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Harvard Heart Letter | October 2008
Heart beat
Tapping the power of potassium
When
it comes to fighting high blood pressure, the average American diet
delivers too much sodium and too little potassium. Eating to reverse
this imbalance could prevent or control high blood pressure and
translate into fewer heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart
disease (Journal of Clinical Hypertension, July 2008).
Most
Americans get barely half of the recommended amount of potassium —
4,700 milligrams (mg) a day. Fruits, vegetables, beans, and some seeds
offer good ways to get more of it. Bananas (about 425 mg of potassium
in a medium-sized one) are often held up as the poster child for
potassium, but there are better sources. A medium-sized baked potato
with the skin delivers nearly 1,000 mg. Halibut, raisins, acorn squash,
watermelon, and milk are also good sources. If you have heart failure
or are taking a diuretic, talk with your doctor before adding more
potassium to your diet.
We’ve posted a list of good sources of potassium at health.harvard.edu/130.
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