Want a Healthy Heart? Increase Potassium/Sodium In Diet

by Abby Kapoor
Published on July 10, 2008 - 0 comments
Want a Healthy Heart? Increase Potassium/Sodium In Diet

Your eating habits affect your heart! How true. A new study found that eating a healthy diet with high level of minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium can slash down the risk of heart diseases, stroke and high blood pressure -- in short it can increase one’s life expectancy.

The best way to fight heart disease is to keep a check on the high blood pressure, also known as hypertension which is one of the main causes of coronary diseases. Eating diet rich in minerals magnesium, potassium and calcium such as fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables, low fat milk, low fat yogurt or low fat cheese can do the trick.

The experts says that people who are solely vegetarian or those who include high amount of minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium and low amount of sodium in their diet have lesser kidney and cardiovascular diseases. This may be due to the reason that magnesium, potassium and calcium are known to lower the blood pressure.

Lead author of the study, Mark C. Houston, M.D. said, “If we were to achieve the correct potassium/sodium ratio through dietary means, there would be less hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the population as a whole."

The diet of Americans contain high amount of sodium and consume double the sodium and about half of the potassium that is recommended by current guidelines.

The study says if people in US start following the diet which includes more potassium intake; the total number of people with known high blood pressure-- levels higher than 140/90 mm Hg might come down by more than 10% and would also increase the life expectancy.

In the same way, research shows that having magnesium rich-diet, at least 500 to 1,000 mg/d and calcium more than 800 mg/d may also be related with both a decrease in blood pressure and risk of developing hypertension. The information regarding these minerals, however are though not definitive.

The American Heart Association, the World Health Organization, the British Hypertension Society and the European Society of Hypertension have recommended diets that lay more importance on fresh fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, including the landmark DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) trial.

The findings of the study appear in the July issue of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in the arteries (blood vessels). An individual is said to have high blood pressure or hypertension when he has the blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or above each time it is taken.

Approximately 70 million people in United States and nearly half of people above 65 years and 1 in three middle-aged people in UK have high blood pressure, which leads to increased risk of heart failure or heart related diseases. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease claims life of an individual in every 37 seconds and is the leading cause of death in the US.

Another 70 million American people have the condition of “high-normal” or “pre-hypertensive” blood pressure levels (120/80 mm Hg to 130/85 mm Hg) and 90% of these people will develop hypertension by age 65.

High Blood pressure is also known as a "silent killer" as many people may have no noticeable symptoms. The best way to treat and prevent high blood pressure is by making few lifestyle changes such as shedding extra pounds if you are overweight, exercising regularly, cutting down on salt, stopping smoking, moderate alcohol consumption and eating a well balanced diet. If needed, medication can lower blood pressure. One must go for regular check ups.

This week only, twin studies conduced separately -- one by the Alzheimer's Society and another by an Imperial College London team showed that by controlling high blood pressure in middle years, one can reduce his chances of developing dementia in older age.

Another twin studies found that increased consumption of the omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish and vegetable cooking oils appear to help prevent heart attacks, while the omega-6 fatty acids in vegetables and nuts help keep blood pressure low.