Can eating more foods rich in potassium keep your heart healthier? At this year’s European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid, a group of scientists who presented the results of a study argued that a diet high in potassium — and low in meat — can do wonders for preventing heart failure in people already dealing with chronic health issues.
As one of the presenters, Copenhagen University Hospital’s Christian Jons, explained, “There is some evidence from observational studies to suggest that low plasma potassium levels are associated with increased risk of dangerous alterations in heart rhythms and that potassium levels in the upper normal level have protective effects.”
Their study sought to discover whether increasing potassium levels could benefit people living with what Jons described as “patients at high risk of ventricular arrhythmias.” In this case, that meant people with implantable cardioverter defibrillators. The researchers also cited other studies in which an increase in potassium reduced the risk of heart failure.
In an article for The Guardian, Andrew Gregory reported on the findings of the scientists. As Copenhagen University’s Henning Bundgaard told The Guardian, the researchers gave patients advice on what to eat. “White beets, beetroots, cabbage and so on are all high-content potassium-rich diets,” Bundgaard said. “We did not recommend meat, which is also potassium-rich, because it is also rich in sodium and counter-interacts the increase in potassium.”
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One handful a day may lower your risk of heart diseaseAt the Congress itself, Bundgaard summarized the study’s findings. “We believe the time is right to consider increasing potassium levels to the mid-to-high normal range as an inexpensive and widely available treatment strategy in patients with a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases associated with a high risk of ventricular arrhythmia,” he said.
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