More bananas in your diet may lead to fewer strokes
Insufficient levels of potassium may put people at a higher risk of strokes, especially if they are taking diuretics, researchers report today. If the theory is proven, some people may be able to reduce the danger of strokes by just changing their diets.
The study, in the journal Neurology, followed 5,600 men and women, 65 and older, from four to eight years. After keeping track of which people had strokes, the lead author, Dr. Deborah M. Green of the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, and her colleagues found that potassium appeared to have a role.
The researchers said additional study was needed to establish whether the incidence of stroke could be reduced by adding potassium, which is plentiful in foods like orange juice and bananas, to the diet.
But the researchers said people in the study with the least potassium in their diets were one and a half times as likely to have strokes as those with the most. A daily intake of 2.4 grams was defined as low, and 4 grams as high.