Q. My doctor prescribed drugs to treat my high blood pressure and also suggested a low salt diet. My blood pressure stubbornly remained somewhat high.
I talked to the nurse and he suggested not worrying so much about the salt in my diet and increasing my potassium intake. My blood pressure is now normal.
A. Salt may not be the villain everyone thinks it is (JAMA Internal Medicine, online, Jan. 19, 2015). Although public health officials have repeatedly told the American public to get sodium levels below 1500 mg daily to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD), the data are not there to support this recommendation. In this study older adults (ranging in age from 71-80) were recruited and followed for 10- years. Their dietary sodium consumption was computed based on a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).
Here is what the researchers found in The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study:
“In our study, we observed no association between FFQ-determined dietary sodium intake and 10-year mortality or incident CVD and HF [heart failure] among older adults participating in the Health ABC Study. Compared with baseline sodium intake of 1500 to 2300 mg/d, no signal of benefit was observed with less than 1500 mg/d of sodium intake.”
This is not what the CDC or the AHA (American Heart Association) wanted to see. Our guess is that the results of the Health ABC study will be ignored by these organizations.
Some research shows that the ratio of sodium to potassium is probably more important in determining blood pressure than either mineral alone (Advances in Nutrition, Nov. 14, 2014).
Increasing potassium intake through diet can indeed lower blood pressure (BMJ, April 3, 2013). We have never understood why health professionals seem to focus primarily on lowering sodium instead of encouraging people to get more potassium or magnesium in their diets. These two minerals can help lower blood pressure at least as well if not better than cutting back on sodium.
If you would like to know more about non-drug approaches to controlling blood pressure, you will find information in our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment. Below is a list of foods containing potassium.
Potassium-Rich Foods
- Apricots
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Avocado
- Bananas
- Bean sprouts
- Beet greens
- Beets
- Bell peppers
- Black bass
- Blackberries
- Blackstrap molasses
- Brazil nuts
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cantaloupe
- Carambola
- Carrots
- Catfish
- Cauliflower
- Chard
- Chicken
- Clams
- Cocoa (not alkali-processed)
- Cod
- Collards*
- Dates
- Flounder
- Guava
- Hamburger
- Halibut
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Lima beans
- Liver
- Milk
- Mullet
- Mushrooms
- Mussels
- Nectarines
- Oatmeal
- Oranges
- Oysters
- Peaches
- Peanuts
- Pecans
- Perch
- Plums
- Pomegranate
- Pork chops
- Potatoes (baked with skin)
- Prickly pear
- Prunes
- Raisins
- Raspberries
- Salmon
- Shrimp
- Snapper
- Spinach
- Squash
- Strawberries
- Sweet potato
- Tomatoes
- Tuna
- Veal
- Wheat germ
- Yeast
- Yogurt
