Potassium may reduce risk of heart disease

More potassium is a good thing for your heartIf you are watching your heart health, you may want to invest in some nutritional supplements full of potassium to make sure you are getting enough of this dietary mineral.

A new analysis conducted by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found that increasing potassium intake – while also decreasing sodium consumption – reduced the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease.

The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at the habits and heart health of nearly 3,000 people who had high-normal blood pressure levels.

According to the researchers, participants with the highest sodium-potassium ratio had a 50 percent greater chance of developing heart disease, compared with those who had a normal ratio.

Researcher Nancy R. Cook and colleagues said the results support current dietary guidelines regarding both potassium and sodium.

“The totality of evidence suggests that lowering dietary sodium intake, while increasing potassium consumption, at the population level might reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease,” the study authors wrote.

In addition to nutritional supplements, potassium is commonly found in bananas, almonds, potatoes, halibut, spinach and white beans.
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