For years, salt has been somewhat "demonized" (or rather, its excessive consumption) over its potential risk of damaging the body when it comes to health pressure and even diabetes, with people over 50 and African Americans being the population at a higher risk - however, it turns out that, while fully grown adults shouldn't overeat it, for teenagers potassium is key.
Apparently, in the critical phase of growing up that is adolescence, teenagers' potassium needs are higher than at any other point in life and, surprisingly, a so-called over consumption of salt could actually help them protect their bodies against low pressure well into adulthood.
The new study about teenagers' potassium needs was created by researchers in Boston University and published recently at JAMA Pediatrics under the title "Longitudinal Effects of Dietary Sodium and Potassium on Blood Pressure in Adolescent Girls," and its objective was to study the potassium to sodium ratio on blood pressure in adolescents.
According to The New York Times, the teenagers potassium study tracked the blood pressure of 2,185 girls from the time they were 10 until they were 20, also looking at their eating habits for comparison.
It turned out that, for those girls who consumed a lot of salt (namely, sodium), there was absolutely no long-term effect in their blood pressure; however, the shocking new discovery was that those girls who had as teenagers a potassium-high diet actually had lower pressure than their equivalents that didn't consume potassium that often.
Of course, it was the revelation of potassium's benefits at a young age that caught headlines around the world.
Cleveland Clinic reports that the effect of potassium could be seen best in girls who consumed 2,400mg or more of potassium each day, as they had significantly lower blood pressure levels than their counterparts.
Other benefits of potassium-rich foods are the regulation of the heartbeat and reduced risks of muscle loss and strokes.
Some foods that are high on the composite are potatoes, dark leafy greens, white beans, bananas and broccoli - all of which can be added to teenagers' potassium diet.
