Cutting out salt might not actually be the most effective diet change to lower your blood pressure
High blood pressure can be a silent killer, prompting most people to manage their levels through lifestyle habits before it even becomes a problem. Common advice to those battling with hypertension includes reducing sodium consumption, but recent findings point towards a potentially more effective strategy.
Professor Anita Layton of the University of Waterloo has shed light on a fresh approach, saying, “Our research suggests that adding more potassium-rich foods to your diet, such as bananas or broccoli, might have a greater positive impact on your blood pressure than just cutting sodium.”
Essentially, this new study found that the key to managing elevated blood pressure might lie in the balance between potassium and sodium levels in our daily food choices.
Potassium, found abundantly in food staples like bananas, potatoes, spinach, and avocados, could be beneficial. In contrast, sodium lurks in processed offerings such as fast food, pizza, bread, and ready meals.
Published in the American Journal of Physiology Renal Physiology, the recent study discovered that a boost in potassium can aid the body’s recovery and management processes post-sodium intake.
To put it plainly, while sodium hikes your blood pressure, bananas and their potassium kin can reduce it, suggesting that these straightforward dietary adjustments could usher in significant health benefits.
Researchers suggest that examining your diet’s sodium to potassium ratio could “be a stronger predictor for blood pressure, risk of cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality” than solely concentrating on one of these minerals.
Coinciding with modern dietary habits, many Western diets are laden with sodium whilst lacking the fruits and veggies that provide potassium, which means our bodies struggle to manage the high levels of sodium we often consume.
The recent study has indicated: If you’re consuming high levels of sodium leading to increased blood pressure, boosting your potassium intake might counteract this by eliminating the excess sodium.
The research noted men are generally more prone to hypertension but equally stand to gain most from modifying their diet in this way.
Experts anticipate further research will delve into how this nutritional balance interacts with medication.
