How to Lower Blood Pressure with Hibiscus Tea

Blood pressure control is essential to maintain good kidney health and reduce the possibility of a stroke or heart attack. But it can be difficult to find blood pressure medication that does not have unpleasant side effects. You and your doctor might have to use trial and error to find a medicine you can tolerate. But if blood pressure is only moderately high, could you lower it with hibiscus tea or other kitchen remedies?

Using Hibiscus Tea to Control Blood Pressure:

Q. At my last physical my blood pressure was 158/90, the highest reading I’ve ever had. (I chalked that up to white coat hypertension). It had been running 135/82 or so, which still concerned me. I bought a high-end BP monitor that keeps records on my smartphone.

I started drinking hibiscus tea, 20 ounces iced per day, minimum. After 6 months my readings average out to 109/71.

I don’t add salt when I cook, and I have also started to avoid food with added sodium. I’m sure that has helped as well. I read about the DASH Diet online and found it very enlightening. I’m a 54-year-old menopausal woman who exercises regularly.

Hibiscus as a Blood Pressure Remedy:

A. Hibiscus tea is made from the petals of the bright-red flowers of Hibiscus sabdariffa. The taste is tart and many people find it pleasant.

Hibiscus tea seems to act as an ACE inhibitor, similar to the blood pressure drug lisinopril. It was tested head-to-head with lisinopril in a small study and found to be about equally effective (Indian Journal of Pharmacology, Sep-Oct., 2015). (Aqueous extract of Hibiscus sounds rather formal, but it is indistinguishable from hibiscus tea.)

The same clinical team found that it worked better than hydrochlorothiazide, a standard blood pressure medication (Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice, Nov-Dec., 2015). In another recent comparative study by these investigators, hibiscus tea improved markers of kidney function at least as well as lisinopril did (Nwachukwu et al, Journal of Physiological Science, Jan. 2017). The subjects in this trial had mild to moderate hypertension.

People taking statin medication should probably not drink hibiscus tea, however. Research suggests that this lovely red beverage can reduce the concentration of simvastatin and might interfere with its effectiveness (Showande et al, Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, online Sep. 18, 2017).

The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) has been extensively studied, and more than 400 publications about its effectiveness have been published in medical journals. It is recognized as reducing the risk of coronary artery disease (American Family Physician, June 1, 2016). In addition to the DASH dietary program, a delicious tea made from hibiscus flowers can also help with blood pressure control.

Hibiscus Flowers for Red Tea:

Q. One of my Mexican friends told me about hibiscus tea. They call it “jamaica,” and I get it loose at a Mexican market. It only costs about $4 a pound, and it doesn’t take much to make a cup of tea. It really brought down my blood pressure, and I love the taste.

A. Tea made from the dried flowers of the plant Hibiscus sabdariffa, known as “jamaica” in Mexico, has been reported to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and dangerous oxidation of LDL (Endocrinologia y Nutricion, online Jan. 17, 2014).

A few very preliminary studies have suggested that Hibiscus sabdariffa extracts may be beneficial in fighting obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as well (Materia Socio-Medica, 2013; Food & Function, April 2014). It is probably too much to expect that drinking hibiscus tea could be slimming, but this bright, tangy somewhat tart beverage certainly seems like a healthful choice. It is not difficult to find hibiscus tea; Celestial Seasonings offers several blends with hibiscus under the “Zinger” name.

Will Hibiscus Tea Make You Cough?

Q. Has anybody else had problems with a bad cough after drinking hibiscus tea? I’ve been told it works as an ACE inhibitor for blood pressure problems.

I’ve been drinking a couple of cups of hibiscus tea a day. Now I have a terrible cough that won’t go away. I didn’t drink any for a couple of months but I still had a cough. After I went back to drinking it, the cough got even worse. Nothing seems to help it. Do you have any ideas?

A. Hibiscus tea does act as an ACE inhibitor. One study found it comparable to the blood pressure drug enalapril (Phytotherapy Research, Dec.
2023).  These scientists found similar activity in a number of other plants that might be included in the diet, such as rosemary, turmeric, pomegranate and peppers.

One downside of ACE inhibitors is a cough. Sensitive individuals may develop such a cough while taking a medicine like lisinopril. The only thing that helps is to stop the medication. Since you appear to be susceptible to this cough from your tea, you’ll have to find another approach to controlling your blood pressure.

Learn More About Controlling Blood Pressure:

We discuss the phenomenon of white coat hypertension and the proper way to measure blood pressure in our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment. In it, we include many other non-drug approaches such as chocolate, beet juice, grape juice and pomegranate juice. Exercise, meditation and slow breathing can also bring blood pressure down with minimal side effects.

In addition, if you would like more information on how to follow a DASH diet, you will find it in our book, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies.

You might find that a combination of these remedies with the diet can make a difference. Be sure to keep good records of your blood pressure and discuss your approach with your physician. Not everyone will be able to control blood pressure without drugs, but adding the DASH diet and an exercise regimen to medication will probably help.