Does Banana Help Lower Blood Pressure?

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We all agree that eating fruits are great for our entire health. They are not only rich in fiber but also contain many essential nutrients. And when it comes to lowering blood pressure, foods high in potassium are commonly recommended along with diet low in salt. Banana is one of great fruits you need to put on the top list of your DASH diet.

How does banana help lower your blood pressure (BP)?

Banana contains lots of nutrients. But when it comes to lowering BP, potassium of banana may be the key answer. Many studies confirmed that lack of potassium in your diet can be one of risk factors of hypertension (a medical term used to call high blood pressure).

When you have hypertension, it’s important to get plenty of dietary potassium – and banana can be one of great sources for your potassium intake!

It’s not only high in potassium but also pretty high in fiber, free of cholesterol, and very low in sodium. A banana can contain about 15 percent of vitamin C, 16 percent of fiber, and 11 percent of potassium you require a day for good health.

Getting plenty of dietary fiber may not be directly linked to your BP. But fiber (especially soluble fiber) can be very important to maintain the balance of your LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol).

image_illustration28Maintaining your cholesterol at its healthy level is important to reduce your risk of developing atherosclerosis (a condition that can narrow the diameter of an artery). And the narrowed arteries means the blood flow through arteries cannot run as well as it should. Eventually, this problem can have an effect to cause raised level on your BP.

While atherosclerosis can have contribution in causing raised levels on your systolic and diastolic pressures, hypertension itself also can play a key role in causing atherosclerosis. In general, both of these problems can affect each other.

In addition, diastolic pressure is the number of your BP when your heart at rest – and for systolic pressure, it points to your BP when your heart beats. Therefore, typically systolic pressure is higher than diastolic pressure. Both systolic and diastolic pressures are given in mm Hg.

How does potassium of banana help prevent and treat hypertension?

As well we know, excessive salt /sodium in the blood can be one of trigger factors to raise your systolic and diastolic pressures.

Potassium can help your body regulate and lower the amounts of sodium in the cells of your body.

Many experts believe that getting plenty of dietary potassium can help lower the risk of stroke and hypertension.

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Overall, potassium is essential mineral for the body to help control the balance of fluid in the body. It is also great to improve the performance of your muscles in contraction.

Not only that, it is needed to help support some heart’s functions and kidney’s functions. Even it is also needed for your body for the transmission of your nerve pulses.

For better result in helping to lower your blood pressure, don’t forget to get plenty of dietary magnesium and calcium along with adequate dietary potassium.

How much potassium of banana can help?

Potassium chloride (given in dietary supplement) had been proven can help lower high blood pressure. How about with potassium citrate (potassium that can be naturally found in certain foods such as bananas)?

According to a study conducted by St. George’s Medical School in London, potassium citrate showed the same result in helping to lower BP – even it may work more effectively than potassium chloride.

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