Potassium-Rich Foods can Help Lower Stroke, Early Death Risk in Women

A new study suggests that potassium-rich foods might protect against stroke and early death.

According to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, women who eat foods high in potassium have lower risk of a stroke as well as early death when compared to women who don't get enough of the mineral via diet.

Women need to eat at least 4,700 mg of potassium daily, stated the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The researchers found that a majority of women in the study didn't have enough potassium in their diets. The human body needs potassium to build proteins, muscles and break down carbohydrates. Meat, peas, apricots, milk and nuts have high levels of potassium.

"Previous studies have shown that potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But, whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn't clear," said Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Ph.D., study senior author and university professor emerita, department of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

The study is published in the journal Stroke. It was funded by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The study was based on data from 90,137 postmenopausal women aged between 50 and 79 years. The researchers looked at the levels of potassium intake as well as incidences of stroke or death in the study group.

None of the women had suffered a stroke at the beginning of the study. The average dietary potassium intake was about 2,611 mg/day.

The researchers found that women with high levels of potassium intake were 12 percent less likely to suffer a stroke.

Eating foods rich in potassium also lowered early death risk. The researchers found that women with high dietary potassium levels were 10 percent less likely to die pematurely.

"Our findings suggest that women need to eat more potassium-rich foods. You won't find high potassium in junk food. Some foods high in potassium include white and sweet potatoes, bananas and white beans," Wassertheil-Smoller said in a news release.