Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
Regularly consuming bananas when you are a woman would improve heart health, thanks to their potassium content. This effect would be particularly beneficial in those who consume a lot of salt.
If you are a woman, do not hesitate to eat bananas. This fruit would improve the heart health of women, especially in those who consume a lot of salt, thanks to its high potassium content. This is revealed by a Dutch study published in the journal European Heart Journal. “A diet high in potassium is linked to lower blood pressure and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease,” can we read in the study.
We know that eating fruit is good for your health. But this study on potassium consumption reveals even more benefits.
More than 20,000 participants followed for 19 years
To arrive at this result, researchers at the University Medical Center in Amsterdam based themselves on a sample of 24,963 people aged 40 to 79, including 11,267 men and 13,696 women. A questionnaire was given to them to find out about their eating habits. Finally, their blood pressure was measured and urine samples taken by the researchers to determine food intake.
During 19 years of regular follow-up, 13,596 of the participants were hospitalized or died from cardiovascular disease. The authors point out that people with a higher potassium intake had a lower risk of heart problems (about 13%).
A beneficial effect only in women
According to them, regularly consuming potassium and more specifically bananas, would be associated with lower blood pressure, especially in women. In men, there is no association between potassium and blood pressure.
“It is well known that high salt intake is associated with high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.“said study author Professor Liffert Vogt of University Medical Centers in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.”Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake, but this is difficult to achieve when our diet includes processed foods. Potassium helps the body excrete more sodium in the urine. In our study, dietary potassium was linked to the greatest health gains in womens”.
Professor Vogt nevertheless clarified that according to the results, it can be assumed that potassium has other means of protecting the heart in addition to increasing sodium excretion.
In conclusion, Professor Vogt invites manufacturers to change their practices: “Food companies can help by replacing standard sodium-based salt with a potassium salt alternative in processed foods. On top of that, we should all prioritize fresh, unprocessed foods, as they are both high in potassium and low in salt.”.