Postmenopausal women who eat foods higher in potassium such as potatoes are less likely to have strokes or to die from any cause than women who eat fewer potassium-rich foods, according to data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). The research, led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, was published online in the peer-reviewed journal Stroke.

"Previous studies have shown that higher potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn't clear," said senior author Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD, distinguished university professor emerita of epidemiology and population health and principal investigator at Einstein.

"Our findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and vegetables. They're good sources of potassium, and potassium not only lowers postmenopausal women's risk of stroke, but also of death." 

Researchers studied 90,137 postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 79, for an average of 11 years. They looked at how much potassium the women consumed, as well as if they had strokes, including ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, or died during the study period. Women in the study were stroke-free at the start and their average dietary potassium intake was 2,611 mg/day-significantly below the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) current recommendation that adults eat at least 4,700 mg of potassium daily.

Results of this study are based on potassium from food, not supplements. The researchers found that women who ate the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to suffer stroke in general and 16 percent less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke (i.e., stroke caused by blood clot) than women who ate the least. Additionally, women who ate the most potassium were 10 percent less likely to die from any cause than those who ate the least.

The results suggest that higher dietary potassium intake may be more beneficial before high blood pressure develops. "Only 2.8 percent of women in our study met or exceeded the recommended intake of 4,700 mg of potassium daily," said Wassertheil-Smoller. "The World Health Organization's daily potassium recommendation for women is lower, at 3,510 mg or more. Still, only 16.6 percent of women we studied met or exceeded that. Our findings suggest that women need to eat more potassium-rich foods. Some foods high in potassium include white and sweet potatoes, leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale, white beans and bananas. But you won't find high potassium in junk food." Read the paper here...  

Published in May 2013, the Advances in Nutrition peer-reviewed supplement, "White Vegetables: A Forgotten Source of Nutrients," features 10 papers by a group of noted scientists who conclude that potatoes and other white vegetables are just as important to a healthy diet as their colorful cousins in the produce aisle. All of the papers are now available as downloadable PDFs for free through the journal's open access program.

The journal supplement is the outcome of a June 2012 Purdue University roundtable on white vegetable nutrition, supported by an unrestricted grant by APRE. The authors identify a substantial body of evidence that demonstrates how the inclusion of white vegetables, such as potatoes, can increase intake of shortfall nutrients, notably fiber, potassium and magnesium, and can help increase overall vegetable consumption among children, teens and adults in the U.S.

Eric Decker, PhD

FEATURE ARTICLE: This month's featured free supplement article is "Innovations in Food Chemistry and Processing to Enhance the Nutrient Profile of the White Potato in All Forms," by Eric A. Decker, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Mario G. Ferruzzi, PhD, Purdue University. The authors examine the many positive nutrients found in potatoes and how these nutrients are affected by cooking and other food processing operations.

Mario Ferruzzi, PhD

In addition, they discuss how the nutritional content of potatoes is altered by cooking methods and how fried potatoes can have wide variations in fat content depending on the cooking method. The paper highlights several opportunities to use food processing operations and food science technology to enhance the overall nutritional profile of white potatoes prepared in all forms. Read the entire paper to get the details.