If left untreated, high blood pressure could leave you vulnerable to heart attacks and strokes
A nutrition expert has revealed that making one food change could lower, and even reverse, high blood pressure – and it’s not reducing your salt intake. This dietary factor might be “even more important” than minimising salt consumption, he said.
High blood pressure, which is also known as hypertension, is often described as a “silent killer”. This is because it often remains symptomless but if left untreated can result in medical emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks.
Experts believe roughly one in three UK adults suffer from raised blood pressure, though many remain completely unaware of their condition. The condition forces your heart to work considerably harder than necessary when circulating blood throughout your system.
Many of us are aware that our eating habits play a fundamental role in determining your blood pressure levels. Salt, in particular, has been identified as one of the principal culprits behind hypertension.
This occurs because sodium causes your body to retain excess fluid, creating pressure against arterial walls. However, Professor Tim Spector – epidemiologist and the founder of Zoe Health – revealed that another dietary factor plays a crucial role in your blood pressure.
Speaking on an episode of the Zoe Science Nutrition podcast, he urged people to increase their potassium intake for this reason. Potassium is a mineral found in many foods such as fruits, vegetables, and beans.
Prof Spector said: “If I want to reverse high blood pressure, I want to increase your potassium intake. As always in nutrition we’ve tended to over-focus on one element and that’s been salt.
“Studies have now shown that as well as salt being important, things like potassium are actually even more important. You do that classically by giving you some bananas, but also most green leaf vegetables also have high potassium intake.
“So people on high plant diets are naturally getting a lot of potassium. The more you do that, the more you’ll be able to improve your blood pressure naturally before you go on to blood pressure medications.”
His advice is backed by experts at the American Heart Association. On its website it said: “Foods rich in potassium are important in managing high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.
“Potassium can reduce the effects of sodium. Too much sodium has been shown to increase blood pressure. The more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose through urine.
“Potassium also helps to ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which also helps lower blood pressure.”
Foods high in potassium
Bananas are often thought of as a go-to source of potassium. For every 100 grams of banana you get around 330mg of potassium. But there is another type of fruit that contains even more potassium.
Dried apricots contain around 1,162mg (or 1.1g) per 100g. The list of potassium-rich foods doesn’t end there, it also includes avocados, sweet potatoes, spinach, watermelon, coconut water, beans, legumes, tomato paste, butternut squash, Swiss chard, and beetroot.
To lower your blood pressure, the NHS recommends you:
- Have a healthy, balanced diet
- Exercise regularly – aim to do at least 150 minutes of exercise a week
- Lose weight if you’re overweight
- Do not eat too much salt – avoid salty food or adding salt to your meals
- Do not drink too much alcohol – avoid drinking more than 14 alcohol units a week on a regular basis
- Do not drink too much caffeine – drinks high in caffeine include coffee, tea and cola
- Do not smoke
If you are concerned about your blood pressure, you should speak to your GP.