Are you worried Black Friday shopping and holiday stress might raise your blood pressure? Have you ever wondered how potassium affects your blood pressure and whether or not you are getting enough? If so, this blog post is for you!
Potassium is a mineral crucial for the healthy function of all tissues and organs in your body. Potassium levels must be maintained at an optimal balance inside and outside your cells because potassium shifts play a role in nerve function, and nerves control your muscles and organs.
So, each time you move a finger - or your heart beats, potassium moves out of and back into your cells to drive the nerve and muscle function.
Continue reading below to learn more about the effect of potassium on blood pressure and how to improve your potassium level.
What are the Symptoms of a Low Potassium Level (Hypokalemia)?
Not consuming enough potassium daily can increase the following:
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Muscle cramps
- Blood pressure
- Bone loss
- Salt sensitivity
- Excretion of urinary calcium
- Risk of developing kidney stones1
Do I Need More Potassium?
According to research, only 3% of Americans consume sufficient potassium daily.2 Potassium was identified as a shortfall nutrient of public health concern in the recent report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.2,3
How Does Potassium Lower Blood Pressure?
“Diets containing foods that are a good source of potassium and that are low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke” is a health claim that has been approved by the FDA based on available research.1
Unfortunately, many people in the United States and across the world consume a Western Diet, also known as the Standard American Diet (SAD), which is relatively high in sodium (salt) and low in potassium.4 The unhealthy Western diet is associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) and cardiovascular disease.5
Ultimately, it is the interplay between sodium and potassium intake and management that affects your blood pressure.5 Therefore, potassium is most supportive for those who consume too much sodium.
Potassium counteracts the blood pressure-raising impact of high sodium intake by supporting the removal of sodium by your kidneys. Research suggests that the dietary sodium-to-potassium ratio is more predictive of high blood pressure than consuming either too much sodium or not enough potassium alone.3
How Do I Increase My Potassium Level?
Potassium is present in most foods, and fruits and vegetables offer the highest potassium levels. Good sources of potassium include:
- Apricots
- Lentils
- Potatoes
- Bananas
- Squash
- Kidney beans
- Raisins
- Prunes
- Spinach1
To increase your potassium intake, consider adding more potassium-rich fruits and vegetables to your daily menu and supplementing with extra potassium.
Also, a low magnesium level can contribute to a low potassium level by increasing the amount of potassium excreted in your urine.1 Therefore, consider boosting your intake of both magnesium and potassium if needed.
While it is important to consume adequate potassium daily, some health conditions, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), require a low potassium intake. Thus, it is always best to discuss dietary supplements with your doctor to ensure you are taking appropriate doses of the nutrients you need for optimal health.
InterPlexus Supplements that Support Healthy Blood Pressure*
Potassium+Mag is a physician-formulated blend of highly bioavailable chelated magnesium and potassium that supports a healthy blood pressure level.*
Magnesium3 is a blend of magnesium bisglycinate (magnesium glycinate) and two additional forms of highly bioavailable chelated magnesium that support a healthy potassium level and an optimal blood pressure level.*
Why Should You Choose InterPlexus Supplements?
At Interplexus, we commit to only the purest and highest-quality ingredients from across the globe. For the past 30+ years, we have searched the world to find the premier ingredient manufacturers and partnered with them to ensure our standards are maintained - and our raw materials are above comparison. As a result, we only use highly bioavailable ingredients so you will absorb the minerals and benefit from the potassium and magnesium boost when you take Potassium+Mag.*
Non-GMO and Hypoallergenic
- InterPlexus supplements are also non-GMO, hypoallergenic, and formulated with only minimal and natural excipients. In Potassium+Mag, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, and other unnecessary additives have been replaced with organic rice flour, Nu-Mag, and Nu-Flow, which are clean, natural, gluten-free, rice-based ingredients. InterPlexus supplements are even free of toxic metals.
Purity in Each capsule
- Potassium+Mag features magnesium potassium citrate and trimagnesium dicitrate, which are fully-reacted, organically bound mineral salts known to be easily absorbed and therefore offer superior bioavailability.
- Each capsule of Potassium+Mag includes 325 mg of chelated magnesium and potassium to support your health.*
- On the Potassium+Mag label, we also list the exact amount of elemental potassium and magnesium in each capsule for those who need to closely monitor their intake for medical purposes.*
Synergistic and Clean Blend
- Potassium+Mag is a unique synergistic blend that boosts potassium status with chelated potassium PLUS chelated magnesium, which reduces excessive potassium loss and supports the use of potassium by cells.*
- Our supplements come with a clean label. Clean-label products exclude artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives by replacing them with natural ingredients that perform the same function.
If you have questions about any of our supplements, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us today!
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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References:
- Office of dietary supplements - potassium. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. June 2, 2022. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Potassium-HealthProfessional/.
- Weaver CM. Potassium and health. Adv Nutr. 2013;4(3):368S-77S. doi:10.3945/an.112.003533
- Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2020. Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington, DC. Available at: https://doi.org/10.52570/DGAC2020
- García-Montero C, Fraile-Martínez O, Gómez-Lahoz AM, et al. Nutritional Components in Western Diet Versus Mediterranean Diet at the Gut Microbiota-Immune System Interplay. Implications for Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2021;13(2):699. doi:10.3390/nu13020699
- Ellison DH, Terker AS. Why Your Mother Was Right: How Potassium Intake Reduces Blood Pressure. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc. 2015;126:46-55.
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