Experts from the Netherlands recommend that you consume bananas, avocados and salmon on a regular basis. Optimal. We add that for those who love the dishes of our house, it is better to put dried legumes and whole grains in the plate, in fresh summer salads, remembering to make sure that they absorb the cooking water well so as not to lose the potassium available. And then, small snacks with dried fruit and the classic tomato sauce. In any case, it is always better to consume fresh and not preserved foods.
Potassium counteracts excess salt
The goal is simple: to deliver potassium to the body. With this diet, even if you tend to overdo it with salt, you could better counterbalance the excesses of sodium linked to too much salt and the consequent risk of hypertension, heart attacks and strokes. To sanction this reality, figures in hand, is an original study coordinated by Liffert Vogt of Amsterdam University Medical Centers, published on European Heart Journal, journal of the European Society of Cardiology (Esc). Research clearly shows that diets were associated with lower average blood pressure when consuming potassium-rich foods regularly, with a particularly significant impact in women with high salt intake.
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And it protects against heart attacks and strokes
We have known for some time that limiting salt, also paying attention to that hidden in food that “weighs” in the total balance, is a fundamental strategy for controlling hypertension and consequently limiting the risk of heart attack and stroke. But perhaps, in addition to focusing on reducing sodium chloride intake, it would be important to ensure that the diet can “antagonize” any salt surplus, thanks to a diet that includes foods rich in potassium. According to Vogt, “the advice has focused on limiting salt intake, but this is difficult to achieve when our diets include processed foods. Potassium helps the body excrete more sodium in the urine. In our study, potassium in the diet has been linked to greater health gains in women. “
The study on British data
The survey examined information relating to nearly 25,000 people (11,267 men and 13,696 women) of the studio EPIC-Norfolk, which recruited between 1993 and 1997 people aged 40 to 79 from general practitioners in Norfolk in the UK. The average age at the time of recruitment was just under 60. A lifestyle questionnaire was completed, blood pressure measured, and a urine sample collected. Urinary sodium and potassium were used to estimate dietary intake. Participants were divided into tertiles based on sodium (low / medium / high) and potassium (low / medium / high) intake.
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How much potassium weighs for the woman
The researchers analyzed the association between potassium intake and blood pressure after adjusting for age, gender and sodium intake. The consumption of potassium (in grams per day) was associated with blood pressure values in women: the higher the intake, the more the blood pressure tends to drop.
When the association was analyzed based on sodium intake (low / medium / high), the relationship between potassium and blood pressure was only observed in women with a high sodium intake, where each gram of daily potassium increases it was associated with a 2.4 mm systolic lowering of mercury pressure. In men, this association was not observed.
How the risk falls
More than half of the subjects included in the study, in about twenty years from the first visit, had a hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases or died from circulatory problems. Analyzing the association between potassium intake and cardiovascular events, those who took more potassium had a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular events than those who took less.
Potassium protects regardless of the salt consumed
Considering men and women separately, the corresponding risk reductions were 7% and 11%, respectively. All this must be said considering that the amount of salt taken with the diet did not interact in the relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events in men or women. As if to say that potassium protects no matter how much salt you consume.
More benefits for women
Vogt’s conclusion: “The findings suggest that potassium helps preserve heart health, but that women benefit more from it. than men. The relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events was the same regardless of salt intake, suggesting that potassium has other ways to protect the heart besides increasing sodium excretion. “In short: to preserve circulation, we pay attention to the table. And remember that 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.
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