Potassium Supplements - to Use or Not.I use potassium supplements, but do I need to? Let's find out. High blood pressure supplements are designed to help you achieve or maintain normal blood pressure. I am not aware of any studies that show that potassium reduces blood pressure. This may be because the action of potassium in the body is so fundamental that it is more like a foundation for blood pressure than something that causes it to go up or down. We are told that most people derive enough potassium from their food, so that potassium supplements would not be needed to moderate blood pressure. Although following one of the high blood pressure diets on this site should guarantee you enough potassium, you should know how it works in your body. Why do we need potassium? According to experts, the mineral potassium regulates water balance in the cells, acidity of body fluids and blood pressure. Along with sodium, potassium is crucial to the electrical and cellular functions of the body. Potassium in the cells and sodium outside constitute a pump that drives water into or out of cells through the cell walls (membranes). The correct balance of these two elements keeps the right amount of water in the cells for their operation. The kidneys eliminate excess sodium and potassium from the body. The balance between the two elements depends on the body's action. During exercise, they may be eliminated in sweat. Salt (sodium chloride) and potassium are commonly given when the body is overheated or exhausted from mineral depletion. Potassium ensures proper nerve and muscle function. These roles of potassium are so vital that we need not be surprised that the substance has something to do with blood pressure. Fortunately, potassium is abundant, but do you know where it comes from? Sources of potassium The normal intake of potassium per day for adults is around 1800 milligrams. Most of this comes from food. Some potassium rich foods are citrus fruits, apricots, bananas and apples, lettuce, spinach, parsley, broccoli, peas, potatoes with their skins, tomatoes, lima beans, flounder, sardines, cod, and salmon. Stick to unprocessed foods for the most part. Potassium supplements can be another source, but minor. The standard supplement dosage is 99 mg potassium. That's about 6-7% of what you get from food each day. You wouldn't expect that to have much effect except in cases of severe depletion, in which case you'd probably load up with 5-6 tablets. Most health care practitioners recommend eating high potassium foods in order to maintain a normal blood pressure. On the other hand, they don't usually recommend potassium supplements unless you happen to be taking some medicine that eliminates potassium from the body. Example - diuretics (a type of blood pressure lowering drug). So while potassium is absolutely critical to proper body function, you would not need to supplement it unless you had a severe loss of body fluid through medication, illness, diarrhea, or sweating. Keep some on hand for these conditions. However, you should look into other high blood pressure supplements. Return to High Blood Pressure Supplements
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