Eating foods like bananas, avocados and salmon could help reduce the negative effects of salt in women’s diets, according to research.
The study found that diets high in potassium were associated with lower blood pressure, especially in women with high salt intake.
The researchers say their findings indicate that the mineral helps preserve heart health and that women benefit more than men.
Study author Professor Liffert Vogt of the University of Amsterdam Medical Centers in the Netherlands said: “It is well known that high salt intake is associated with high blood pressure and a risk of high risk of heart attacks and strokes.
“Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake, but this is difficult to achieve when our diets include processed foods. In our study, dietary potassium was linked to the greatest health gains of women”.
The study included 11,267 men and 13,696 women from the Epic-Norfolk Study, which recruited adults aged 40 to 79 from general practices in Norfolk, UK, between 1993 and 1997.
Everyone filled out a lifestyle questionnaire, had their blood pressure measured and a urine sample collected. Urinary sodium and potassium were used to estimate dietary intake.
The researchers looked at the link between potassium intake and blood pressure and found that potassium consumption (in grams per day) was associated with blood pressure in women. As mineral intake increased, blood pressure decreased.
When the association was analyzed according to salt intake, the relationship between potassium and blood pressure was only observed in women with high sodium intake.
Overall, they found that people with the highest potassium intake had a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular events compared to those with the lowest intake. When men and women were analyzed separately, the risk reductions were 7% and 11%, respectively.
The researchers found that the amount of salt in the diet did not influence the relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events in men or women.
Professor Vogt said: “The results suggest that potassium helps preserve heart health, but that women benefit more than men.
“The relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events was the same regardless of salt intake, suggesting that potassium has other ways to protect the heart besides increasing sodium excretion.”
The NHS recommends that adults aged 19-64 need 3,500mg of potassium a day and should be able to get this from their diet.
Foods rich in potassium include vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, dairy products, and fish. For example, a 115g banana has 375mg of potassium, 154g of cooked salmon has 780mg, a 136g potato has 500mg and a cup of milk has 375mg.
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Tracy Parker, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This research supports current advice that reducing salt intake and eating more potassium-rich foods may be the recipe for a healthier heart.
“An easy way to increase your potassium intake is by eating five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Other foods such as legumes, fish, nuts, seeds and milk are also high in potassium and low in salt, so they can help benefit the heart.
“However, staying healthy isn’t just about controlling what’s on your plate.
Limiting alcohol intake and staying physically active will also help lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.”
The findings are published in the European Heart Journal.