High Blood Pressure? Adding Bananas and Broccoli to Your Diet May Help, Says Study:

The problem of high blood pressure (hypertension) is increasing at an alarming rate globally, including in India. Globally, over 30 percent of adults suffer from high blood pressure, which is a primary contributing factor for severe health problems, including coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, and even dementia.

Studies suggest Potassium helps in controlling hypertension

A recent study conducted by the University of Waterloo in Canada suggests that a proper balance of potassium and sodium intake may prove more effective in lowering blood pressure than simply lowering sodium intake. Traditionally, patients suffering hypertension are advised to cut on the sodium intake; however, this research points towards a supplementary approach of increasing potassium intake.

Anita Layton, one of the professors at Waterloo, said, “Reducing salt is a popular advice but our study shows that including potassium sources like bananas or broccoli can be much more effective in bringing down BP.”

Why is potassium such an essential component?

Potassium and sodium are vital electrolytes in the human body. They assist in controlling muscle contractions, fluid equilibrium, and electrical signaling within the body. For optimum blood pressure, the ratio of both needs to be balanced.

The research argued that dietary potassium seems to assist the body and its mechanisms, particularly the ones formed or developed through human existence, which probably drew resources from an abundant supply of fruits and vegetables. Advocating an Evolutionary Approach.

According to Hauptauthor, Sodium, and Potassium in Western Nutrition. Melissa Stadt explains further that a modern Western diet contains a high amount of sodium and little potassium. This condition is the opposite of what an early human diet was like. Therefore, this may be one of the many causes of high blood pressure in developed countries.

Mathematics model analysis aids understanding of the potential impact of potassium consumption on blood pressure ammonia. Keltz shows that varying the proportion of potassium to sodium can have an impact in *a number of body systems and proposed the following and conclusions:

Men between these ages tend to suffer from hypertension yet are more responsive than women to increasing the ratio of potassium in sodium to sodium.

What to do

- Reduce Sodium while Increasing Potassium intake.
- Use Potassium rich foods such as bananas, beans, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, and others as part of your daily meals.
- To keep your heart healthy for many years to come, maintain a steady, appropriate potassium to sodium wherein potassium is higher than sodium.