Could a banana a day lower your blood pressure?

With hypertension affecting 16million people in the UK, JO WATERS asks the experts what can be done to help

An estimated 16 million people in the UK have high blood pressure – that’s one in four of the adult population whose health is at risk of a stroke or heart attack.

“If blood pressure is too high, the pressure of the blood pushing against the sides of blood vessels puts extra strain on your arteries and heart,” says Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London and chair of Blood Pressure UK.

But what can be done to lower it? GO BANANAS Potassium, found in bananas, has a beneficial effect on blood pressure levels.

“The Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has concluded that, overall, potassium has a beneficial effect in people with high blood pressure, including a lower rate of strokes,” says MacGregor.

The recommended daily intake for adults in the UK is 3,500mg.

“Potassium certainly helps by balancing out the negative effects of salt,” confirms MacGregor. “Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is one of the best ways to get potassium in your diet. As well as bananas, good sources include potatoes, sweet potatoes, dried fruit and fruit juice, tuna (not canned in brine), fat-free milk and yogurt.”

But it is important to ensure your diet is balanced. “It is a myth that just eating a banana a day will lower your blood pressure,” he says. “We should aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg a day – and ideally seven.”

But even this wouldn’t be enough to reverse the effects of a diet high in salt. A wide-ranging new study published in the journal Hypertension 2 found that salt raises blood pressure, and the amount of fibre, saturated fat, vitamins and minerals consumed made little difference. It did find that potassium had some effect on blood pressure – but only with lower salt intakes. THE SALT STORY Charity Blood Pressure UK estimates 20,000 lives a year could be saved if everyone in the UK ate less than 6g salt a day – and most of us are eating far more than this.

When we consume salt, our kidneys cause the body to hold on to water and this extra fluid can raise your blood pressure.

“Of the salt we do consume, 80 per cent is in supermarket processed food,” MacGregor says. One supermarket rice dish can contain as much as 4.4g salt in one portion.

“And we still have to tackle the amount of salt in fast food and takeaways. The worry is that we’re eating an increasing amount of these types of foods,” he adds.

In a survey earlier this year, Action on Salt found that a Chinese takeaway can conta as much salt as five Big Mac SO wHAT CAN BE DONE? The obvious change to make simply not to add salt when cooking or at the table. Don be put off if your meals taste blander, your taste buds will readjust within a few weeks. Cooking with more herbs an spices will help.

Check labels carefully and try to buy low-salt/green tra