A need for bananas? Dietary potassium regulates calcification of arteries
by Jeff Hansen

Bananas and avocados — foods that are rich in potassium — may help protect against pathogenic vascular calcification, also known as hardening of the arteries.
University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have shown, for the first time, that reduced dietary potassium promotes elevated aortic stiffness in a mouse model, as compared with normal-potassium-fed mice. Such arterial stiffness in humans is predictive of heart disease and death from heart disease, and it represents an important health problem for the nation as a whole.

The UAB researchers also found that increased dietary potassium levels lessened vascular calcification and aortic stiffness. Furthermore, they unraveled the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of low or high dietary potassium.

Such knowledge of how vascular smooth muscle cells in the arteries regulate vascular calcification emphasizes the need to consider dietary intake of potassium in the prevention of vascular complications of atherosclerosis. It also provides new targets for potential therapies to prevent or treat atherosclerotic vascular calcification and arterial stiffness.

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Some low carb high K fruits/veggies

Tomato carb=3.89g/100g, Potassium=237mg/100g, Sodium=5mg/100g
Cucumber carb=3.63g/100g, Potassium=147mg/100g, Sodium=2mg/100g


Tomatoes and cardiovascular health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12587984

Diet is believed to play a complex role in the development of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the Western world. Tomatoes, the second most produced and consumed vegetable nationwide, are a rich source of lycopene, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids, and vitamin E. The processing of tomatoes may significantly affect the bioavailability of these nutrients. Homogenization, heat treatment, and the incorporation of oil in processed tomato products leads to increased lycopene bioavailability, while some of the same processes cause significant loss of other nutrients. Nutrient content is also affected by variety and maturity. Many of these nutrients may function individually, or in concert, to protect lipoproteins and vascular cells from oxidation, the most widely accepted theory for the genesis of atherosclerosis. This hypothesis has been supported by in vitro, limited in vivo, and many epidemiological studies that associate reduced cardiovascular risk with consumption of antioxidant-rich foods. Other cardioprotective functions provided by the nutrients in tomatoes may include the reduction of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, homocysteine, platelet aggregation, and blood pressure. Because tomatoes include several nutrients associated with theoretical or proven effects and are widely consumed year round, they may be considered a valuable component of a cardioprotective diet.


Conclusion: slow cook tomato + oil/fat soup is the perfect food for both low carb and non low carb diets. This one get both K and lycopene bioavailability.