ROLE OF POTASSIUM IN PREVENTING HYPERTENSION
Chemically, electrolytes are substances that become ions in a solution and acquire the capacity to conduct electricity. Electrolyte balance in our bodies is essential for normal function of our cells and our organs. Common electrolytes that are crucial to bodily functions include sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate. Potassium is one of the major positive ion (cation) found inside of cells.
Potassium is very important in cellular biochemical reactions and energy metabolism; it participates in the synthesis of protein from amino acids in the cell. Along with sodium, it regulates the water balance and the acid-base balance in the blood and tissues. Potassium also functions in carbohydrate metabolism; it is active in glycogen and glucose metabolism, converting glucose to glycogen that gets stored in the liver for future energy. Potassium is important for normal growth and for building muscle. Potassium keeps the heart beating regularly, helps the nerves send messages and muscles work properly.
Potassium and sodium work together to regulate the water and acid-base balance in the blood and tissues. Potassium enters the cell more readily than sodium and instigates the brief sodium-potassium exchange across the cell membranes. It also works by creating a sodium-potassium pump that helps generate muscle contractions, including regulating heartbeat. The sodium-potassium pump works by pumping two potassium ions into the cell and pumping out three sodium ions. In other words, potassium facilitates the pumping of sodium outside the cell. If sodium is not pumped out, water accumulates within the cell causing it to swell. This is one of the major root causes for hypertension. In the nerve cells, this sodium-potassium flux generates the electrical potential that aids nerve impulses conduction. When potassium leaves the cell, it changes the membrane potential and allows the nerve impulse to progress. This electrical potential gradient, created by the sodium-potassium pump helps generate muscle contractions and regulates the heartbeat.
Because of these reasons, reducing the intake of sodium by in itself is not enough for controlling the blood pressure in people who are salt sensitive; adequate amount of potassium is also crucial. Infusions of potassium would cause an increase in blood flow due to arteries dilation and relaxation of smooth muscles. Potassium also activates nitric oxide and thus reduces pressure in the arteries, lowering the risk of hypertension.
Though sodium is readily conserved by the body, there is no effective method for potassium conservation. Even when a potassium shortage exists, the kidneys continue to excrete it. Because the human body relies on potassium balance for a regularly contracting heart and a healthy nervous system, it is essential to strive for this electrolyte’s balance. Most adults need about 4,700 milligrams of potassium a day. In general, people who consume enough potassium tend to have lower blood pressure than those who don’t. And even though high potassium levels lead to healthy blood pressure, there’s no proof that taking supplements will make any difference.
Potassium is found in red blood cells, muscles and bones. With a balanced diet of whole foods, you’ll likely get all the potassium you need. Baked potatoes are excellent sources – a small one, including the skin, has 738 milligrams. A serving of plain, non-fat yogurt has 579 milligrams; a medium, baked sweet potato with skin has 542 milligrams; and 1/2 cup of cooked soybeans has 485 milligrams of potassium. Bananas, well-known as a potassium source, have about 422 milligrams per medium-sized fruit. Another fruit that is a power house of potassium is the small but mighty kiwi fruit. This furry little egg-shaped fruit has almost as much potassium as a banana for only half the calories. Three fourth cup of unsalted pistachios can give about 1000 milligrams of potassium.
A higher sodium-potassium ratio could notably increase the risk of cardio vascular diseases. Piling on the potassium affects your arteries where it counts, deep down in the inner linings of the arterial wall. The endothelial cells serve as the control center for producing nitric oxide, the calming chemical that relaxes the vessels. Changing the potassium to sodium ratio by bumping up your potassium levels is like taking a water pill; it releases extra fluids and sodium through the urine, thereby lowering the pressure on your artery walls. Thanks to the packaged food culture, we get far more sodium in our diet than potassium. If your diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, you likely take in lots of potassium. Potassium-containing foods are generally considered healthy. If you have trouble getting enough potassium in your daily diet or take medications such as diuretics that cause you to lose extra potassium, a supplement becomes necessary. Whenever possible, consuming potassium food sources is likely the preferred option for taking in this mineral in your daily diet. To make matters worse, not only does the processing of foods like tomatoes and potatoes rise sodium level precipitously, but the natural potassium in these foods declines significantly, worsening the sodium-potassium ratio.
If you’re like most Americans, you get far more sodium in your diet than potassium even though your body actually needs smaller amounts of the salty stuff, because of the excessive presence of processed foods in typical Western diet, which tend to have far more sodium than natural fare. Insufficient potassium intake may result in a host of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and high blood pressure, and may increase your risk of stroke later in life. Low potassium levels are also linked to increased urinary calcium excretion, promoting painful kidney stones.
Potassium is truly your blood vessels’ best friend. Get enough of it in your day by eating fresh fruits and unprocessed whole foods. This can significantly cut your blood pressure numbers and protect your heart. Understand the interplay of sodium and potassium in the diet is the critical factor. To prevent, treat, and reverse high blood pressure, you must make a concerted effort to shake the sodium and power up the potassium – a goal that requires perseverance in a world where the food supply is increasingly processed.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR ADDING POTASSIUM INTO YOUR DIET:
Snack on salt-free pistachios
Add spinach to your omelet
Daily eat 1 banana, 2 kiwis, 10 ounces of spinach, 2 cups of non-fat yogurt, a can of low sodium vegetable juice.
Use avocado as sandwich spread instead of mayonnaise.
Fill your fruit bowl with oranges, bananas, kiwis and cantaloupes and snack them throughout the day.
Order unseasoned grilled salmon and baked potatoes (salt-free) at restaurants.
POTASSIUM BENEFITS INCLUDE LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE
Maybe it’s my competitive nature, but there’s nothing like being able to say, “I told you so.” And in the 20 years that I’ve been writing Health & Healing, I’ve had several opportunities to do just that.
In the example below, I told readers about how the mineral potassium benefits blood pressure. And I wrote this story two years before The New York Times ran a similar article. Here is the copy that appeared in the June 1999 issue. (The core concept of this story remains unchanged; however, my recommendations have been updated to reflect the most recent science and what’s working here at the Whitaker Wellness Institute.)
LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE WITH THE “K FACTOR”
“A banana a day keeps the doctor away.”
Everybody knows that regular consumption of apples is good for your health, but bananas? Well, according to a recent study, eating bananas may bring down your blood pressure.
In this study, carried out at Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India, people who ate two bananas daily for one week had a 10 percent drop in their blood pressure levels. It has been suggested that bananas may contain compounds similar to ACE inhibitors (another class of drugs that conventional doctors often prescribe to lower blood pressure). But even more important, bananas are an exceptionally rich source of potassium.
POTASSIUM BENEFITS INCLUDE FEWER STROKES, HEART AND KIDNEY PROBLEMS
Potassium plays a key role in balancing levels of sodium and other important minerals that are linked to high blood pressure.
Richard D. Moore, M.D., Ph.D., has studied the potassium-hypertension connection for many years and is a leading expert on the subject. In his excellent book, The High Blood Pressure Solution: Natural Prevention and Cure with the K Factor (“K” is the chemical symbol for potassium), Dr. Moore demonstrates how eating according to the “K Factor”—defined as a sodium-to-potassium ratio of at least 1 to 4—can protect against hypertension, crippling strokes and premature death.
Eating foods high in potassium and low in sodium can also help prevent kidney disease and heart problems caused by hypertension. Furthermore, potassium benefits your health by reducing risk of stroke and premature death—even if blood pressure doesn’t fall.
In a 1998 study conducted by Dr. Alberto Ascherio at Harvard Medical School, 43,738 men, aged 40 to 75, were followed for eight years, during which time there were 328 documented strokes in the group. Dr. Ascherio and his colleagues found that the men with hypertension were 2.8 times as likely to have a stroke as those with normal blood pressure—an expected finding.
However, they also discovered that a high intake of potassium protected men from stroke—those with the lowest consumption of potassium (2.4 g per day) had a significantly increased risk of stroke when compared to men with the highest potassium intake (4.3 g). In a similar study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that an average daily increase of only 390 mg of potassium decreased the risk of stroke by 40 percent over 12 years, regardless of blood pressure.
INCREASE YOUR POTASSIUM BENEFITS WITH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Folks, this concept isn’t new. In 1904, in a medical history published in the Archives of General Medicine, patients with hypertension successfully lowered their blood pressure levels simply by increasing their consumption of potassium-rich foods while reducing their use of table salt. Yet despite numerous clinical trials since then which have shown the benefits of potassium, conventional physicians stubbornly continue to focus on sodium alone.
The easiest way to enjoy the potassium benefits is to eat lots of vegetables, legumes, whole grains and fruit. These wholesome foods naturally have an excellent sodium-to-potassium ratio of at least 1:50—and many fruits, such as bananas (1:440) and oranges (1:260), are much higher.
By replacing processed foods, restaurant fare and other high-salt foods with plant foods, you can bring your blood pressure under control and improve your overall health—without resorting to diuretics and other drugs that further deplete your body of potassium and other essential minerals.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Reduce your intake of processed/restaurant foods. These items are notoriously high in sodium. For instance, one Big Mac has 1,070 mg of sodium and a one-cup serving of regular canned soup contains approximately 800 mg.
Eat a sodium-to-potassium ratio of at least 1 to 4. You’ll need to read nutritional labels for this step. Let’s say you eat that Big Mac (not that I’m recommending this option) that has around 1,000 mg of sodium. You’d need to eat 4,000 mg of potassium to keep your ratios balanced.
Eat more potassium-rich foods. A better idea is to consume foods that are good sources of potassium. Some good examples include a tomato (444 mg) and avocado (680 mg) salad, 3 ounces of chicken (350 mg), a potato (782 mg), an apple (182 mg), and a banana (440 mg).
Use a potassium-salt combo in place of regular table salt. We’ve been doing this at the Whitaker Wellness Institute for years. In place of regular salt, we mix three parts potassium chloride (Nu-Salt or Morton’s Salt Substitute) with one part sodium chloride (table salt). (Potassium chloride by itself has a metallic taste to some people. However, with this mixture–which provides a substantial amount of potassium–few people can tell the difference.)
Incorporate healthy habits, such as a regular exercise program, 12 eight-ounce glasses of water per day (build up to this gradually and consult with your doctor if you have kidney problems or congestive heart failure), techniques to manage stress, and a comprehensive high-dose vitamin and mineral regimen.
POTASSIUM IS KEY FOR HEALTHY BLOOD PRESSURE
Science shows the clear link between low potassium and elevated blood pressure. One example comes from a Texas heart study. Researchers collected urine samples from 3,300 people. The results demonstrated that the lower the potassium1 in the urine (meaning less potassium in the diet) the higher the blood pressure. Quite interestingly, the findings were stronger than the link between salt and blood pressure. African-Americans, who comprised half the study participants, eat less fresh fruit and vegetables and consequently had the highest blood pressure. Researchers estimate that the processed food in America has reduced potassium2 intake to 1/3 of what it should be, setting the stage for cardiovascular disease.
I would like to focus for a moment on the low-sodium propaganda that has been pushed so heavily on those with high blood pressure. Current science indicates that 1/3 of individuals with normal blood pressure and ½ of individuals with high blood pressure have some degree of salt sensitivity. The new research also indicates that a likely cause of this salt sensitivity is a lack of potassium.
The fact that the myopic public health “experts” in the cardiovascular field are obsessed with making sure our population restricts sodium is not sound advice and certainly does not apply to everyone. Sodium is needed by the adrenal glands to help with energy, by the stomach to assist with digestion, and by every cell in your body. The more you sweat the more sodium you need, especially in hot weather. If your kidneys are normal you can easily handle huge fluctuations in sodium intake, and can process up to 20,000 mgs of dietary salt per day (not that I’m suggesting you eat that much). If you run low on salt your body’s energy systems will be compromised.
Some rather alarming studies in the past year have demonstrated that having low sodium was linked to increased cardiovascular problems and increased mortality. One study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania showed that in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension4 (PAH)—chronically high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs—those with the lowest sodium had a tenfold risk of death. PAH is a syndrome marked by narrowing of the arteries in the lungs. Thus, the right ventricle of the heart has to work increasingly hard to pump blood into the lungs for reoxygenation. The ability of the right ventricle to adapt to this increased workload is the single most important determinant of survival in these patients; low sodium makes their hearts unable to keep up with this energetic demand.
Even more surprising findings came from research done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine5. Analyzing the diet histories of 8,700 Americans over many years researchers found that those who reported consuming the lowest amount of sodium were 80 percent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease compared to 1/4 of those in the sample group consuming the highest level of sodium. The risk for death from any cause appeared 24 percent greater for those consuming lower salt, but this latter difference was not quite large enough to dismiss the role of chance. The researchers concluded by stating: “Our findings suggest that for the general adult population, higher sodium is very unlikely to be independently associated with higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease or all other causes of death…Our findings do again raise questions about the usefulness or even safety of universal recommendations for low salt diets for all individuals, regardless of their blood pressure status or other health characteristics.”
It is quite obvious that increasing potassium, not lowering sodium, is an important basic for healthy blood pressure. In addition to the blood pressure issue, other signs of a lack of potassium include fatigue, muscle weakness, fluid retention, heart arrhythmia or jittery heart feeling, increased feeling of anxiety, and skin problems (including acne). Low potassium is a primary factor in the development of kidney stones. Prolonged deficiency6 leads to glucose intolerance and risk for type 2 diabetes. Long term potassium deficiency increases the risk for and onset of kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and mental decline.
Getting adequate potassium in your diet is a simple health basic that just can’t be ignored. High potassium foods include fruits such as bananas, citrus fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Dietary supplements with potassium are limited to 99 mg a capsule, but offer some advantages when high quality forms of potassium are used that readily transport to your cells. If you have any of the symptoms on the above list you should increase your dietary and/or supplemental intake of potassium to see how much it helps.
Potassium’s best friend is magnesium, and both minerals are vital for healthy blood pressure and cardiovascular well-being.
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