High blood pressure is sometimes known as a “silent killer,” because it rarely shows any clear symptoms.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says that while about 14 million people in the UK have it, they suggest five million cases may go undiagnosed.
Exercising and not drinking too much alcohol can help to keep your blood pressure in check, the BHF adds. Cutting your salt can help too.
But a new study from the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology has found that combining a cut in salt with the consumption of bananas and other potassium-rich foods may provide better results than reducing your sodium alone.
Why do bananas help to regulate blood pressure?
We’ve long known that potassium seems to help alleviate some of the blood pressure-hiking effects of salt.
This study, though, focuses on the potential importance of potassium-to-sodium ratios to our blood pressure.
“Although the relationship between excessive dietary sodium intake and elevated blood pressure is well-accepted among the public, the beneficial effects of higher dietary potassium intake have historically received less attention,” the researchers write.
Using a mathematical model, they found that the balance of potassium to salt in a person’s diet “was found to be a stronger predictor for blood pressure, risk of cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality, than dietary [sodium] or [potassium] alone.”
Men, who were likelier to have high blood pressure than pre-menopausal women, seemed to respond better to an increased potassium-to-sodium ratio.
So what does this mean in practice?
Dr Anita Layton, a co-author of the study, told Science Direct: “Usually, when we have high blood pressure, we are advised to eat less salt.”
But her 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.”
The study’s lead author, Dr Melissa Stadt, agreed, adding: “Early humans ate lots of fruits and vegetables, and as a result, our body’s regulatory systems may have evolved to work best with a high potassium, low sodium diet.”
This, the experts think, may be why high blood pressure is found so much more often in industrialised societies.
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