Women who eat bananas, avocados and salmon could reduce the negative effects of salt in the diet, according to a study published  in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

 The study found that potassium-rich diets were associated with lower blood pressure, particularly in women with high salt intake.

It is well known that high salt consumption is associated with elevated blood pressure and a raised risk of heart attacks and strokes,” said study author Professor Liffert Vogt of Amsterdam University Medical Centers, the Netherlands. “Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake but this is difficult to achieve when our diets include processed foods. Potassium helps the body excrete more sodium in the urine. In our study, dietary potassium was linked with the greatest health gains in women.”

The study included 24,963 participants (11,267 men and 13,696 women) of the EPIC-Norfolk study, which recruited 40 to 79 year olds from general pr ...