Potassium Crucial for Heart Health

It always surprises me bananas are the potassium go-to food when so many other foods have so much more potassium per serving. Bananas are more an average source.

Of course, I love bananas... just that is odd to me.

Bananas are also portable! Great reminder to get enough potassium and where to find it...High blood pressure can lead to many life-threatening and debilitating problems like stroke. It runs in our family. I have found that while getting enough potassium is important, to really see your blood pressure drop significantly, you need regular cardiovascular exercise. For me, it's the difference between borderline hypertension and normal blood pressure readings.

Not to mention, bananas are great energy boosters too! :)

A daily dose of pistachios can have benefic effects by reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. I read at http://www.projectweightloss.com/index.php avout a study, conducted by researchers at the George Mason University in cooperation with specialists from Inova Fairfax Hospital. The study involved patients with moderate-to-high levels of cholesterol. The patients followed a diet with fifteen percent of their daily calorie intake coming from pistachios.

Good thing I love bananas!

I'm not much of a banana person, but I eat lots of spinach and tomatoes and yogurt. My mom thinks I'm going to pass out from lack of potassium because I don't eat bananas and I work out quite a bit.

Bananas really are amazing. I've been eating a banana a day for years now to control my low blood pressure and low blood sugar. I used to pass out all the time and I had dizzy spells until I started eating bananas. I thought it was the sugar, but other sugary fruits or deserts didn't have the same effect, so I figured it was the potassium and started eating more of it in other foods too and I was fine again.
But there is one thing I don't understand; the article says that the less potassium you eat, the high your blood pressure is, but eating MORE potassium raised mine. Maybe I'm the oddball but it's got me confused.

Bananas are truly the best. Good for you and transportable! Not to mention they are delicious too!

And bananas contain resistant starch, which ferments in the large intestine, creating by-products that block conversion of some carbohydrates into fuel, so replacing ordinary carbs with the resistant starch in bananas can boost fat burning. Also banana fiber bulks up in the stomach, so you feel full for longer. There’s a good description of the science at http://www.dolenutrition.com/articleDetails.aspx?RecId=36&txtsearch=potassium&orderby=&CatId=

Hi! Thanks for sharing this post! Very informative! :D

The results of this study are not new to Registered Dietitian's; we've know for years that a diet high in potassium with lot of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains has a positive effect on blood pressure. The DASH diet was created based on this knowledge. As stated above, bananas are probably often mentioned as a good source of potassium because they are widely available, popular, and portable. However many fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products are also a good source of potassium. Another option to increase your potassium intake is with vitaminwater which is enhanced with potassium, calcium, and magnesium, and provides four B vitamins and 100% of the daily value of vitamin C in each bottle. The Revive flavor provides 350mg of potassium, which gives you a great tasting, portable potassium source. At 50 calories/8oz, vitaminwater provides less calories than some of the fruit and vegetable choices listed above. The key is to get a variety in your diet, plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low fat dairy products. Hydrate responsibly, vitaminwater is a great tasting choice without the "artificials"-no artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors etc.

I Came across your site this morning and agreed with you. My son had a kidney disease, one of the foods he had to have each day was 1/2 of a banana.

How many bananas are too many a day though? Or a week? My husband eats 2 to 4 a day and I'm worried he is eating too many and this may be too much potassium.

I recently discovered I had a potassium problem. I work out six days a week...3 days cardio, 3 days resistance training. I've lost 15 pounds but suddenly my blood pressure shot up and I felt weak and tired much of the time. I asked the trainers at the gym if people who work out needed more potassium and they assured me that it didn't! I did some on line research and found that not to be true. I have changed my diet to include orange juice, v-8 juice, celery and other potassium rich foods. A banana is low on the list compared to celery! I am feeling better already and I expect my blood pressure to go down accordingly.