If you have high blood pressure, or hypertension, the dietary factors that can drive it even higher must be avoided. Hypertension is a leading cause of heart disease, a condition that can cause heart attack or stroke. Your blood pressure is regulated by the sodium-potassium system of checks and balances in your blood. In order to stay in the normal range, potassium concentration should be greater than sodium.
Significance
Your body needs just 200 mg of sodium daily, but many of the salt-containing foods that you eat may provide a full supply in a single serving or less. Most Americans consume far more sodium than they need, about 3,400 mg on average, according to the American Heart Association. At the same time, potassium, a mineral that offsets the effects of sodium on blood pressure, is underconsumed. This explains the prevalence of hypertension, which the National Institutes of Health says currently affects one in three Americans.
Mineral Imbalance
The dietary imbalance occurs due to food selections that favor processed over fresh and whole foods: 75 percent of all sodium consumed comes from processed foods, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, with the remainder derived from the natural sodium contents of foods and the use of table salt. If your diet is high in sodium-rich foods, such as canned, frozen and fast foods, cheese and commercial bread and other grain products, there is less room in your calorie allowance for potassium-rich roods. These include fresh or minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meats, fish and milk products.
Recommended Sodium Intake
Sodium assists in nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction and cellular fluid balance. Consuming excess sodium changes your body's fluid balance; larger volumes of blood circulate through the blood vessels in an attempt to compensate. This makes your cardiovascular system work harder, which may result in high blood pressure. Your body can still function normally with overconsumption of sodium, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers 1,500 mg of sodium the tolerable upper intake for individuals with hypertension.
Recommended Potassium Intake
Potassium regulates many metabolic processes in addition to it effect in lowering blood pressure. Since larger potassium intake is beneficial in Western diets, an adequate intake level encourages adults with or without hypertension to consume 4,700 of potassium daily. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that your potassium intake should come from food, not from supplements. If you have another health issue that keeps your body from using dietary potassium, your doctor may prescribe a mineral booster.
