Hold the sodium, but add the potassium with pears!
Sodium intake is directly linked to risk for high blood pressure (hypertension). This means that a high intake of sodium may increase risk for high blood pressure. According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 3 Americans has high blood pressure, but most people don’t know that they have it because it has no apparent symptoms. High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer,” because it can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or kidney failure with little or no warning. See http://www.americanheart.org for more details.
Most Americans eat much more than the maximum recommended sodium intake (2300 mg/day, or about 1 teaspoon of table salt). Since sodium is found in many foods, choosing foods that are sodium-free or low in sodium (contain less than 140mg of sodium per serving) may help reduce risk for developing high blood pressure. On the other hand, potassium has many health benefits, one of which is that increasing potassium in the diet may help reduce risk for high blood pressure. Eating foods rich in potassium tends to reduce the effects of sodium on blood pressure! Other benefits of potassium include maintaining a normal heartbeat, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, and carbohydrate and protein metabolism.
Pears are Sodium-Free!
Not only are pears free of sodium, but each medium pear also contains about 190 mg (5% DV) of potassium! If sodium-free pears replace higher sodium foods in the diet, overall sodium intake may be reduced. Although it’s a disease associated with many factors, diets low in sodium may reduce risk of developing high blood pressure!