Potassium-rich diet against high blood pressure

People with blood pressure that is elevated should watch their salt intake. That's well known. Less well known but just as important is another mineral: the counterpart to sodium → potassium. The balance between potassium and sodium should be even. In Western diets, however, sodium (table salt) predominates. The important potassium is usually supplied in too small amounts.

The role of potassium and sodium in the body

Both minerals are important in the body. Potassium is the dominant mineral inside the body's cells. Sodium is found mainly in body fluids and blood. Special pumps in the cell membranes maintain this balance. This is especially important for nerve and muscle cells, but all other body cells also use the energy created by these concentration differences.

Sodium also binds water in the body. That's why excessive table salt intake is linked to high blood pressure. Potassium, on the other hand, lowers blood pressure and is considered particularly important for heart cells. It stabilizes them and is crucial for generating the electrical impulses (important for conduction in the heart) and therefore for the heart's rhythmic activity. It also plays a role in fluid and electrolyte balance and leads to increased excretion of sodium via the kidneys. People with kidney disease should therefore not take in too much potassium.

So it's not sodium alone in the diet that matters, but the ratio between sodium and potassium. With a daily sodium intake of up to 2 g about 5 g of table salt the WHO recommends getting 3.5 g of potassium from food. The Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. and Canada goes even further and recommends consuming 4.7 g of potassium daily from food.

While an almost unprocessed diet used to provide people with 10 g or more of potassium, today only about one-fifth to one-tenth of that is supplied on average per day. At the same time, the sodium content in our mostly processed foods has risen sharply → we consume three to six times more sodium than potassium. To keep the ratio balanced, potassium intake should be increased when sodium intake is higher.

A study published in July 2022 showed that especially women who consume a lot of sodium benefit from increased potassium intake.

The European Society of Hypertension incorporated the recommendation in 2023 to get 3.5 g of potassium daily, preferably from food, into its guidelines.

Am besten geschieht dies über ein Anpassung der Ernährungsgewohnheiten. Kalium findet sich vor allem in pflanzlichen Lebensmitteln. Besonders Hülsenfrüchte, Avocados, Kartoffeln, Nüsse und dergleichen, aber auch Trockenobst wie Rosinen, Aprikosen, Datteln et cetera versorgen Sie mit Kalium. Wer zum Würzen Kräuter anstelle von Kochsalz verwendet, spart Natrium und unterstützt seinen Körper mit einer Extraportion Kalium. Kochsalz kann auch durch ein häufig als "Blutdrucksalz" oder "Kaliumsalz" bezeichnetes Produkt ersetzt werden. Dieses Salz ist natriumreduziert, ein Teil des Natriums wird durch Kaliumchlorid ersetzt.

Supplements like effervescent tablets or similar are usually unnecessary. You should definitely talk to your doctor before using them.

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This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands monitor their blood pressure every day. Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 10/2024).

Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.

Potassium-rich diet against high blood pressure

The role of potassium and sodium in the body

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