How many times have you heard the word “potassium” and immediately thought of a banana? Sure, this fruit has a high amount of the nutrient and is typically associated with helping to prevent and relieve muscle cramps. But you may be shocked to know that potassium is also about hydration. You heard that right—potassium is a key nutrient for keeping your body hydrated and functioning properly. Without it, your body—and importantly, your heart—could experience serious consequences.
But what exactly happens to your body when you eat potassium, and why does it play such a major role in hydration? To better understand how this vital nutrient affects the body, we spoke with Caroline Thomason, RD, CDCES, a Washington, D.C.-based dietitian, while also consulting the latest nutrition research.
What Is Potassium?
How is potassium related to hydration? It’s actually an electrolyte, one of the vital minerals your body needs to carry electrical charges through your body to activate certain cell and nerve functions. It maintains normal levels of fluid in your cells and works in tandem with sodium. Kind of like yin and yang, potassium levels out sodium in the blood when it’s released from cells, while the cells take in sodium. The levels of potassium in your blood are controlled in your kidneys by a hormone called aldosterone.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the adequate daily intake of potassium for adults is 3,400 milligrams for men and 2,600 milligrams for women. Pregnant women need 2,900 milligrams, and 2,800 milligrams during their lactation period.
Unfortunately, the average American doesn’t get enough of their recommended daily value every day; adults 20 and older are only averaging 3,016 milligrams for men and 2,320 milligrams for women, and this can also vary based on race. Not getting enough potassium can contribute to a variety of health impacts, including high blood pressure, dehydration and complications related to muscle activity.
Foods High in Potassium
While most people would associate potassium with bananas (one medium banana contains 420 milligrams, or 12% of your Daily Value), bananas aren’t the only food high in potassium. In fact, some fruits and vegetables even have more potassium than what’s behind that banana peel. Here are some of the foods high in potassium that will help you reach your daily goals:
- Potatoes: 26% DV in one medium potato
- Avocados: 16% DV in 1/2 cup mashed
- Acorn squash: 26% DV in 1 cup cubed
- Dark leafy greens: 24% DV in 1 cup
- Dried apricots: 22% DV in 1/2 cup
- White beans: 17% DV in 1/2 cup
- Lentils: 16% DV in 1 cup cooked
What Does Potassium Do for Your Body?
1. Your Blood Pressure May Decrease
“Because of potassium’s effect on fluid levels, you may find that eating a diet high in potassium (namely from fruits and veggies) can reduce blood pressure in conjunction with other lifestyle changes like exercise and stress management,” says Thomason.
According to the American Heart Association, potassium works to ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which helps to lower blood pressure numbers and decrease your heart disease risk.
2. Your Body Will Stay Hydrated
“Potassium is an electrolyte and can help hydrate the body and restore fluid levels,” Thomason says. “Particularly when combined with enough water, sodium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, potassium plays a main role in fluid balance, making sure your body has enough of the fluids it needs while balancing out the other minerals in your blood, especially sodium. By ensuring your cells have the necessary amount of water, your body stays hydrated. Hence why many electrolyte powders and products contain both potassium and sodium for hydration.
3. You May Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease
“A diet high in potassium and low in sodium—also known as the DASH diet— has been shown to lower risk for heart disease or improve existing cardiovascular conditions,” says Thomason.
A 2022 cohort study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology proves this, concluding that, for patients in their trial, a long-term adherence to the DASH diet, with relevant food substitutions, was associated with a lower risk of heart failure.
The DASH diet (an acronym for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension”) specifically focuses on meals that are lower in sodium and higher in the nutrients needed to help lower blood pressure: potassium, of course, as well as calcium and magnesium. The DASH diet eating plan recommends aiming for 4,700 milligrams of potassium a day, which exceeds the adequate intake of 2,600 to 3,400 milligrams.
4. Your Muscles and Heart Will Function Smoothly
This type of mechanism may not be one you think about often, but potassium helps your nerve transmitting signals, which in turn helps your skeletal muscle and your heart to contract normally for your everyday bodily functions, per an article published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Physiology. This is a part of electrochemical balance, where sodium goes into a cell and potassium leaves it, regulating your muscle and heart activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if my potassium is low?
If you are deficient in your potassium intake, it may cause your blood pressure to rise. Without as much potassium in your system, your body may struggle to balance your sodium intake. High amounts of sodium in the blood can increase your blood pressure and raise your risk of stroke and developing heart disease.
Known as hypokalemia, when the amount of potassium in the blood is lower than normal range (typically under 3 milliequivalents per liter), normal bodily function will start to shift. The body’s digestive system and bone health may be affected, as well as your risk for heart disease, and this imbalance could also lead to symptoms like constipation, abnormal heart rhythms, muscle weakness and even paralysis.
Hypokalemia can occur for a variety of reasons, but some of the most common include excessive sweating, eating disorders, excessive alcohol use, water pills (diuretics) and, of course, not getting enough potassium-rich foods in your diet. Hypokalemia is diagnosed by a doctor through a blood test.
What happens if potassium is high?
Thankfully, having too much potassium (also known as potassium toxicity) isn’t something we have to worry about too much. If the body has too much potassium, it will simply expel any excess through our urine.
Nevertheless, there are some cases where a person can experience potassium toxicity, which is called hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia occurs when you have too much potassium in the blood, which can lead to a variety of symptoms. Some are mild, like muscle weakness or numbness, and others can be a bit more severe, like abnormal heart rhythms, chest pain, nausea and vomiting. This condition is usually diagnosed through a blood test by a doctor.
However, as of right now, there isn’t significant evidence to suggest that hyperkalemia can be a result of eating a diet in high potassium, hence why the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine didn’t set a tolerable upper limit for intake because potassium isn’t considered toxic (unlike some nutrients, like taking too many fat-soluble vitamins).
Instead, hyperkalemia can occur from other factors, most commonly from kidney disease (the kidneys help to balance the digested potassium and pass it through urine) or taking certain medications, according to a review published in Drug Safety.
Does drinking water help high potassium?
Yes, staying hydrated does help with high potassium because it helps to flush the excess potassium out of your system through urination. However, high potassium is not a very common issue and should be treated in conjunction with your medical provider.
Bottom Line
Potassium plays a much more significant role than eating a banana if you’re experiencing muscle cramps after a workout. Potassium is an essential electrolyte needed for your body’s hydration, because it plays a key role in keeping your blood pressure low, your muscles and heart functioning smoothly, and your risk of heart disease at a minimum. (Need more ideas? Check this out: 20+ Healthy Recipes with Potassium-Rich Foods.)
from Ketone Blog https://ketone2013.com/what-does-potassium-do/
via Keto News
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