Salt-a-bration time!
You’ve most likely heard {that a} high-sodium weight loss program can elevate your blood strain, which will increase your threat of coronary heart illness.
However a brand new research out of Canada has made a fruitful discovery — growing your consumption of sure potassium-rich meals could have a larger affect on blood strain regulation than slicing again on salt.
One standout possibility? Bananas.
“Normally, when we’ve hypertension, we’re suggested to eat much less salt,” stated Anita Layton, a professor of utilized arithmetic, laptop science, pharmacy and biology on the College of Waterloo.
“Our analysis means that including extra potassium-rich meals to your weight loss program, reminiscent of bananas or broccoli, may need a larger constructive affect in your blood strain than simply slicing sodium.”
Whereas earlier analysis has highlighted the advantages of potassium on blood strain, this research employed a mathematical mannequin to investigate how the ratio of potassium to sodium impacts blood strain.
It additionally explored intercourse variations, discovering that males are extra susceptible to hypertension than pre-menopausal ladies however could have a good higher response to elevated potassium consumption.
“Early people ate a number of fruit and veggies, and in consequence, our physique’s regulatory methods could have developed to work finest with a high-potassium, low-sodium weight loss program,” stated lead research writer Melissa Stadt, a PhD candidate in Waterloo’s Division of Utilized Arithmetic.
“At the moment, Western diets are usually a lot increased in sodium and decrease in potassium. That will clarify why hypertension is discovered primarily in industrialized societies, not in remoted societies.”
Whereas bananas could be the unsung heroes of hypertension — their well being advantages don’t finish there.
Bananas are additionally wealthy in fiber, which aids digestion and helps common bowel actions. They’re filled with vitamin B6 and tryptophan, which may improve temper, mind well being and the nervous system.
Their pure sugars and carbohydrates present a fast power enhance — at solely 105 energy per snack.
Their potassium-rich content material makes them probably the greatest meals to recover from a hangover, in addition to an effective way to replenish electrolytes after a sweaty exercise.
And — as weird because it sounds — persons are even rubbing banana peels on their faces to reap the all-natural, glowing advantages of a “banana peel scrub.”
