British Study Recommends Bananas to Lower Blood Pressure

Simply perfect with 2 bananas

An intriguing study has emerged that suggests new possibilities for preventing hypertension.

A research team at Imperial College London (ICL) in the UK recently published a study in the Medical Journal of Human Hypertension stating that consuming potassium-rich foods like bananas is more effective in reducing blood pressure than limiting salt intake.

The research team analyzed data from a study paper that analyzed the relationship between salt substitutes and strokes among 29,995 participants in China over five years in 2021. Half of the study participants consumed regular salt; the other half had salt that replaced a quarter of its content with potassium chloride and compared the blood pressure fluctuations.

The study result validates that consuming salt containing large amounts of potassium lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of strokes and heart diseases.

The research team revealed that increasing the daily potassium intake by 1g reduced systolic blood pressure by 2mmHg. The research team also found that the group who consumed potassium-rich salt over the five-year study period had a 14% lower chance of having a stroke.

Dr. Polly Huang, the study’s first author, said, “Sodium chloride excess and potassium deficiency are both associated with the risk of hypertension, stroke, heart disease, and premature death. Using salt substitutes containing potassium chloride can reduce these risks.”

Potassium is abundant in green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, and bananas. The research team revealed that adding 1g of potassium in two medium-sized bananas, a cup of spinach, or a large sweet potato to a daily diet can easily cope with hypertension.