Cutting back on salt has been standard blood pressure advice for decades. But researchers are increasingly arguing that focusing on sodium alone may be missing another important part of the picture: what we’re not getting enough of.
That nutrient is potassium. In a 2026 Perspective published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers reviewed the growing evidence around sodium, potassium, and blood pressure and called for a shift in how we think about diet and hypertension. Rather than concentrating almost entirely on eating less sodium, they argue that increasing potassium should be part of the strategy too.
There’s a biological reason the two nutrients matter together. Potassium helps the body excrete sodium and influences the tension of blood vessel walls, while diets that are high in sodium and low in potassium may push blood pressure in the opposite direction. This has led researchers to pay increasing attention to the balance between the two, rather than looking at sodium in isolation.
The numbers suggest many of us aren’t getting that balance right. The World Health Organization recommends adults consume less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day and more than 3,500 milligrams of potassium. Yet sodium intake remains well above recommended levels in many populations, while potassium intake often falls short.
In other words, improving blood pressure through diet may not simply be a matter of taking something away. It may also depend on getting more of something many people are already missing.
Why potassium and blood pressure are inseparable
Public health guidelines have long emphasized sodium reduction as the primary nutrient-focused dietary strategy for reducing hypertension and cardiovascular disease risk. Sodium, however, does not act alone inside the body.
Potassium helps balance sodium levels by promoting sodium excretion through the kidneys. When potassium intake is adequate, the kidneys flush excess sodium out through urine more efficiently. When potassium is low, sodium lingers, fluid accumulates, and pressure on blood vessel walls rises. Potassium also relaxes blood vessel walls, allowing blood to flow with less resistance. Researchers increasingly treat these two minerals as a paired system rather than separate variables.
High sodium intake is linked to greater risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The fuller picture requires understanding what happens when sodium rises and potassium falls simultaneously – a combination common in diets heavy on packaged and restaurant food, and one that appears to carry more cardiovascular risk than either factor in isolation.
The scale of the problem
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.4 billion adults aged 30 to 79 had hypertension as of 2024. That figure makes any practical, low-cost dietary intervention worth examining closely.
Hypertension is a major risk factor for both heart disease and stroke. The American Stroke Association identifies high blood pressure as the leading risk factor for stroke. Hypertension rarely produces obvious symptoms, and many people carry elevated readings for years before experiencing a cardiac event or receiving a diagnosis.
Most dietary sodium in wealthy nations comes not from the salt shaker at home but from packaged and restaurant food. That same food supply tends to be low in potassium. Processed meats, refined grains, fast food, and convenience meals push sodium up and crowd out the fresh produce that would otherwise help balance it.
What the numbers actually show on potassium and blood pressure
A 2025 meta-analysis found that adding about 2,000 mg of potassium per day could reduce systolic blood pressure by approximately 5 mmHg in people with hypertension. That reduction is clinically meaningful at a population level. The 2026 report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition draws on this and other evidence to recommend giving equal weight to increasing potassium intake alongside reducing sodium – a departure from sodium-only messaging.
The report also considers the role of the food industry. Manufacturers can replace part of the sodium in certain products with potassium salts, which could help shift population-level intake in both directions. Careful reformulation is required, however, because too much potassium salt can give foods a metallic taste.
Where to find potassium in real food
According to Harvard Health, the richest dietary sources of potassium include beans, peas, and lentils, as well as leafy vegetables, potatoes, fruits, and dairy products. These foods also provide fiber, magnesium, and other nutrients that independently support heart health, which is part of why whole-food potassium sources tend to outperform supplements in practice.
The DASH eating plan – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension – is the most studied dietary pattern for blood pressure control. The NHLBI’s DASH guidelines emphasize fruits, vegetables, and potassium-rich foods while targeting a sodium intake of 2,300 mg per day.
Processed foods typically contain large amounts of sodium and relatively little potassium. Shifting even a portion of daily intake from packaged foods toward fresh produce, legumes, and dairy can improve the sodium-potassium ratio without requiring precise calorie counting or elaborate meal planning.
Consistently inadequate potassium intake may actively contribute to blood pressure rising over time, making it a modifiable risk factor worth addressing alongside sodium.
Who should proceed with caution?
Potassium’s benefits are well-supported, but they are not universal. When someone has kidney disease, the kidneys cannot remove extra potassium from the blood efficiently, which can lead to dangerously elevated levels. This condition, called hyperkalemia, can disrupt heart rhythm and become life-threatening.
Anyone with impaired kidney function, a history of kidney disease, or who takes medications that affect potassium levels should discuss any significant increase in dietary potassium with a physician before making changes.
For healthy adults without kidney complications, the greater concern in the modern diet is too little potassium rather than too much. A food supply that has long been optimized for sodium while providing little potassium has left most people consuming far less of this mineral than guidelines recommend.
Read More: 32 Signs You Have a Magnesium Deficiency & 23 Foods You Need to Start Eating Immediately
What to do now
The practical takeaway from the 2026 report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is straightforward: cutting sodium and raising potassium simultaneously produces greater blood pressure benefits than either strategy alone. Increasing potassium even without decreasing sodium can still help, but combining both approaches appears to be the more effective intervention.
Start with food before supplements. Beans, lentils, leafy vegetables, potatoes, fruits, and dairy products are all naturally high in potassium and bring additional nutrients that benefit cardiovascular health. Reaching 3,500 mg of potassium daily through food is realistic without dramatic dietary overhaul. Dietary changes complement medication rather than replace it, and anyone already on blood pressure treatment should discuss any significant dietary shift with their doctor.
Excessive sodium intake and insufficient potassium consumption are both major modifiable contributors to elevated blood pressure. Average sodium intake remains above WHO recommendations while potassium consumption is often far below optimal levels. Addressing both is the fuller answer that decades of sodium-only messaging has not fully delivered.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and is for information only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition and/or current medication. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.
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