High blood pressure is a common condition that affects more than a quarter of all adults in the UK. The condition, which is also known as hypertension, puts extra stress on your blood vessels and vital organs. It could be caused by eating an unhealthy diet, or by not doing enough exercise. But you could lower your risk of high blood pressure by regularly eating bananas, it’s been claimed.
Potassium is a key mineral that the body relies on heavily to function properly
Blood Pressure UK
Adding bananas to your breakfast routine could lower your chances of developing hypertension, according to charity Blood Pressure UK.
Bananas are rich in potassium, which is a crucial mineral for regulating your blood pressure.
Potassium helps to balance out the negative effects of sodium on the body, it said.
“Potassium is a key mineral that the body relies on heavily to function properly,” said Blood Pressure UK.
“Your kidneys help to control your blood pressure by controlling the amount of fluid stored in your body. The more fluid, the higher your blood pressure.
“Your kidneys do this by filtering your blood and sucking out any extra fluid, which it then stores in your bladder as urine.
“This process uses a delicate balance of sodium and potassium to pull the water across a wall of cells from the bloodstream into a collecting channel that leads to the bladder.
“Eating salt raises the amount of sodium in your bloodstream and wrecks the delicate balance, reducing the ability of your kidneys to remove the water.”
But eating more potassium-rich fruit could help to restore the balance in the bloodstream, and subsequently lower your risk of high blood pressure.
Some of the best sources of potassium in fruit include bananas, apricots, currants, and even orange juice, said the charity.
But, to make the fruit more effective, you should still consider cutting back on the amount of salt you eat, it added.
High blood pressure is often known as ‘the silent killer’, because symptoms only tend to reveal themselves if you have extremely high blood pressure.
The most common high blood pressure symptoms include a pounding in your chest, finding blood in your urine, and severe headaches.
It’s crucial that all adults over 40 years old check their blood pressure at least once every five years.
You can check your blood pressure by visiting your local doctors’ surgery or pharmacy.
Diagnosing the condition early is very important, because patients are more at risk of some deadly complications, including heart attacks and strokes.
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