A recent report published in the European Heart Journal points out that including food items that are rich in potassium would significantly improve heart health in women. Women who eat more potassium-rich food have 13% less chances of getting heart ailments, compared to women who do not eat potassium-rich food.
The researchers studied the variations that potassium-rich food made in the blood pressure levels of over 25,000 volunteers.
Among this, 11,267 candidates were men and 13,696 volunteers were women. They belonged to the age group between 40 and 79 years. The researchers noted that the blood pressure of women who ate huge quantities of salt that contain potassium were dropping. Besides, they found out that by increasing the potassium intake by 1 gms per day resulted in the blood pressure level dropping by 2.4mmHg.
However, the researchers couldn’t find any breakthroughs in the case of men who had potassium rich food. However, they claim that there would be 7% less chance for heart diseases in men too if they increase the potassium intake for a prolonged period. The research report also suggested that changes were noted in the chances for heart ailments just by altering the rate of potassium intake without changing the amount of salt intake.
Potatoes, beans, tomatoes, yoghurt, bananas, spinach and other leafy vegetables are rich sources of potassium. Doctors say that getting potassium through nutrient rich food are better than relying on supplements. Taking potassium supplements could cause cardiac arrythmia in people whose kidney functions are limited.
