Hold the sodium, but add the potassium with pears!
Pears are sodium-free and each medium-sized pear offers about 190 mg of potassium, which is 4% of the Daily Value. 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, high blood pressure risk may be reduced by a diet low in sodium.
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 (containing less than 140 mg of sodium per serving) may help reduce risk for developing high blood pressure. So how can you 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.
Spice things up at your next dinner party with this lower sodium Bartlett Pear Quesadilla recipe.