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Bananas are commonly seen and are among the most beloved fruits for many people. However, some hypertensive patients believe that bananas can easily cause a spike in blood pressure, so they keep their distance. But do bananas really raise blood pressure? Actually, it's quite the opposite.
Bananas are high in potassium, and potassium can promote salt excretion and expand blood vessels, thus having a certain antihypertensive effect.
However, there is a premise here, and that is the dosage, because the dosage of any medication is crucial for treating any disease. Research has indicated that in order to achieve the antihypertensive effect of bananas, patients need to intake 3600mg of potassium daily.
According to relevant data released by the Chinese Nutrition Society: it is recommended to intake 3600mg of potassium daily to maintain cardiovascular health. To achieve this intake through eating bananas, one would need to eat at least 4 catties of bananas daily, or more specifically, equivalent to 11 bananas!
It is obvious that relying solely on eating bananas to lower blood pressure is not very reliable. Furthermore, while bananas are good, overeating them can have negative consequences.
Firstly, it can significantly increase the potassium and magnesium content in the blood, leading to an imbalance in the proportions of potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium, which can harm health.
Secondly, consuming a large quantity of bananas can lead to the intake of a large amount of magnesium ions in the body, which can cause electrolyte imbalance. Especially when bananas are consumed on an empty stomach, it will cause an imbalance in the blood magnesium-calcium ratio, thereby affecting cardiovascular health.
Therefore, hypertensive patients can eat bananas, but they should be cautious not to overindulge. Additionally, other potassium-rich foods such as corn, asparagus, and leafy greens can also be consumed in moderation to assist in lowering blood pressure. Furthermore, the most important thing for hypertensive patients to restrict is sodium intake, as foods such as pickled vegetables and cured meats have relatively high salt content and are best consumed in moderation.
Food safety has always been a focus of concern, and bananas, as a common fruit, have also been labeled as the "highest radiation" fruit. Has the blame been misplaced on bananas?
First off, bananas do indeed contain a certain amount of radiation, and this is where we need to talk about potassium.
Potassium mainly exists in nature in the form of salts and is also an important component of the human body's muscles and nerve tissues. If the body lacks potassium, it can easily lead to health problems such as irregular heartbeats and even cardiac arrest.
Potassium has nothing to do with radiation; on the contrary, it is very important for the human body. However, potassium's sibling, potassium-40, is another form, as a potassium isotope, it is radioactive and is also a source of natural nuclear radiation to the human body.
The reason why bananas are considered to be radioactive is simply because they have a high potassium content and a relatively high potassium-40 content.
Eating a banana brings about approximately 0.0778 microsieverts of radiation. In contrast, a chest CT scan is 7 millisieverts, equivalent to consuming 90,000 bananas!
This indicates that there is no need to worry about radiation from eating a banana. After all, to reach a harmful level of radiation for the human body, one would have to consume tens of thousands of bananas! Furthermore, the minimal radiation from bananas does not accumulate in the body; this radioactive potassium element will be excreted from the body along with its metabolism.
What should be more concerned about in daily life is smoking; polonium-210 and lead-210 in cigarettes are also radioactive. Smokers inhaling 20 cigarettes per day can receive a dose of 0.46 millisieverts from polonium-210, which is equivalent to 5,900 bananas!
There is a widespread claim on the internet that "bananas that are completely yellow in appearance are hormone-treated bananas," and only bananas with a green base are naturally ripe.
In fact, the transition of bananas from green to yellow is a normal ripening state, and relying solely on banana color to judge ripeness is completely lacking in scientific basis. Even if ripening is induced, it is done with ethylene, which has very low toxicity and is very minimal, and will not cause harm to the human body, so there is no need to panic.
In fact, these two types of bananas should be eaten less in daily life:
Rotten bananas can breed aflatoxin, which can damage health and increase the risk of liver cancer.
Unripe bananas contain a large amount of tannic acid, which, when ingested, can cause stomach pain, bloating, and other gastrointestinal discomfort, and can worsen constipation symptoms.
1. Patients with kidney disease: Bananas are rich in potassium and magnesium, and for patients with poor filtration function in the kidneys, eating bananas may cause an imbalance in the proportions of calcium, potassium, and magnesium in the blood, thereby exacerbating kidney disease.
2. People with a tendency towards a cold constitution: Bananas have a cold property, so people with a cold constitution, such as those with a deficient and cold stomach, are best to avoid eating bananas.
3. Patients with arthritis and diabetes: Bananas are fruits with a high sugar content, and high-sugar fruits can slow down blood circulation and lead to metabolic accumulation, especially for patients with arthritis and diabetes, it is best to eat as few bananas as possible to avoid worsening the condition.
In daily life, bananas are loved for their soft and mushy texture. Due to their high potassium content, they can be consumed in moderation by individuals with high blood pressure to assist in lowering it, but it's important not to overindulge. Additionally, when selecting bananas, it's best to avoid rotten and unripe ones, and the daily intake of bananas should be limited to one or two.
