Potassium-rich Diet May Cut Risk Of Heart Failure By 24%, Study Suggests

Eating foods rich | successful potassium, specified arsenic avocados, bananas and spinach, could trim your consequence of bosom conditions, hospitalisation and decease by 24%, a study suggests.

Previous investigation has shown that cutting retired brackish from meals tin slash your consequence of bosom problems. Reducing nan number of meals to which you adhd brackish aliases ditching it altogether tin make a immense quality to your bosom health.

Potassium increases nan magnitude of brackish your assemblage removes from nan bloodstream. In a study, scientists group retired to understand whether much potassium mightiness use group by reducing their cardiovascular risk.

The elder study author, Prof Henning Bundgaard, a professor astatine Copenhagen University hospital, said: “The quality assemblage evolved connected a potassium-rich, sodium-poor fare – erstwhile we were calved and raised connected nan savannah and eating [fruit and vegetables]. We [now] thin to spell to [a] modern fare that is processed foods and, nan much processed, we spot much and much sodium successful nan nutrient and little potassium, meaning that nan ratio betwixt nan 2 has changed from 10:1 to 1:2 – a melodramatic change.

“Potassium is important for cardiac usability and we cognize from observational studies that debased potassium increases nan consequence of arrhythmias and bosom failures and death. We besides cognize that potassium tin beryllium increased.

“The elemental mobility we asked successful nan proceedings was: would we use nan patients by expanding potassium?”

The proceedings progressive 1,200 bosom patients successful Denmark pinch implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), half of whom were fixed dietary proposal connected really to boost their potassium levels.

“We person a database [of foods] that we gave to nan patients. We followed wide dietary instructions – [in Denmark known as] nan pyramid of foods. White beets, beetroots, cabbage and truthful connected are each high-content potassium-rich diets. We did not urge meat, which is besides potassium-rich, because it is besides rich | successful sodium and counter-interacts nan summation successful potassium.”

A dietary summation successful humor potassium levels was associated pinch a “significantly little risk” – 24% – of bosom conditions, heart-linked hospitalisation aliases decease from immoderate cause, nan results showed. They were presented astatine nan European Society of Cardiology legislature successful Madrid, nan world’s largest bosom conference.

Bundgaard said: “With a broader position we tin opportunity that higher dietary intake of potassium whitethorn not only use patients pinch bosom illness but astir apt each of us, truthful possibly we should each trim sodium and summation potassium contented successful our food.”

Dr Carrie Ruxton, a dietitian who was not progressive pinch nan study, said: “Everyone knows astir cutting down connected salt, but fewer group realise that expanding potassium is almost arsenic important for preventing strokes and bosom attacks.

“The European Food Safety Authority highlighted a deficiency of potassium crossed Europe arsenic a awesome fare concern. In nan UK, nan latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey – published this twelvemonth – shows that a 3rd of teenagers and a 4th of adults are astatine consequence of potassium deficiency, pinch implications for humor unit power and musculus function.

“We tin do much individually to boost our potassium intakes by eating much fruit, vegetables and fish. Fruit juices are peculiarly rich | successful potassium. Other cardinal foods are spinach, lima beans, baked potato, yoghurt, banana and tuna.”

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, a advisor cardiologist and objective head of nan British Heart Foundation, said: “This proceedings from Denmark recovered that expanding humor potassium levels into nan precocious normal scope successful group pinch ICDs improved diligent outcomes, and importantly reduced their chances of needing a shock.

“If you’re advised by your expert to amended your dietary potassium intake, you tin do this by including much vegetables and consequence rich | successful potassium specified arsenic spinach, bananas aliases avocados successful your diet, arsenic good arsenic pulses, fish, nuts and seeds.

“Don’t beryllium tempted to effort to summation your potassium intake pinch supplements unless supervised by your doctor, arsenic ending up pinch excessively precocious a potassium level is vulnerable – for illustration it tin origin cardiac arrest.”