On our main guide to supporting healthy blood pressure, we highlighted potassium as an essential mineral for cardiovascular health. It’s a nutrient we hear about often, but how does it work, and what does the science say about its effectiveness?
Here, we’re taking a deep dive into the clinical evidence to answer those exact questions. We'll look at major scientific reviews to see how potassium helps, who it benefits most, and what you need to know about safety and dosage.
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How Does Potassium Work in the Body?
Potassium plays a crucial role in the delicate balance of fluids and minerals in your body. It works through two primary mechanisms:
- It Helps Balance Sodium: A diet high in sodium (salt) can cause the body to retain water, increasing blood volume and pressure. Potassium helps your kidneys excrete excess sodium, which in turn helps manage fluid levels and support normal blood pressure (1).
- It Relaxes Blood Vessels: Potassium aids in vasodilation, which is the process of helping the walls of your blood vessels relax and widen. This reduces vascular resistance, allowing blood to flow more freely.
What the Research Shows: A Look at the Numbers
Numerous studies have confirmed potassium's benefits. A "meta-analysis" is a powerful type of study that pools the results from many individual clinical trials to get the most accurate picture. Here’s what these large-scale reviews have found:
- A 2017 meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Cardiology looked at 21 trials and found that potassium supplementation consistently lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension. On average, it reduced systolic blood pressure by about 4.5 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by about 3.0 mmHg compared to a placebo (2).
- Another major review for the World Health Organization (WHO) found similar results, noting that the benefit of potassium was most pronounced in people who already had high blood pressure (3).
Effect of Potassium Supplementation on Blood Pressure
How Much Potassium is Needed to See a Benefit?
Research suggests that achieving the recommended daily intake—around 3,500 to 5,000 mg per day for adults, primarily through diet—is the most important step for harnessing potassium's benefits (4).
Is Taking a Potassium Supplement Safe?
For most healthy adults, potassium supplementation is considered very safe. The main safety consideration is for specific groups, such as individuals with impaired kidney function or those taking certain medications, who should only supplement under a doctor's supervision (5).
The Bottom Line for Your Health
The weight of scientific evidence is clear: ensuring you get enough potassium is a valuable, safe, and effective strategy for supporting healthy blood pressure. This is why we include a clinically relevant dose of potassium in our [NFSupplements Blood Pressure Support formula].
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Cristal Román, MD
This article has been medically reviewed for accuracy by Dr. Cristal Román, a medical doctor with a postgraduate qualification in Principles and Practice of Clinical Research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. All claims are supported by the primary scientific literature.