Are women consuming high amounts of sodium? Eating foods like bananas and salmon could help reduce its negative effects on the body, a recent research suggests.

The brand new study, which was published within the European Heart Journal, found diets wealthy in potassium (from bananas and salmon, for instance) were related to lower blood pressure, most especially in women who’ve high salt intake on account of their diets.

In accordance with the team of researchers behind the study, this means the mineral can play a major part in helping preserve heart health, and that girls can profit from it greater than men.

“It’s well-known that top salt consumption is related to elevated blood pressure and a raised risk of heart attacks and strokes,” said study creator Professor Liffert Vogt of Amsterdam University Medical Centers within the Netherlands.

“Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake, but that is difficult to attain when our diets include processed foods. In our study, dietary potassium was linked with the best health gains in women.”

The study was done on 11,267 men and 13,696 women from the Epic-Norfolk study, and recruited adults aged 40 to 79 from general practices in Norfolk, UK, between the years 1993 and 1997.

Each of those participants accomplished a questionnaire on lifestyle habits, before their blood pressure was measured and a urine sample was collected. To estimate dietary intake, urinary sodium and potassium were measured by the team behind the study.

The researchers analyzed the link between potassium intake and blood pressure, discovering potassium consumption was related to blood pressure in women. The more the mineral went into the body, the lower the blood pressure became.

Overall, the team found individuals who had the best potassium intake had a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular events in comparison with those with the bottom intake. When analyzed individually, men and ladies had risk reductions at 7% and 11%, respectively.

“The connection between potassium and cardiovascular events was the identical no matter salt intake, suggesting that potassium has other ways of protecting the center on top of accelerating sodium excretion,” said Vogt.

Per experts, you possibly can boost your potassium intake by eating five portions of fruit and vegetables on a each day basis. In fact, limiting your alcohol intake and staying physically energetic may even help.