A diet rich in potassium can play an important role in managing high blood pressure (hypertension). Potassium helps you lose excess sodium (salt) and water through urine. Potassium also helps to lessen tension in your blood vessel walls, which also helps lower blood pressure.
Adults with blood pressure above 120/80 who are otherwise healthy are recommended to increase potassium in their diet to 4,700 milligrams (mg) per day.
Note: Potassium can be harmful if you have kidney disease, a condition that affects how the body handles potassium, or if you take certain medications. Discuss with your doctor whether to increase your potassium.
Potassium and your diet
Potassium is just one part of a healthy lifestyle plan for blood pressure health. Even though potassium can reduce the blood pressure-raising effects of sodium, it should also be combined with reducing the consumption of excess salt and healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has many of the elements that provide a good natural source of potassium.
Potassium-rich foods include:
- Apricots and apricot juice, oranges and orange juice, prunes and prune juice
- Grapefruit and grapefruit juice (check with your doctor if you’re taking a cholesterol-lowering drug)
- Cantaloupe and honeydew melon
- Fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk. Fat-free yogurt
- Greens, spinach, avocados
- Halibut, tuna
- Lima beans
- Mushrooms, peas, sweet potatoes
- Raisins and dates
- Tomatoes, tomato juice and tomato sauce
Is it possible to have too much potassium?
Too much potassium can be harmful in people with kidney disease because the kidneys become less efficient at removing potassium from the blood. This can result in too much potassium building up in the blood. Often, high potassium (hyperkalemia) doesn’t show symptoms, but you may feel sick to your stomach, have a low, weak, or irregular pulse and fainting may occur.
Always consult your doctor before increasing your potassium intake and avoid taking an over-the-counter potassium supplement. You should also check with your doctor before trying salt substitutes, as these can raise potassium in people with certain health conditions and those taking ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure.
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