Cardiovascular disease, including stroke, is a common disease today in Vietnam and is extremely dangerous, often appearing silently but leaving many serious consequences to life. In addition to exercise and enough sleep, a diet rich in potassium found in bananas and other foods is key to reducing the risk of disease.

Foods high in potassium such as bananas – an extremely familiar food – can prevent blockages that lead to death when the arteries harden and narrow.

Bananas are also one of the richest sources of potassium (there is more than 400 mg of potassium in a medium-sized ripe banana) and other nutrients such as fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6, magnesium and manganese.

THE ROLE OF POTASSIUM IN HUMAN HEALTH

In general, we should not completely cut off potassium in the body because it is an essential nutrient that helps manage many organ functions such as:

• maintain stable blood pressure
• supply oxygen to the brain
• reduce cholesterol in the blood
• supports the removal of waste in the body
• promotes the growth and maintenance of cell health
• stabilizes metabolism

WHAT DO CURRENT RESEARCH SAY?

According to researchers at the University of Alabama, eating bananas every day can help prevent heart attacks and strokes. These research reports aim to determine how potassium affects blood circulation and artery health, based on experiments on white mice on low, medium and high potassium diets.

In the group of white mice that were fed a low-potassium diet, their arteries were much stiffer than in other groups of the same kind. On the other hand, the group of white mice supplemented with high levels of potassium showed significantly less hardening of the arteries as well as reduced stiffness in the aorta.

WHY DO WE NEED POTASSIUM (POTASSIUM)?

Dr. Morton Tavel – a cardiovascular medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine said: “Potassium is an essential mineral for many body functions. It plays an important role in reducing blood pressure.” He also added, “Potassium is also necessary for the normal development of muscles, the nervous system and brain functions. In addition to reducing blood pressure, potassium helps protect blood vessels from damage as well as thickening and hardening of artery walls.”

Previous studies have also shown that diets rich in potassium help reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart disease (according to cardiologist Ragavendra Baliga at Wexner Medical Center, Ohio State University). Based on an analysis of data from 11 studies and surveys of 250,000 people published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2011, Dr. Baliga showed an association between 1,540 mg of potassium in the diet and a 21% reduction in stroke risk.

The University of Alabama study is considered one of the first to show the effects of minerals on artery health. According to Michelle Routhenstein – a nutrition expert on cardiovascular disease prevention, supplementing a sufficient amount of potassium will help maintain a healthy heart rhythm. She also emphasized that “Low potassium levels can cause heart rhythm disturbances as well as potentially reduce blood flow to the brain, muscles and many other organs.”

According to experts, potassium also improves heart functions by regulating heart rate, digesting carbohydrates and rebuilding muscles. The combination of these activities is beneficial for human arteries, thereby helping to prevent heart disease and stroke.

SOME OTHER TYPES OF FOODS RICH IN POTASSIUM

“There is certainly no harm in eating potassium-rich foods regularly, unless your doctor tells you to monitor your daily intake,” says Ali Webster, deputy director of the International Food Information Council. Ms. Routhenstein adds that it’s not just eating certain foods that will help prevent heart disease, but you need to consider your diet as a whole as well as other disease-causing factors.

For most people, consuming potassium-rich foods such as bananas, sweet potatoes, beans and dark green leafy vegetables makes for a healthy diet and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, says Webster.

Bananas are famous for being high in potassium, and Dr. Baliga often encourages his patients to eat more broccoli, spinach, carrots, cauliflower and many other vegetables.

PROVIDES A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF POTASSIUM FOR THE BODY

However, cases of chronic kidney disease need to limit potassium intake because kidney function cannot function normally, leading to it accumulating in the blood.

Besides, too high potassium levels can cause symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea; More serious is irregular heartbeat and muscle cramps.

Depending on each person’s individual situation, our diet should consume foods rich in potassium (sweet potatoes, avocados, fast food, bananas, melons, tomatoes, …) or foods low in potassium (apples, grapes, pineapples, watermelons, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, …) to manage potassium levels more effectively.

According to Healthline, Medical News Today & Reader’s Digest