06/08/2018 / By Jessica Dolores
Heart patients know that reducing or eliminating sodium from meals is a great way to lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease. But not many of them are aware that potassium is the body’s strong ally in preventing heart and kidney problems.
Research conducted by a study team from the University of Southern California revealed that the interplay of sodium and potassium is essential in maintaining heart health. A review of 70 studies found that the sodium-potassium ratio excreted as urine shows how much our body consumes these minerals.
When the body takes in more potassium through meals, the kidney – made up of millions of small tubes functioning together – move fluid to a place near the end of the tubes. This is where potassium finds its way into the urine. This process lowers the amount of sodium and water reabsorbed into the body.
Elevated potassium levels tell the body to reduce the amount of sodium in it. The cycle controls the levels of sodium and potassium in the body and helps lower blood pressure.
This explains why consuming and excreting potassium hinder the progress of heart and kidney diseases.
The researchers also studied ways to enlighten the public on the value of potassium in reducing blood pressure and promoting a healthy heart. Their suggestions are:
Fortunately, you don’t have to look far to get low-cost, easily-available sources of potassium, which helps communication between nerves and muscles and transport nutrients into cells.
Banana comes to mind. This tropical fruit has 422 mg of potassium, or around nine percent of the 4,700 mg recommended daily intake.
But you can also source out potassium from other natural foods. Here are some:
Good nutrition need not cost you an arm and a leg the way many kinds of diseases do.
Potassium is one example of this. It is friendly to the health as it is easy on the pocket. That’s why it pays to stock up on sources of this nutrient whenever and wherever you can.
Read more articles on the benefits of potassium and other nutrients you need to achieve your best health at Nutrients.news.
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Tagged Under: Cardiovascular, dietary potassium, Diets, food as medicine, food cures, food science, heart disease, heart health, nutrition, potassium, prevention, salt, sodium