(PCM) Too much sodium in your diet? Try eating more leafy greens and coconut! Extra potassium helps negate the effects of a high-sodium diet, according to the CDC.
One study found that consuming twice as much potassium as sodium can halve your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
“Potassium and sodium are like peas in a pod, except they’re in opposite pods,” says epidemiologist Paul Whelton, president and chief executive of the Loyola University Health System in Chicago and co-author of the study. “This is the first study to show that the two together give you a benefit over and above what you can get with either one.”
Researchers found that people who ate more potassium had a slightly lower long-term risk of death from heart disease, but those who consumed twice as much potassium as sodium were 50% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those who ate the most sodium and the least potassium (about four times as much sodium as potassium).
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend consuming no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, and at least 4,700 mg of potassium a day. Good sources of potassium include bananas, potatoes, coconut products, leafy greens, avocados, and apricots.
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