Consuming meals equivalent to bananas, avocados and salmon might assist cut back the damaging results of salt in ladies’s weight loss plan, analysis suggests.
The examine discovered that potassium-rich diets have been related to decrease blood strain, notably in ladies with excessive salt consumption.
Researchers say their findings point out the mineral helps protect coronary heart well being, and that girls profit greater than males.
Research writer Professor Liffert Vogt of Amsterdam College Medical Facilities, within the Netherlands, stated: “It’s well-known that prime salt consumption is related to elevated blood strain and a raised threat of coronary heart assaults and strokes.
“Well being recommendation has targeted on limiting salt consumption, however that is tough to attain when our diets embrace processed meals. In our examine, dietary potassium was linked with the best well being beneficial properties in ladies.”
The examine included 11,267 males and 13,696 ladies from the Epic-Norfolk examine, which recruited adults aged 40 to 79 from normal practices in Norfolk, UK, between 1993 and 1997.
Everybody accomplished a questionnaire on life-style habits, their blood strain was measured and a urine pattern was collected. Urinary sodium and potassium have been used to estimate dietary consumption.
Researchers analysed the hyperlink between potassium consumption and blood strain, and located that potassium consumption (in grams per day) was related to blood strain in ladies. As consumption of the mineral went up, blood strain went down.
When the affiliation was analysed in keeping with salt consumption, the connection between potassium and blood strain was solely noticed in ladies with excessive sodium consumption.
Total, they discovered that individuals who had the very best potassium consumption had a 13% decrease threat of cardiovascular occasions in comparison with these with the bottom consumption. When women and men have been analysed individually, the danger reductions have been 7% and 11%, respectively.
The quantity of salt within the weight loss plan didn’t affect the connection between potassium and cardiovascular occasions in males or ladies, the researchers discovered.
Prof Vogt stated: “The outcomes counsel that potassium helps protect coronary heart well being, however that girls profit greater than males.
“The connection between potassium and cardiovascular occasions was the identical no matter salt consumption, suggesting that potassium has different methods of defending the center on prime of accelerating sodium excretion.”
The NHS recommends that adults aged 19 to 64 want 3,500mg of potassium a day, and may have the ability to get this from their weight loss plan.
Meals excessive in potassium embrace greens, fruit, nuts, beans, dairy merchandise and fish. For instance, a 115g banana has 375mg of potassium, 154g of cooked salmon has 780mg, a 136g potato has 500mg, and one cup of milk has 375mg.
Tracy Parker, senior dietitian on the British Coronary heart Basis, stated: “This analysis helps present recommendation that reducing down our consumption of salt and consuming extra meals containing potassium might be the recipe for a more healthy coronary heart.
“A straightforward solution to increase your potassium consumption is by consuming 5 parts of fruit and greens a day. Different meals like pulses, fish, nuts, seeds and milk are additionally excessive in potassium and low in salt, so might help profit your coronary heart.
“Nevertheless, protecting wholesome isn’t nearly monitoring what’s in your plate.
Limiting your alcohol consumption and staying bodily energetic can even assist to decrease your blood strain, decreasing the danger of a coronary heart assault or stroke.”
The findings are revealed within the European Coronary heart Journal.
