Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Only a minority of people who have elevated blood pressure actually develop symptoms to the extent that they know something is wrong.

Yeah.

No, I think there's a lot more to it than that.

And we're beginning to realize it.

And I think that our nutrition plays a huge role.

My belief is that the food industry is bothered about our taste, not about our health.

And so a lot of compromises are made and we're consuming all sorts of things that we have no idea of because they're packaged in a way which is sold to us as healthy.

I think alcohol plays a role.

I think lack of sleep, I think, is huge.

There are certain supplements which have been eroded in our diet, magnesium, for example, due to modern farming methods and processing.

And all those things probably also have an impact

So I think there are a ton of things in our environment, in our lifestyle, which contribute to essentially premature aging of our blood vessels, which then becomes stiffer and the blood pressure keeps going up.

Obesity being a big thing, lack of exercise being a big thing.

Absolutely.

I completely get that.

With regards to your question about potassium, absolutely.

There are data to show that actually a higher potassium increases salt excretion.

It's better for endothelial function.

It's a vasodilator.

It suppresses the hormonal mechanisms in the body which regulate pressure.