SATURDAY August 2, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- High dietary intake of potassium may reduce a person's risk of developing high blood pressure and lower blood pressure in people with hypertension, according to a study published this month in a special supplement to The Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

Dr. Mark C. Houston, from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Dr. Karen J. Harper from Harper Medical Communications, Inc. in Nashville came to this suggestion after reviewing published studies on the topic.

They also suggested that vegetarians and isolated populations have a very low incidence of heart disease because they have an adequate intake of potassium in their diet.

In such populations consuming diets often low in sodium and high in potassium-rich fruits and vegetables, only 1 percent of people suffer hypertension compared to nearly 33 percent in the industrialized countries where people eat diets high in processed foods and high amounts of dietary sodium.

Currently the American diet contain twice as much as the amount of sodium as recommended in dietary guidelines, but only half the recommended amount of potassium.

Houston and Harper said if the potassium intake is boosted, incidence of high blood pressure could drop by more than 10 percent.

Potassium rich foods include banana, potatoes with skin, prune juice and plums, orange and orange juice, tomatoes and tomato juice, raisins, lima beans, spinach, almonds sunflower seeds and molasses.