Does Potassium Remove Salt From The Body?

Your cells require a fluid and electrolyte balance that you perpetuate by consuming potassium, sodium and other minerals from foods. Sodium, derived mainly from salt, causes the migration of fluids in and around the cells and into and out of the bloodstream, which changes your blood pressure. The right proportion of potassium to sodium encourages normal blood pressure. While potassium can't decrease the amount of salt in your body, it does keep sodium from pushing your blood pressure too high.

Fluid and Electrolyte Balance

Your diet should reflect the ratio of potassium to sodium needed to achieve fluid homeostasis. A healthy person should consume 4,700 mg of potassium per day and less than 2,300 mg of sodium. If you already have chronic high blood pressure, or hypertension, the American Heart Association recommends taking in less than 1,500 mg of sodium daily. This mineral-to-fluid balance retains more fluid in body cells than in blood and so does not increase blood pressure. Your kidneys will excrete sodium and potassium normally to preserve this balance.

Fluid and Electrolyte Instability

The greater your salt intake, however, the more fluid will enter the blood to dilute its sodium level, especially if the potassium level is inadequate. This causes higher pressure on the walls of your blood vessels. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, most American diets contain 50 percent more sodium and 50 percent less potassium than recommended. In this ratio, your kidneys work harder to remove salt and your heart works harder to pump the greater volume of blood produced by fluid migration. Eventually, your kidneys may be unable to regulate sodium levels and your blood pressure may remain chronically high.

Use of Diuretics

Simply increasing your potassium intake to offset a high-salt diet won't restore normal blood pressure levels. Doctors may prescribe diuretics, medications that prompt the kidneys to excrete more urine, in which sodium, potassium and other electrolytes are dissolved. This reduces the sodium content in the blood and causes fluids to shift toward the body cells, decreasing blood volume and blood pressure. You may need a special form of diuretic that preserves adequate potassium in your body as sodium and other minerals are removed.

Prevention/Solution

Your health depends upon proper function of your heart and kidneys. You can avoid complications such as heart attacks and kidney failure that can develop from high blood pressure by adjusting your diet. To get more potassium and less salt, the American Heart Association advises eating unprocessed fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fish, and low-fat dairy products.