Potassium power: How a daily juice can fortify heart health
Doctors recommend maintaining proper blood pressure to minimise the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Incorporating potassium-rich foods into your diet, such as drinking a glass of juice daily, is an easy way to achieve this.
4 July 2024 16:17
Why is potassium important for health?
Potassium is a crucial mineral for our bodies. Maintaining the right level of potassium is essential for good health.
It's an effective remedy for people with hypertension. Potassium helps lower blood pressure by increasing sodium excretion from the body.
The more potassium we consume, the more sodium the body excretes through urine. Excess sodium in the diet is one of the main risk factors for hypertension.
Potassium also dilates blood vessels, making blood flow more accessible and reducing vascular resistance. It's a highly beneficial compound for our bodies.
Potassium is widely available
This mineral is widely available. You can find potassium in various food products such as meat, certain fish (salmon, cod, sardines, flounder), dairy (milk, yoghurt), nuts, vegetables (broccoli, peas, beans, lentils, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin), and fruits (bananas, citrus fruits, plums, apricots, kiwi).
The portal Medical News Today states that the quickest way to replenish potassium is to consume juices from passion fruit, pomegranates, oranges, and tangerines. These juices are relatively easy to prepare.
One glass of juice contains approximately:
- passion fruit - 700 mg of potassium,
- pomegranate - 530 mg of potassium,
- orange - 500 mg of potassium,
- tangerine - 440 mg of potassium,
For comparison, a banana, known as a good source of potassium, contains about 360 mg of this mineral. Therefore, consuming juices is a great way to replenish potassium.
Potassium is crucial for blood pressure and the entire body. It influences many vital organs.
It positively affects the nervous system, controls muscle function, regulates water levels, protects against diabetes and kidney diseases, and supports bone health.
Too low potassium levels are very dangerous
Maintaining an appropriate level of potassium in the body is essential. The potassium concentration in the blood should be between 3.5 and 5.5 mmol/L. A lower level, known as hypokalaemia, can lead to muscle weakness, heart arrhythmias, elevated blood pressure, bloating, acne, chronic fatigue, irritability, and fainting. Therefore, it's essential to maintain an adequate level of potassium—a glass of juice in hand!
