By Colette Bouchez
HealthScoutNews Reporter

MONDAY, July 23 (HealthScoutNews) -- While you're munching on that
apple a day to keep to the doctor away, think about wolfing down a
banana as well: High-potassium foods, like bananas, may lower your
risk of stroke.

Researchers from Tulane University found that folks with a low
dietary intake of potassium are up to 28 percent more likely to have
a stroke than those who include potassium-rich fruits and vegetables
in their daily diet.

"Our study examined the association between potassium in the diet and
subsequent risk of stroke…and those who had the lowest
[potassium]
intake were shown to be at increased risk, while those who consumed
more did not have this same elevated risk," says Lydia Bazzano, the
lead study author and an epidemiologist at Tulane University School
of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

According to the study, low intake was defined as less than 1,500 mg
of potassium daily. The recommended daily intake is about 2,300 mg,
and the average American eats around 2,500 mg every day. A banana,
one of the highest sources, has about 400 mg of potassium, as does a
glass of orange juice, a cup of cantaloupe or a baked potato.

Although no one is sure exactly how potassium protects against
stroke, many believe a link to blood pressure is key. Indeed, studies
show that potassium can relax blood vessels, which cuts the risk of
high blood pressure, and it also helps remove sodium from the blood,
according to stroke expert Dr. Mitchell Elkind.

"People who are taking in more potassium are getting rid of more
sodium, which in turn is lowering their blood pressure. And it is
probably the lowered blood pressure that in the end is reducing the
risk of stroke," says Elkind, a neurologist at Columbia Presbyterian
Medical Center.

What made this study particularly interesting, however, was that
potassium appeared to also offer protective effects to those whose
blood pressure was normal.

"The statistical methods we used [in analyzing study results]
suggested an independent effect," says Bazzano.

Although Elkind believes potassium may have played a role, he doesn't
believe it tells the whole story.

"It seems that the people in the study who ate more potassium also
were more active; they had less hypertension, less diabetes, less of
the other factors that increase the risk of stroke. So their higher
intake of potassium could simply be a reflection of a healthier
lifestyle overall that, in turn, may be the real underlying factor in
the reduced risk of stroke," he says.

The observational study included 9,800 American men and women who
were originally part of the National Health Examination Survey
(NHANES I) Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. The study relied on a 24-
hour dietary recall, in which participants were asked to remember
both their total caloric intake and the foods they ate. Using medical
records and death certificates, the researchers obtained information
on both stroke and cardiovascular disease among the participants. The
original NHANES I began in 1971, and various follow-ups are
continuing.

Over the course of this 19-year follow-up, 927 of the participants
had a stroke, while 1,847 developed some form of heart disease. When
this data was compared to the dietary information provided during the
study, the relationship between stroke and potassium was noted.

"Participants who consumed the least amount of potassium per day
[less than 1,500 mg] were at increased risk of stroke, while those
who consumed more than that level did not show an elevated risk,"
says Bazzano.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Bazzano adds, low potassium diets have
been found most commonly in the south, particularly among African-
Americans living in the south -- a group that has among the highest
risk of stroke.

The Tulane study is in the July issue of the American Heart
Association journal, Stroke.

Because the research focused solely on dietary intake of potassium,
it couldn't tell anything about how protective potassium supplements
were -- and doctors warn not to try supplements without medical
supervision.

"Excess potassium is excreted in the urine if one has healthy
kidneys, but even healthy kidneys can be overwhelmed. And potassium
[in very high doses] can be toxic to the heart…so it is important
to
have supervision, if potassium is to be supplemented in pill form,"
cautions Bazzano.

Elkind concurs: "This study does provide some interesting information
that may one day lead to use of potassium supplements. But from what
we know now, it would be premature to tell people to use potassium
supplements to prevent stroke -- I would not recommend it routinely."

What To Do

"At this point, what we would recommend people do is eat a diet rich
in fruits and vegetables high in potassium, along with a low-fat, low-
sodium diet," says Elkind, who believes these are the dietary factors
that can decrease your risk of stroke.

Bazzano agrees: "While dietary change is a simple solution, it can be
difficult to implement and stick to. But we believe that increasing
foods high in potassium will be very effective in reducing the risk
of stroke."
http://www.healthscoutnews.com/072301banana.htm

Is it safe?
Daily consumption of 2,000 to 6,000 milligrams of potassium is a safe
range for the general population.
http://www.indiadiets.com/foods/food_nutrients/Minerals/Potassium.htm

Read About the Late Alerts for Drugs here
http://www.safetyalerts.com/rcls/category/drug.htm