Eating leafy greens and foods such as bananas may cut the risk of heart disease, irregular heartbeats and death by up to a quarter, a new study has shown.
Potassium-rich foods, such as salmon, broccoli and spinach, can help your body eliminate more salt from your system and reduce the likelihood of heart-related illnesses by 24 per cent.
In the study, researchers investigated whether removing excess sodium from the bloodstream, which is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, could help lower that risk.
The study found that, overall, higher potassium levels in the blood were linked to a significantly reduced risk of heart events, hospital stays or death from any cause.
The study's lead author, professor Henning Bundgaard from Copenhagen University hospital, said: “The human body evolved on a potassium-rich, sodium-poor diet – when we were born and raised on the savannah and eating [fruit and vegetables],” according to The Guardian.
“We [now] tend to go to [a] modern diet that is processed foods and, the more processed, we see more and more sodium in the food and less potassium, meaning that the ratio between the two has changed from 10:1 to 1:2 – a dramatic change.”
Potassium is vital for the functioning of the heart, he said, and a low intake can increase the risk of arrhythmias, heart failure and death.
The study trialled 1,200 patients with implantable defibrillators, assigning 600 of them to diets rich in potassium, and low in meat, which is rich in potassium, but also in sodium. The results were presented at Madrid’s European Society of Cardiology congress, the world’s largest heart conference.
Professor Bundgaard said: “With a broader view we can say that higher dietary intake of potassium may not only benefit patients with heart disease but probably all of us, so maybe we should all reduce sodium and increase potassium content in our food.”
In April, a study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology found that eating more potassium can also lower blood pressure.
Anita Layton, one of the study’s authors, said: “Our research suggests that adding more potassium-rich foods to your diet such as bananas or broccoli might have a greater positive impact on your blood pressure than just cutting sodium.”
