FRIDAY, July 22, 2022 (HealthDay News) — It may sound like a banana, but new research shows that eating this potassium-rich food can improve heart health.
Avocados and salmon are also high in potassium, which researchers say helps counteract the negative effects of salt in the diet and lower blood pressure. Other potassium-rich foods include vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, dairy products, and fish.
“It is well known that high salt intake is associated with increased blood pressure and an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes,” said the study’s author. Liffert Vogt, Professor of Clinical Nephrology and Renal Physiology at the University of Amsterdam Medical Centers in the Netherlands.
“Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake, but this is difficult to achieve when processed foods are included in our diets,” he said. “Potassium helps the body excrete more sodium in the urine. In our study, dietary potassium was associated with the greatest health gains in women.”
The study included about 25,000 British men and women aged 40 to 79 who were part of a study between 1993 and 1997. The participants filled out questionnaires about their lifestyles and had their blood pressure and urine samples analyzed.
Urinary sodium and potassium were used to measure dietary intake.
The researchers found that as the women’s potassium intake increased, their blood pressure decreased. And as potassium intake increased, women’s blood pressure also increased.
Each 1-gram increase in daily potassium intake was associated with 2.4 mm Hg lower systolic blood pressure for these women. No association between potassium and blood pressure was found in men.
Participants were followed for a median of 19.5 years (half followed longer, half shorter). During that time, 55% of participants were hospitalized or died from heart disease.
After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, body mass index, tobacco, alcohol and lipid-lowering drugs, diabetes and previous heart attack or stroke, the researchers found that people with the highest potassium intake had a 13% lower heart risk. -related problems compared to those with the lowest intake.
Men had a 7% lower risk of heart problems and women had an 11% lower risk, according to the study. The amount of salt in the diet had no effect on the relationship between potassium and cardiac events in either sex, the researchers said.
The findings were published July 22 in the European Heart Journal.
“The results suggest that potassium helps maintain heart health, but that women benefit more than men,” Vogt said in a journal news release. “The relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events was the same regardless of salt intake, suggesting that potassium has other ways of protecting the heart besides increasing sodium excretion.”
The World Health Organization recommends that adults consume at least 3.5 grams of potassium and less than 2 grams of sodium (5 grams of salt) per day.
A 4-ounce banana contains 375 mg of potassium; 5.5 ounces of cooked salmon contains 780 mg; A 5-ounce serving of potatoes has 500 mg, and a 1-cup serving of milk has 375 mg.
“Our findings indicate that a heart-healthy diet goes beyond limiting salt to increasing potassium content,” said Vogt. “Food companies can help by replacing standard sodium-based salt with potassium salt in processed foods. In addition, we should all prioritize fresh, unprocessed foods, both of which are rich in potassium and low in salt.”
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provides more information on potassium-rich foods.
SOURCE: European Heart Journal, news release, July 22, 2022
