In addition to bananas, significant amounts of this nutrient are found in foods like avocados, spinach or broccoli.
Sodium and potassium are two key elements for our body to function, sometimes they are so interconnected that they serve as a counterbalance to each other. Excess sodium, which we associate with high blood pressure, causes many people to watch their salt intake. On the other hand, if there’s one food we associate with potassium, it’s the banana. That’s not the only notable case, though.
Less salt… Or more bananas. A study based on mathematical models found evidence that increasing potassium intake may be even more effective than decreasing sodium intake when it comes to regulating blood pressure. This could help us expand nutritional options for people at risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Typically, when we have high blood pressure, we are advised to eat less salt,” explains Anita Leighton, co-author of the study, in a press release. “Our research suggests that adding more potassium-rich foods to your diet, such as bananas or broccoli, may have a more positive impact on your blood pressure than simply avoiding sodium.”
Electrolytes. Both sodium and potassium function in our bodies as electrolytes, which are substances that help our bodies conduct electrical signals, but they also perform other functions, such as regulating the amount of water in our bodies or the level of acidity in our blood. Other elements that fall into the same category are calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.
Sodium, in particular, plays an important role in controlling the volume of blood fluid. Under normal conditions, if our body detects excess sodium or excess volume in the extracellular environment, it responds by releasing sodium to return to normal. Potassium deficiency is associated with increased difficulty in controlling the risks associated with sodium in our bodies.
Mathematical model. This relationship is well described in the scientific literature, but the complexity of the biological mechanisms involved makes it difficult to estimate the magnitude of this relationship between sodium, potassium, and blood pressure. To assess this, a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo, Canada, created a mathematical model that allows them to quantify this relationship.
The new model allowed them to determine how the ratio of potassium and sodium intake affects the body. The model takes into account aspects that affect this relationship, such as gender and age. For example, the team of scientists noted that while men are more prone to high blood pressure, they also respond more strongly to an increase in the potassium to sodium ratio.
Details of the study were published in an article in the American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology.
Evolutionary question. According to the team responsible for the study, evolution may have had a significant impact on how these elements affect us. They note that throughout recent human evolutionary history, fruits and vegetables have always been present in our diet, so it is natural that our body’s regulatory systems are heavily dependent on the nutrients we get from them.
However, the modern Western diet is high in sodium and low in potassium. They note that this may explain why blood pressure problems are so common in industrialized countries.
It’s not just bananas. We usually associate potassium with bananas, but they aren’t the only foods that contain this nutrient. Among the foods that stand out for their potassium content are vegetables such as spinach, tomatoes, avocados and broccoli; legumes such as beans, lentils and soybeans; and potatoes. Animal products include some dairy products and fish such as halibut, salmon and mackerel.
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