Do
Bananas Prevent
Heart Attacks?
Do bananas prevent your (next) heart attack?
And if they do, how do they do that?
Potassium
Bananas are rich in potassium.
And that might be the secret of the banana and the heart attack.
Endothelium
First of all, a note about the structure of our blood vessels.
The inner surface of our blood vessels is lined with a single layer of cells.
We call this layer the endothelium.
These cells have different functions depending on where they are in the body.
For example, they play a role in fluid filtration in the kidneys.
They can also affect the tone of the blood vessels.
Endothelial function
A good endothelial function decreases the risk of ischemic heart disease.[1]
In ischemic heart disease, the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is reduced.
And a sudden blockage of blood flow causes a heart attack.
One study found that healthy adults who increased dietary potassium from potatoes and bananas for a week had improved endothelial function.[1]
Vascular calcification
Using a mouse model, it was shown that increased dietary potassium reduced vascular calcification and aortic stiffness.[2]
Vascular calcification is a risk factor for complications of atherosclerosis.[2]
A heart attack is a atherosclerotic complication.
Hypertension
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a major risk factor for ischemic heart disease.[3]
Higher potassium intakes may help decrease blood pressure.[3]
Most clinical trials suggest that potassium supplementation reduces blood pressure.
Summary
So bananas contain a lot of potassium.
The potassium improves your endothelial function, reduces vascular calcification and decreases the blood pressure.
Thanks to this mechanism, it reduces the risk of atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease.
And so you reduce the risk of your (next) heart attack.
So yes! Bananas, as a potassium containing fruit, help prevent heart attacks.
How Much Bananas Should I Eat?
An adult women should eat 5.5 medium sized banana’s a day to meet her potassium requirements.
A man should eat 8 bananas a day.
Well, unless you want to feel like a banana yourself, you should look for alternative sources of potassium.
Banana and friends
Fortunately, there are several foods that help the banana with the potassium supply.
Examples of these foods are apricots, melon, orange, pear, raisins, potatoes, legumes, corn, broccoli, kale, spinach, beets, mushrooms, tomatoes and soy milk.
So if you want to keep your potassium up and prevent your (next) heart attack, consider the banana.
But don’t forget to invite his potassium rich friends.
Literature
- Blanch N, et al., Effect of high potassium diet on endothelial function; Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.numecd.2014.04.00 - Sun Y, et al., Dietary potassium regulates vascular calcification and arterial stiffness; JCI Insight. 2017;2(19):e94920, 1-13
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/
factsheets/Potassium-HealthProfessional/