If you have high blood pressure, certain foods, drinks, medications, and habits can push your numbers higher, sometimes significantly. The most impactful things to avoid or limit are excess sodium, alcohol, common pain relievers like ibuprofen, added sugars, and licorice. Some of these are obvious, but others hide in places you wouldn’t expect.
Excess Sodium, Especially Hidden Sources
Sodium is the single biggest dietary factor in blood pressure. The ideal limit for people with hypertension is under 1,500 mg per day, according to the latest joint guidelines from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. The general population target is 2,300 mg, but if your blood pressure is already elevated, lower is better.
The tricky part is that most sodium doesn’t come from your salt shaker. It comes from processed and packaged foods, restaurant meals, and staples you might not think of as “salty.” Bread is one of the biggest offenders. A single baguette can contain roughly 25% of your total daily recommended salt intake. Cheese, deli meats, canned soups, frozen meals, snack foods, pizza, and condiments like soy sauce all add up fast. If you eat out frequently, your sodium intake is almost certainly higher than you think, since restaurants use far more salt than home cooking.
Reading nutrition labels is the most practical step you can take. Look at the milligrams per serving, not just the percentage. And increase your potassium intake at the same time, aiming for 3,500 to 5,000 mg per day from fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Research consistently shows that a lower sodium-to-potassium ratio is more important than either number alone. Potassium-enriched salt substitutes, which replace some sodium chloride with potassium chloride, are another option worth considering.
Common Pain Relievers (NSAIDs)
Ibuprofen, naproxen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are some of the most commonly used over-the-counter medications, and they directly raise blood pressure. About one in four people taking NSAIDs retain extra sodium as a result, which increases blood volume and pushes pressure up. These drugs also reduce blood flow to the kidneys by blocking the production of compounds that keep blood vessels relaxed, which means your kidneys excrete less water and salt.
If you’re already on blood pressure medication, NSAIDs can blunt its effectiveness. They essentially work against your treatment. For occasional headaches or minor pain, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is generally a safer choice, though it’s worth confirming with your pharmacist. If you rely on NSAIDs for chronic pain from arthritis or another condition, that’s a conversation to have with your doctor, because the blood pressure effects are cumulative over time.
Alcohol
Alcohol raises blood pressure through a mechanism that’s more persistent than most people realize. Research from the American Heart Association shows that even a single binge drinking episode (four to five drinks in two hours) changes how your blood vessels respond to nerve signals the next morning. Your body becomes more reactive to its own stress hormones, tightening blood vessels more aggressively than it normally would. This effect lingers well after the alcohol itself has been metabolized. Alcohol also slows the clearance of norepinephrine, a hormone that constricts blood vessels, meaning it stays active in your bloodstream longer than it should.
For people with hypertension, this isn’t just about heavy drinking. Regular moderate consumption adds up. If you drink, keeping it to one drink per day or less makes a measurable difference. Binge episodes are particularly harmful because of how dramatically they alter vascular responses the following day.
Added Sugars and Sugary Drinks
Sugar’s connection to blood pressure is less well known than sodium’s, but it’s real and well documented. Fructose, the type of sugar found in high-fructose corn syrup, table sugar, and many sweetened beverages, raises uric acid levels in your blood. High uric acid increases resistance in your blood vessels, impairs the ability of blood vessels to relax, and promotes salt retention. It’s also linked to insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, both of which contribute to hypertension over time.
Sugary drinks are the most concentrated source of added fructose in most diets. Soda, sweetened iced teas, fruit punches, and energy drinks deliver large amounts of fructose quickly, without fiber to slow absorption. Cutting these out is one of the higher-impact changes you can make beyond sodium reduction.
Licorice
This one surprises most people. Real licorice root, the kind found in some candies, herbal teas, and supplements, contains a compound that mimics the effects of a hormone called aldosterone in your kidneys. Aldosterone tells your kidneys to hold onto sodium and release potassium. When licorice tricks your body into acting as if aldosterone levels are high, you retain fluid, lose potassium, and your blood pressure climbs.
The threshold is remarkably low. Research published in Kidney International Reports found that as little as 100 mg of licorice candy per day was enough to raise both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. People with liver problems or who drink heavily are at even greater risk, because their bodies clear the active compound more slowly. If you have high blood pressure, check ingredient labels on herbal teas, throat lozenges, and supplements for “licorice root” or “glycyrrhizin.” Note that most licorice-flavored candy in the U.S. uses anise flavoring instead of real licorice, but imported or artisanal products often contain the real thing.
Decongestants
Pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine, the active ingredients in most cold and sinus medications, work by constricting blood vessels in your nasal passages. That same vessel-constricting effect happens throughout your body, raising blood pressure. If you have hypertension and come down with a cold, look for products labeled “HBP” or “for high blood pressure,” which use alternative ingredients. Saline nasal sprays and steam inhalation are effective decongestant alternatives that don’t affect your cardiovascular system.
Caffeine for Sensitive Individuals
Caffeine’s relationship with blood pressure is more nuanced than the other items on this list. Regular coffee drinkers develop a tolerance, and for most of them, moderate caffeine consumption doesn’t meaningfully raise blood pressure long term. But if you don’t drink coffee regularly and then have a cup, your blood pressure can spike by 5 to 10 points. The Mayo Clinic suggests checking your blood pressure before and then 30 to 120 minutes after drinking coffee to see if you’re personally sensitive. If you are, cutting back or switching to decaf is worth it.
Poor Sleep
Sleep quality has a direct and significant effect on blood pressure. Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where your airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, is present in 82% of patients with resistant hypertension (blood pressure that doesn’t respond well to medication). More than half of those cases involve moderate to severe apnea. If your blood pressure stays high despite medication, and especially if you snore loudly, wake up gasping, or feel exhausted despite a full night’s sleep, untreated sleep apnea could be the reason your numbers aren’t improving.
Even without apnea, consistently sleeping fewer than six hours raises blood pressure over time. Your body uses deep sleep to reset its stress hormone levels and relax blood vessels. Cutting that process short keeps your cardiovascular system running in a higher gear than it should.