New research from the University of Waterloo suggests that eating more potassium-rich foods like bananas and broccoli may be even more effective for lowering blood pressure than simply reducing salt.
This study adds a new twist to traditional health advice, which usually focuses on cutting sodium as the main way to reduce high blood pressure.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a serious global health problem. It affects more than 30% of adults around the world and is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and even forms of dementia.
For decades, health experts have warned people to avoid salty foods to protect their hearts. But this study shows that increasing potassium might be just as, or even more, important.
Professor Anita Layton, who leads the research team and holds a Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematical Biology and Medicine, explained that while cutting salt is helpful, focusing on eating more potassium may have a greater benefit.
“Our research suggests that adding more potassium-rich foods to your diet, such as bananas or broccoli, might have a greater positive impact on your blood pressure than just cutting sodium,” she said.
Potassium and sodium are both electrolytes—minerals that help your body with important jobs like muscle function, nerve signaling, and controlling water levels. But they work in opposite ways when it comes to blood pressure.
Too much sodium raises blood pressure, while potassium helps bring it down by balancing the effects of sodium and relaxing blood vessel walls.
Melissa Stadt, a PhD candidate and lead author of the study, pointed out an interesting insight: “Early humans ate lots of fruits and vegetables, so our bodies likely developed to function best with a high-potassium, low-sodium diet.
But today, many people eat the opposite—high sodium and low potassium—especially in Western countries. This may be why high blood pressure is so common in modern societies but rare in isolated communities with more traditional diets.”
The researchers built a detailed computer model to explore how the potassium-to-sodium ratio affects the body. This model helped them better understand not just how the balance of these two minerals impacts blood pressure, but also how sex differences play a role.
For example, the study found that men are more likely than pre-menopausal women to develop high blood pressure. However, men also tend to benefit more when they increase their potassium intake compared to sodium.
This computer model allowed the researchers to test many different situations without needing to run expensive or lengthy real-world experiments. It’s a useful way to explore how changes in diet might affect blood pressure and health more broadly. Such tools are also ethical and low-cost, making them ideal for early research.
In summary, the study encourages a shift in thinking: rather than only telling people to cut back on salt, it might be even more helpful to tell them to eat more fruits and vegetables rich in potassium.
This could include bananas, sweet potatoes, spinach, beans, avocados, and broccoli. These foods are already recommended for good health, and now we have even more reason to make them a bigger part of our meals.
Overall, this research offers a simple but powerful message: balancing potassium and sodium in your diet could be the key to better blood pressure and a healthier heart. And that might be as easy as reaching for a banana instead of a bag of chips.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about the harm of vitamin D deficiency you need to know, and does eating potatoes increase your blood pressure?
For more information about health, please see recent studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and results showing MIND diet may reduce risk of vision loss disease.
The research findings can be found in American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
