Current study results suggest that less sodium and more potassium are a recommended dietary option for the heart and its health. The study authors connect onelow-salt dietwith a lower risk of heart disease. The new findings should help prevent cardiovascular diseases by reducing salt and increasing potassium in the daily menu.
Sodium is one of the components of table salt and occurs naturally in some foods. However, commercially processed, packaged and prepared foods also often contain much higher amounts of salt. Potassium occurs naturally in fruits such as bananas, leafy greens, beans, nuts, dairy products and starchy vegetables. It also has an opposite effect to sodium, helping to relax blood vessels and increasing sodium excretion while lowering blood pressure, researchers say. In this research work, they analyzed individual urine samples for sodium and potassium as excretory products from the body. The team also examined the frequency of heart disease, including coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The analysis found that participants' risk of heart disease increased by 18% when sodium excretion increased by 1,000 mg per day. Conversely, these risks were 18% lower when increasing excreted potassium with 1000 mg daily.
In addition, a higher sodium-to-potassium ratio was significantly associated with increased cardiovascular risk, the team concluded. The urine samples examined are simple tests that could be performed in any office. These could display numbers, metrics and data about patients at an individual level. In this way, health professionals may be better equipped to change unhealthy eating habits. People don't necessarily have to forego the taste of food. Daily meals can be improved with low-sodium alternatives, herbs and spices. Accordingly underlinedthis study, the importance of using a reliable biomarker to measure habitual sodium intake and assess the association with cardiovascular risk.
