Rather than causing blood pressure to rise, potassium is credited with lowering blood pressure to healthy levels. High blood pressure, or hypertension, increases your risk of strokes and heart attacks. If you develop hypertension, your doctor may suggest you follow the DASH meal plan, which relies on high-fiber, antioxidant-rich foods, as well as foods high in potassium.
Effect on Blood Pressure
People with low potassium levels tend to have higher blood pressure levels than the average population, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes. Conversely, people with moderate to high intakes of potassium have lower blood pressure levels. It remains unclear, however, whether extra potassium helps hypertensive who already get enough of the mineral in their diet. For this reason, UMMC urges patients to discuss whether supplements or extra potassium-rich foods are likely to improve their specific health conditions.
DASH Diet
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, plan features potassium-rich foods, as well as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Oranges, bananas, potatoes, raisins, spinach and prunes are all high in both fiber and potassium. The DASH meal plan also de-emphasizes foods like red meat and butter, which are high in saturated fat. It additionally restricts sodium intake. Sodium not only raises blood pressure when consumed in excess, but also depletes potassium.
Recommended Amounts
The Institute of Medicine recommends an intake of 4,700 milligrams of potassium each day to teens and adults for keeping blood pressure in check, as well as for healthy nerve and muscle function and for decreasing the risk for kidney stones. Breastfeeding women may need as much as 5,100 milligrams each day. Although having too much potassium in your system causes health problems, no potassium intake limit currently exists; potassium-rich foods rarely lead to potassium overload. But taking potassium supplements at a rate of about 18,000 milligrams, or 18 grams, can lead to severe health problems.
Potassium-rich Foods
A baked potato, including skin, will give you about 20 percent of the potassium you need each day. A serving of prunes and raisins each supplies about 13 percent of the recommended daily value, or DV, for potassium. Other foods rich in the mineral include bananas, prune juice, lima beans, tomato juice, spinach and acorn squash, all of which supply about 10 percent of the DV for potassium in each serving.
Excessive Potassium
An overenthusiastic intake of potassium supplements could lead to a condition known as hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia causes fatigue, nausea, tingling and, in extreme cases, death. Kidney disease is a more common cause of the condition than excessive potassium intake. Talk to your doctor, however, to ensure that you take in enough potassium to enhance a heart-healthy diet, but not enough to put yourself at risk for hyperkalemia.
