Potassium At The Expense Of Sodium In Food Brings Health

Alexander Bruni
Author: Alexander Bruni Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022
Potassium At The Expense Of Sodium In Food Brings Health

British scientists have shown that increasing potassium intake with food and decreasing salt intake lowers blood pressure and the risk of stroke.

Increasing potassium intake with food and decreasing salt intake lowers blood pressure and the risk of stroke, say British researchers. They found that consuming two extra servings of potassium- rich fruit each day had significant health effects. Reducing salt intake further increases health benefits.

 

Increased potassium intake has no negative effects on kidney function and hormonal balance, the researchers found.


 

The study, published in the British Medical Journal , collected data from 22 controlled clinical trials and 11 smaller studies involving a total of more than 138,000 healthy participants. The results clearly show that increasing the daily intake of potassium to 3-4 grams per day is associated with normalization of blood pressure. Increased potassium intake also reduces the risk of stroke by 24%.

 

An intensive study of the effects and importance of potassium on human health prompted the World Health Organization to issue for the first time reference values ​​for the recommended daily intake of potassium. According to the WHO, the elderly should take more than 4 grams of potassium per day.

 

Researchers are also interested in the effects of sodium, which is why they are analyzing data from 34 small studies conducted with 30,000 participants. The results here are also clear - even a moderate reduction in salt for four weeks has a significant effect on blood pressure, both in hyper- and normotonics, both men and women.

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According to Dr. Graham McGregor, a professor of cardiology at Queen Marry University , the average Briton eats about 9.5 grams of salt a day - almost twice as much as recommended. According to Professor McGregor, a "modest" reduction in salt intake is at least 50%, ie. reaching the WHO-recommended maximum of 5 grams of salt per day. According to him, reducing the intake to 3 grams will have even greater health benefits, but it is very difficult to achieve because most ready-made and semi-finished foods contain large amounts of salt . Therefore, changing the eating habits of broad sections of the population must be a long-term public priority. According to him, the number one source of salt is bread .

 

Increasing potassium intake through fruits and vegetables and reducing sodium intake are equally important , says Professor McGregor.

 

The UK's National Institutes of Health plans to reduce the country's salt intake to an average of 3 grams per day by 2025.

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