While the mineral used to be abundant in the human diet, today most Americans barely meet half of the daily requirements tor potassium, yet consume approximately double the amount of sodium, As a physician who reads a lot and tries to educate my patients, I was surprised to learn this.
Previous research has revealed that a high sodium/potassium ratio raises cardiovascular disease risk, while other studies have found that increasing potassium consumption may reduce the risk of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. This was remarkable news and reading the research was refreshing.
A high potassium may not be as bad as we once thought . Research indicates that a diet high in potassium may help keep blood pressure levels within the healthy range and can help cut systolic blood pressure by more than 10 points in individuals with diagnosed hypertension
Should be change our consumption of fruits and vegetables. The standard diet of the average American contained 3.5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables on average, providing 1,700 mg of potassium daily. In comparison, a fruit/vegetable-rich diet that included 8.5 servings of fruits and vegetables instead provided up to 4,100 mg of potassium daily,