Lifelong Supplement™ News: Increased Potassium Intake may Lower Blood Pressure

Lifelong Supplements™ health news! A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine 2009, volume 169, pages 32-40 shows that the ratio of sodium-to-potassium in subjects’ urine was a much stronger predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than sodium or potassium alone. The researchers determined average sodium and potassium intake during two phases of a study known as the Trials of Hypertension Prevention. The researchers collected 24-hr urine samples intermittently during an 18-month period in one trial and during a 36-month period in a second trial. The 2,974 participants, initially age 30–54 and with blood pressure readings just under levels considered high, were followed for 10–15 years to see if they would develop cardiovascular disease. The study concluded that higher sodium to potassium excretion ratio is associated with increased risk of subsequent CVD, with an effect stronger than that of sodium or potassium alone.

To lower blood pressure and cut the effects of salt, adults should consume 4.7 g of potassium per day. According to an Institute of Medicine report, most American adults aged 31–50 consume only about half as much as recommended.

In the United States where people consume diets high in processed foods and large amounts of sodium, 1 in 3 persons have hypertension. An increase in potassium with a decrease in sodium is probably the most important dietary choice (after weight loss) that should be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease.
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Low potassium Intake thought to contribute to high blood pressure!

Boosting levels of potassium in the diet may lower a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure and may decrease blood pressure in people who already have “hypertension.” The typical American diet contains about double the sodium and half the potassium that is currently recommended in dietary guidelines. Low potassium intake is thought to contribute to the prevalence of high blood pressure in Americans. In 2006, the American Heart Association issued new guidelines calling for Americans to get 4.7 grams per day of potassium. 

High blood pressure remains the chief reason for visits to doctors’ offices and for prescription drug use in the U.S., two researchers note in a special supplement to The Journal of Clinical Hypertension this month.  They also noted that “in isolated societies consuming diets low in sodium and high in fruits and vegetables, which have and therefore high levels of potassium, hypertension affects only 1 percent of the population. In contrast, in industrialized societies, such in United States, where people consume diets high in processed foods and large amounts of dietary sodium 1 in 3 persons have hypertension. 

“An increase in potassium with a decrease in sodium is probably the most important dietary choice (after weight loss) that should be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease. Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health tips from: blog.lifelong supplements, health bulletin, and http://www.lifelonghp.com.