For many years doctors have been insisting that seniors decrease their sodium intake in order to benefit their cardiovascular health. The doctors were emphasized that decreasing the sodium intake would ensure that seniors had healthy blood pressure levels. Typically this meant folks had to decrease the amount of table salt they consumed, because it was typically the largest source of sodium in folks diets. Recent research suggests that it is equally important for seniors to increase their potassium intake to optimize their cardiovascular health.
The research was conducted for over 10 to 15 years on more than 2,000 men and women who were diagnosed with pre-hypertension. The results showed that it was the ratio of sodium to potassium in their diets that determined their risk of suffering from the consequences of cardiovascular disease. Those who had a higher ratio of sodium to potassium showed a higher risk of cardiovascular disease events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about protecting cardiovascular health, because they can easily implement this preemptive aging dietary approach.