A potassium-rich diet is linked to many powerful health benefits. It may help reduce blood pressure and water retention, help prevent osteoporosis, and protect against stroke.
People often underestimate the importance of potassium. It’s classified as an electrolyte because it’s highly reactive in water.
When dissolved in water, potassium produces positively charged ions. This special property allows it to conduct electricity, which is important for many processes throughout your body.
This article provides a detailed review of potassium, how your body uses it, and how it may benefit your health.
Roughly 98% of the potassium in your body is found in your cells. Of this, 80% is found in your muscle cells, while the other 20% can be found in your bones, liver, and red blood cells.
Once inside your body,
Your body uses this electricity to manage a
- maintaining fluid balance
- sending nerve signals
- regulating muscle contraction
How potassium helps regulate fluid balance
The body is made of about 60% water. Roughly
Interestingly, the amount of water in the ICF and ECF is affected by their concentration of electrolytes, especially potassium and sodium.
Potassium is the main electrolyte in the ICF, and it determines the amount of water inside your cells. Conversely, sodium is the main electrolyte in the ECF, and it determines the amount of water outside your cells.
The amount of electrolytes relative to the amount of fluid is called osmolality. Under normal conditions, the osmolality is the same inside and outside your cells. Simply put, there’s an equal balance of electrolytes outside and inside your cells.
But when osmolality is unequal, water from the side with fewer electrolytes will move into the side with more electrolytes to equalize the electrolyte concentrations. This may cause cells to shrink as water moves out of them or swell up and burst as water moves into them.
That’s why it’s important to make sure you consume the right electrolytes, including potassium. Maintaining good fluid balance is important for optimal health. Inadequate fluid balance can lead to dehydration, which in turn affects your heart and kidneys.
Eating a potassium-rich diet and staying hydrated can help you maintain good fluid balance.
Your nervous system relays messages between your brain and your body. These messages are delivered in the form of nerve impulses, which help regulate several functions,
- muscle contractions
- heartbeat
- reflexes
- kidney function
Interestingly, nerve impulses are generated by sodium ions moving into cells and potassium ions moving out of cells. The movement of ions changes the voltage of the cell, which
Getting enough potassium from your diet can help you maintain healthy nerve function.
How potassium helps regulate muscle and heart contractions
Your nervous system helps regulate muscle contractions. But changes in blood potassium levels can affect nerve signals in your nervous system, weakening muscle contractions.
Both low and high blood potassium levels can affect nerve impulses by changing the voltage of nerve cells.
Potassium is also important for a healthy heart, as its movement into and out of cells helps maintain a regular heartbeat. If your blood levels of potassium are too high, your heart may become dilated and flaccid. This can weaken its contractions and produce an abnormal heartbeat.
Likewise, low potassium levels in your blood can affect your heartbeat. When your heart does not beat properly, it can’t effectively pump blood to your brain, other organs, and muscles.
A potassium-rich diet may help:
- lower blood pressure
- reduce water retention
- protect against stroke
- prevent osteoporosis
- possibly prevent the formation of kidney stones
Potassium helps lower blood pressure
High blood pressure affects almost half of adults in the United States. It’s a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
High sodium levels can increase blood pressure, especially in people whose blood pressure is already high.
A potassium-rich diet may reduce blood pressure by
Potassium may help protect against stroke
A stroke happens when there’s a lack of blood flow to your brain. In 2022,
Several studies have found that eating a potassium-rich diet may be associated with a lower risk of stroke.
In an older analysis of 33 studies that included a total of 128,644 participants, scientists found that people who ate the most potassium had a 24% lower risk of stroke than people who ate the least.
Additionally, the authors of a 2011 analysis of 11 studies with 247,510 participants found that people who ate the most potassium had a 21% lower risk of stroke. They also found that eating a diet rich in this mineral was linked to a reduced risk of heart disease.
Potassium may help prevent osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a condition involving hollow and porous bones. It’s
Interestingly, studies show that a potassium-rich diet may help prevent osteoporosis by reducing the amount of calcium your body loses through urine.
Potassium may help prevent kidney stones
Kidney stones are clumps of material that may form in concentrated urine.
Calcium is a common mineral in kidney stones. Research, such as this 2015 review, suggests that potassium citrate lowers calcium levels in urine. In this way, potassium may help fight kidney stones.
However, a small 2018 study suggests that potassium citrate lowers urine calcium levels and raises the pH levels of urine. This increases calcium phosphate formation, canceling out protection against kidney stones. But this study had only 13 participants.
Further studies are recommended to learn how potassium may help prevent kidney stones.
Many fruits and vegetables contain potassium citrate, so it’s easy to add to your diet.
Potassium may help reduce water retention
Water retention happens when excess fluid builds up in your body. Historically, potassium has been used to treat water retention.
The
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Birth to 6 months | 400 mg | 400 mg |
| 7 to 12 months | 860 mg | 860 mg |
| 1 to 3 years | 2,000 mg | 2,000 mg |
| 4 to 8 years | 2,300 mg | 2,300 mg |
| 9 to 13 years | 2,500 mg | 2,300 mg |
| 14 to 18 years | 3,000 mg | 2,300 mg (2,600 mg if pregnant) |
| 19 to 50 years | 3,400 mg | 2,600 mg (2,900 mg if pregnant) |
| 51 and older | 3,400 mg | 2,600 mg |
Potassium is found in a variety of foods and nonalcoholic beverages. Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources, as are soybeans and potatoes. Meats, chicken, fish, milk, and nuts also contain good amounts of potassium.
The NIH lists the following
- Apricots, dried, 1/2 cup: 755 mg
- Lentils, cooked, 1 cup: 731 mg
- Acorn squash, cooked, 1 cup: 644 mg
- Potato, baked: 610 mg
- Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
- Milk, 1%, 1 cup: 366 mg
- Spinach, raw, 2 cups: 334 mg
- Chicken breast, grilled, 3 ounces: 332 mg
- Yogurt, nonfat, 6 ounces: 330 mg
- Salmon, cooked, 3 ounces: 326 mg
- Soymilk, 1 cup: 287 mg
- Broccoli, cooked, 1/2 cup: 229 mg
- Brown rice, cooked, 1 cup: 154 mg
- Coffee, brewed, 1 cup: 116 mg
- Tea, black, brewed, 1 cup: 88 mg
- 1 egg: 69 mg
Should you take over-the-counter potassium supplements?
Over-the-counter supplements are not a great way to increase your potassium intake.
In many countries, food authorities limit potassium in over-the-counter supplements to 99 mg, which is much less than you can get from just one serving of the potassium-rich foods above.
This 99-mg limit is likely because many studies have found that high doses of potassium from supplements
But if you have a diagnosed potassium deficiency, your doctor may prescribe a higher dose supplement.
Potassium is one of the most important minerals in your body. It helps regulate fluid balance, muscle contractions, and nerve signals.
What’s more, a high potassium diet may help reduce blood pressure and water retention, protect against stroke, and prevent osteoporosis and possibly kidney stones.
Very few people get enough potassium. To get more in your diet, you can consume more potassium-rich foods, such as lentils, potatoes, spinach, and salmon.
