Increasing a low potassium intake can lower your blood pressure if you, like most Americans, also consume too much sodium in your diet. The correct ratio of potassium to sodium helps control your blood pressure. An imbalance in favor of sodium, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, can cause high blood pressure and other long-term cardiovascular diseases. Ask your doctor if you can benefit from more potassium. You can generally get all you need from a healthy diet.
Why Blood Pressure Rises
The right amount of potassium in your body keeps your blood pressure from mounting uncontrollably. When you consume sodium from the salt in foods, fluid enters your bloodstream and the added volume makes your blood pressure rise. Potassium acts as a check on this action. If you don't get more potassium than sodium from your diet, your body must work harder to adjust the mineral balance in your blood, and your heart, blood vessels and kidneys may sustain damage. This can encourage a chronic state of high blood pressure.
Research on Potassium
The potassium that you get from foods reduces blood pressure by decreasing sodium's effects on the body. Most diets supply more sodium than potassium, exceeding sodium limits and failing to meet adequate potassium intakes. A 2009 study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute found that improper balance of potassium to sodium in participants increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. The results published in "Archives of Internal Medicine" suggest that increasing a low potassium intake while reducing a high sodium intake can improve blood pressure and prevent disease.
Recommended Food Sources
The salt added to food such as hot dogs, cottage cheese and canned soups in commercial processing is the source of most sodium intake. These foods also tend to be low in potassium. To bump up the potassium level of your diet, eat fewer processed meats and cheeses, canned foods and frozen prepared entrees, and more fresh or frozen meats, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and dairy products. Sweet potatoes, baked white potatoes, beet greens, spinach, yogurt, halibut, cantaloupe and white beans are rich sources. Also, these significant potassium sources tend to be low in sodium.
Significance
High blood pressure raises your risk for kidney disease, heart disease and stroke. "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010" notes that one in three Americans has high blood pressure. Another one in three has pre-hypertension, or conditions likely to become chronic without intervention. You can decrease your chances of becoming one of these statistics by lowering your blood pressure with the help of greater potassium intake.
References
- NIH Research Matters; Sodium-Potassium Ratio Linked to Cardiovascular Disease Risk; January 2009
- Harvard School of Public Health: Lower Salt and Sodium
- USDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010; December 2010
- "Archives of Internal Medicine"; Joint Effects of Sodium and Potassium Intake on Subsequent Cardiovascular Disease; N.R. Cook, et al.; January 2009
