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Bananas May Beat Stroke
Low-Potassium Diet Raises Stroke Risk
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By Jennifer Warner WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD
Aug. 29, 2002 -- An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but a banana a
day can keep stroke at bay. New research shows people who don't get enough
potassium in their diets are more likely to have a stroke.
The study, published in the Aug. 13 issue of the journal Neurology, found
that people with the lowest levels of potassium in their diet were 1.5 times
more likely to suffer a stroke compared with those who had the highest levels
of potassium in their diet.
Bananas are probably the best-known dietary sources of potassium, but other
foods rich in potassium include avocados, citrus fruits, green leafy
vegetables, milk, and nuts.
In the study, researchers followed about 5,600 men and women over the age of
65 who had never suffered a stroke. Over a four- to six-year period, they
also tracked the amount of potassium the people consumed, the level of
potassium circulating in their blood, and use of diuretics (water pills).
Diuretics are commonly used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure,
heart failure, and kidney disease. These medications work by increasing urine
production by the kidneys and reducing the amount of water in the body. A
common side effect of diuretics is that they lower potassium levels.
Researchers found people who were taking diuretics and also had the lowest
levels of potassium in the blood were 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke
than diuretic users with the highest potassium levels.
But study author Deborah M. Green, MD, of the Neuroscience Institute of The
Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, and colleagues say those findings do not
mean diuretics increase the chance of having a stroke.
"The question is whether diuretics would be even more effective with adequate
potassium intake," says Green in a news release. In an editorial that
accompanies the study, Steven R. Levine, MD, and Bruce M. Coull, MD, say
that's especially important for people who already are at increased risk for
stroke due to diabetes, irregular heart beats (atrial fibrillation), and
cigarette smoking. Researchers say more study is needed to find out if
increasing potassium intake or using potassium supplements would prevent
strokes.
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