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The Importance of Potassium

  • Posted on June 14, 2010 at 10:53 am

All people need a lot of potassium in the diet. Potassium is one of the most important minerals for the health and efficiency of our body. This is important for the function of neurons in your brain and nerves, and also needed for other activities and the contraction of muscles. For this reason, eating potassium-rich foods are very important for athletes and people who do a lot of physical work daily.

According to researchers from Italy, eating lots of foods rich in potassium, such as green vegetables, potatoes and bananas can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Other potassium-rich foods include soybeans, apricots, papaya, melon, mango, pumpkin, tomatoes, avocado, carrots, spinach, yogurt without the fat, juice, prune, dried beans, peas, salmon, tuna and many more.

From the results of a study conducted on nearly 44 000 adults, with a nine-food eating potassium-rich foods every day for a year, has suffered a stroke risk of 38% smaller compared with the only eating four meals. Potassium works to improve blood circulation in the body, thereby reducing the risk of blood clots that can lead to stroke. Several studies also show, getting adequate nutrition numbers on a regular basis for potassium can reduce the risk of kidney stones until the half.

Based on the study in 2004, the U.S. population consumes only half of the portion of potassium is supposed to keep their bodies still operate at full capacity. Lack of intake of foods rich in potassium can cause many problems such as fatigue, cramps and even a small problem at the heart. Disruption occurred when potassium deficiency is known as hypokalemia, this will be a problem because it brings a lot of dangerous side effects. And if you drop the potassium levels of stroke and heart disease also may occur. So be careful. Consider your daily eating habits and see if you get enough potassium in your diet.