Find Out Why Bananas Can Save Your Life Now!

Whether you've just been diagnosed with high blood pressure or are genetically pre-disposed to acquiring it later in life, you might want to start considering normalizing your numbers today to prevent an unnecessary, untimely death.

After all, lifestyle and sensible dietary choices go hand-in-hand in the prevention, management and treatment of blood pressure issues.

Today, most people are affected with one of two blood pressure issues:

• Hypotension k.a. low blood pressure—a medical condition in which you might feel some side effects like fatigue, lightheadedness and fainting.

• And Hypertension k.a. high blood pressure—the more serious of the two and can result in various heart diseases and strokes.

With Hypertension, the pressure in arteries increases constantly and is in fact known as a “silent killer” as it rarely has noticeable symptoms.

Eating a healthy diet & sweating it out a couple of times a week could already lower your risk of an early death, according to the National Health Service (NHS).

This means that knowing which foods to add to the diet is just as crucial as knowing which foods to avoid completely in maintaining one’s heart health.

Also, Healthy Habits has this list of the easiest types of heart-strengthening fun exercises you should start doing today if you don’t know where to start.

Bananas & Blood Pressure

Offset the ill-effects of salt on high blood pressure by eating Potassium-rich fruits & vegetables like the grocery staple—bananas!

This is because Potassium helps neutralize the harmful effects of salt and also helps prevent sinister high blood pressure says nutritionist Dr. Sarah Brewer.

Why Potassium?

The body relies heavily on Potassium in order to function properly. Your kidneys aid in controlling blood pressure by regulating the level of fluids your body stores (more fluid stored results in a higher blood pressure).

By filtering your blood and extracting extra fluid, the kidneys then stores that excess liquid in the bladder as urine.

Portion Control

While bananas are rich in Potassium which help to lower blood pressure, this doesn’t mean that one can simply consume 10 bananas in one sitting as this would elevate one’s sugar levels.

If you are a diabetic who likes bananas, these tips could help minimize their effects on your Blood Sugar levels:

• Watch your portion size: eat a smaller banana (to reduce the amount of sugar you eat in one sitting).
• Choose a firm, nearly-ripe banana: pick a banana that's not overly ripe (so that the sugar content is slightly lower).
• Spread your fruit intake throughout the day: spread out your fruit intake (to help reduce your glycemic load).
• Eat them with other foods: enjoy your bananas with other foods (such as nuts or full-fat yogurt, to help slow down the digestion and absorption of the sugar).

NOTE: Always consult with your healthcare professional before taking any over-the-counter Potassium supplement or trying salt substitutes (which sometimes raise Potassium in individuals with certain health conditions and those taking ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure).

Read more about how the cinnamic acid from Ceylon cinnamon supplements can help manage blood pressure here