules that act like neurotransmitters and hormones (AKA chemical messengers).
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“This can directly negate the effects of blood pressure-lowering drugs. For this reason, it is recommended that patients with high blood pressure limit their caffeine intake. The 2025 high blood pressure guidelines suggest consuming less than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, and in patients with severe, uncontrolled high blood pressure, any drink greater than one caffeinated drink per day,” says Dr Clark.
When you combine a high-caffeine drink with a high-sugar drink (such as soda or fruit juice), the impact can be even worse. This is because sugary drinks are scientifically linked to increased blood pressure. She explains that even some drinks that many consider healthy, such as grape juice, can be high in sugar or artificial sweeteners.
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“A meta-analysis investigating the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on cardiometabolic disease demonstrated an increased risk of hypertension, stroke, and all-cause mortality with consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages. The data suggest that higher rates of consumption are associated with a higher risk of cardiometabolic disease,” says Dr. Sugar-sweetened fruit juice is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
“Although it didn’t correlate directly with hypertension, diabetes is a known risk factor for hypertension,” she says.
A safer way to boost your energy
As scientific research shows, it’s not a great idea to rely on sugary, highly caffeinated drinks for an energy boost—tips that everyone can benefit from. If you’re taking a medication to lower your blood pressure, you may be wondering what’s a safer way to boost your energy.
If you want to drink an energy drink, Dr. Clark suggests checking the label first and making sure the caffeine content doesn’t exceed 300 milligrams, which would be unsafe. But you can still drink coffee: a cup of coffee usually contains about 95 milligrams of caffeine.
If you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, Dr. Clark says to keep your coffee intake to one cup a day while sticking to the Hypertension 2025 recommendations mentioned earlier. She points to a study published in Journal of the American Heart Association showing that participants with high blood pressure who consumed two to three cups of coffee per day had a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Related: The Only Habit That Can Lower Your Blood Pressure Overnight, According to a Cardiologist
Green tea is a safer bet when it comes to enjoying a caffeinated beverage if you have high blood pressure. Dr. Clark says the same study shows that drinking green tea (which has between 20 and 50 milligrams of caffeine per cup) was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, drinking green tea every day is a great way to support your heart. It is extremely rich in antioxidants, which help prevent inflammation, a major factor in heart disease.
Consider this a good reminder that taking a blood pressure medication is not a substitute for healthy eating habits. It’s still important to watch what you eat and drink, including the caffeine and sugar content of your drinks. This way, you can get the maximum benefit from your medication.
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Sources:
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Dr. Taylor Clark, PharmD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies
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Chaudhry, R., Siddique, YA, Sebai, A., et al. (2024). Efficacy of antihypertensive drugs in lowering blood pressure and cardiovascular events in the elderly population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cureus. 16(1):e.52053
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Writing committee members, Jones, DW, Ferdinand, KC, et al. (2025). AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guidelines for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of hypertension in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines.High blood pressure. Volume 82, Number 10. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYP.0000000000000249
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Malik, AH, Akram, Y., Shetty, S., et al. (2014). Impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on blood pressure. American Journal of Cardiology. 113(9):1574-1580
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Li, B., Yan, N., Jiang, H., et al. (2023). Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and fruit juices and the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition. 10:1019534. two: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1019534.
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Xi, B., Li, S., Liu, Z., et al. (2014). Fruit juice intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 9(3):e93471
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Teramoto, M., Yamagishi, K., Muraki, I., et al. (2023). Coffee and green tea consumption and cardiovascular disease mortality among people with and without hypertension. Journal of the American Heart Association. 12(2):e026477
This story was originally published by Parade on December 7, 2025, where it first appeared in Health & Wellness. Add Parade as a favorite source by clicking here.