INCREASE YOUR POTASSIUM—LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
Want to lower your blood pressure? Simple, just eat more potassium-rich foods. We all know we should include potassium in our diet. And we know we should eat less sodium. But did you know that the more potassium you add into your diet, the more sodium you process out of your body. Also, potassium helps ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which further helps lower blood pressure.
The American Heart Association recommends that the average adult should take in 4,700 mg. of potassium per day. Bananas are known as a good source as potassium. But these vegetables & fruits will also give you a potassium punch: potatoes, acorn squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, broccoli, peppers, avocados, prunes, apricots, raisins, cantaloupe, tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit, mushrooms, sunflower & other seeds.
I found more information I’d like to share with you in the Harvard Medical School online article The importance of potassium. Here are excerpts:
Potassium is necessary for the normal functioning of all cells. It regulates the heartbeat, ensures proper function of the muscles and nerves, and is vital for synthesizing protein and metabolizing carbohydrates.
Thousands of years ago, when humans roamed the earth gathering and hunting, potassium was abundant in the diet, while sodium was scarce. The so-called Paleolithic diet delivered about 16 times more potassium than sodium. Today, most Americans get barely half of the recommended amount of potassium in their diets. The average American diet contains about twice as much sodium as potassium, because of the preponderance of salt hidden in processed or prepared foods, not to mention the dearth of potassium in those foods. This imbalance, which is at odds with how humans evolved, is thought to be a major contributor to high blood pressure, which affects one in three American adults.
The effect of potassium on high blood pressure
Diets that emphasize greater potassium intake can help keep blood pressure in a healthy range, compared with potassium-poor diets. The DASH trial (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) compared three regimens. The standard diet, approximating what many Americans eat, contained an average of 3.5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, which provided 1,700 mg of potassium per day. There were two comparison diets: a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet that included an average of 8.5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, providing 4,100 mg of potassium per day, and a “combination” diet that included the same 8.5 servings of fruits and vegetables plus low-fat dairy products and reduced sugar and red meat. … In people with high blood pressure, the combination diet reduced blood pressure by as much as 11 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 5.5 mm Hg in diastolic pressure.
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for strokes, so it’s no surprise that higher potassium is also associated with a lower stroke incidence.
______________________________________
Here’s more advice from the American Heart Association: Even though potassium can lessen the blood pressure raising effects of sodium, eating more potassium should be combined with your efforts to reduce your intake of excess salt.
Also, too much potassium can be harmful in people with kidney disorders. As kidneys become less able to remove potassium from your blood, too much potassium may build up.
Never take potassium supplements without a doctor’s prescription, as this can easily cause high blood potassium levels that are dangerous. And pay attention to the potassium content of salt substitutes, since it can be high.
NEWS I’ve begun making a series of YouTube videos. My channel name is Generation Fit! Senior Fitness and I’m covering the same topics as this Generation Fit blog.
Here are the 5 videos I’ve uploaded so far:
1) Senior Fitness in Coronavirus Time
2) Overcome Your Stumbling Blocks to Getting Fit
3) Yes, You Can Lose Weight AND Keep it Off
4) Why Functional Fitness is Important for Seniors
5) Outrunning Alzheimer’s
Please check it out!