Potassium’s Role in Blood Pressure Regulation Is Understated: Report

A peer-reviewed scientific report published by University of Vermont researchers with support from the IANFS Sodium in Food and Health Complications Committee concluded that high blood pressure may be managed more effectively by getting more potassium through the diet, alongside well-established recommendations for sodium reduction. The report was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The physicians and experts who authored the report noted the growing evidence that potassium plays a strong role in blood pressure regulation and that, rather than considering sodium and potassium separately, recommendations should address how the two nutrients work together.

“It is time to view dietary interventions holistically because food components interact and physiology is integrative across systems,” said Naomi Fukagawa, MD, PhD, professor of medicine emerita at the Robert Laner, MD College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and first author of the report. “Growing evidence shows that increasing dietary potassium as well as reducing sodium intake work together to better manage hypertension.”

The report reviews evidence behind current sodium and potassium recommendations, possible methods to reduce sodium and increase potassium, obstacles to putting those strategies into practice, and future research and policy priorities to improve public health. For instance, while plant-based foods are strong sources of potassium, another option is to replace sodium with potassium salts; however, this comes with a limitation, as replacing too much sodium with potassium salt can create a metallic taste.

Average sodium consumption continues to exceed recommended levels, while potassium intake frequently is “far below optimal levels in both developed and developing nations,” authors wrote. “Dietary sodium reduction is a foundational strategy for hypertension prevention and management. However, new evidence supports a broadening of the current approach that focuses solely on sodium reduction and provides equal emphasis on increasing potassium intake.”