Replacing some ordinary salt with potassium salt can cut the risk of stroke.
Researchers randomly assigned roughly 21,000 people living in 600 rural Chinese villages to use either ordinary salt (sodium chloride) or a salt that was 75 percent sodium chloride and 25 percent potassium chloride. All the participants had a history of stroke or were 60 or older and had poorly controlled blood pressure (140 or higher with drugs or 160 or higher without drugs).
Nearly all experts agree that we should eat less salt. But opposition from the food industry and a handful of scientists has stalled efforts to cut the salt in the two biggest sources: packaged and restaurant foods.
Many people don’t get enough fiber, vitamin D, calcium, or potassium. Others are seeking more protein (whether they need it or not). But we may be looking in the wrong places. Here’s a handful of foods with less (or more) of those nutrients than you might expect.
Keep scrolling to see foods with surprisingly high (or low) levels of nutrients we overdo (added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium).
Most of the salt we eat comes from processed foods. But sometimes you need salt for recipes or seasoning. Here’s our take on four common ones...and which claims to take with a few grains of, umm, salt.
Nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, according to the most recent guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Grapefruit. Kale. St. John’s wort. Some foods and supplements just don’t mix with some drugs. The wrong combo could dampen a drug’s effect...or deliver a heftier dose. Here are some of the more common ones.
Got high blood pressure? Here’s how much your systolic pressure could fall with diet and exercise, according to guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.