Milk Helps to Prevent Stroke

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

July 22, 2002

Dr. David Young, a Professor of Physiology at the University of Mississippi once remarked, "potassium is like sex and money, you can't get too much." Now a study conducted in Hawaii shows that potassium helps to circumvent the risk of stroke, one of the leading causes of death in this country.

Dr. Deborah Green is a researcher associated with the Queen's Medical Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii. To determine the benefits of potassium she and her colleagues followed 5,888 men and women ages 65 and over for eight years.

Their conclusion? Patients with low levels of potassium were twice as likely to suffer "ischemic stroke", the type of stroke in which a blood clot cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain.

But there was worse news for those with hypertension who were being treated with diuretics (water pills to increase the frequency of urination). If these patients also had low levels of potassium they had 2.5 times the risk of stroke.

Then even more worrying findings for those who suffer from the "Matthew Effect". I've talked about the Matthew effect before when discussing coronary heart disease. It's the sum total of all the things that are wrong that finally results in either a coronary attack or in this case a stroke.

For instance, one of the risks of getting older is an irregular heart rate called auricular fibrillation. Patients who suffer from this condition, who are also taking diuretics and have low blood potassium, face 10 times the risk of stroke compared to those who have normal heart rhythm, no need for diuretics and normal potassium levels.

It's the old story that you can be reckless occasionally and still live to a ripe old age. But if you collect a load of sins resulting in obesity, hypertension, smoke two packs of cigarettes a day and rarely get off the couch, the Matthew Effect gets you sooner or later.

It's a shame that medicine isn't like religion where it's said you can be a sinner all your life, run off with the minister's wife, steal shareholders money, stash it in a Swiss bank account and even be a lawyer. But with a little repentance at the end a loving God will forgive and let you through the pearly gates. Unfortunately in the real world of medicine you reap what you sow.

So how does potassium protect against stroke? Previous research shows that potassium, a potent substance, has a major effect on blood pressure. For instance, researchers have caused blood pressure to increase by simply restricting potassium intake for as little as 10 days. So using potassium to fight hypertension is one way to prevent strokes.

But Dr. Green believes potassium's effect on lowering blood pressure isn't the entire solution. It's well known that stroke and coronary attack often occur when there's no evidence of hypertension, narrowed arteries or elevated blood cholesterol. In some instances the blood simply forms clots due to an abnormality in the blood clotting process. It's believed that potassium also helps to decrease the risk of this happening.

Dr. Green's study is not the only one that has linked high potassium intake to a decreased risk of stroke. Dr Alberto Ascherio at the Harvard Medical School studied 40,000 men over a period of eight years. During that time 328 suffered strokes. Those who consumed the most potassium were 36 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Low potassium levels occur when a diet contains less than 2.400 milligrams (mg) daily. A high intake of potassium is 4,000 mg a day or more. The best way to ensure a high potassium intake is to eat foods rich in potassium.

Thank God there are more ways to obtain potassium than eating a cup of spinach. Three glasses of milk provide 1,200 mg, a potato with the skin 844 mg, a banana 450 mg and there's potassium in citrus fruits, nuts and green leafy vegetables.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod