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Potassium

Specific Recommendations:

• Potassium products at iHerb
• Potassium citrate products at iHerb

News & Research:

• Reducing salt and increasing potassium will have major global health benefits - Science Daily, 4/4/13 - "increased potassium intake reduces blood pressure in adults, with no adverse effects on blood lipids, hormone levels or kidney function. Higher potassium intake was linked with a 24% lower risk of stroke in adults and may also have a beneficial effect on blood pressure in children, but more data is needed" - See potassium citrate products at iHerb.
• Natural therapies: Cardiologists examine alternatives to halt high blood pressure - Science Daily, 8/30/11 - "The shining star among supplements is coenzyme Q10, an enzyme involved in energy production that also acts as an antioxidant. Patients with hypertension tend to have lower levels of the enzyme, and a meta-analysis -- an overarching analysis of past studies -- found that treatment with coenzyme Q10 supplements significantly reduced blood pressure ... Coenzyme Q10 has a pretty profound effect on blood pressure, but whenever research is based on a collection of other data you have to have some skepticism ... potassium helps lower blood pressure, and there is evidence that increasing the amount of potassium we get through the foods we eat could carry some of the same mild benefits as taking supplements" - See coenzyme Q10 products at iHerb and potassium products at iHerb.
• Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium Intakes and Stroke Risk (printer-friendly) - Medscape, 8/2/11 - "In conclusion, findings from this prospective cohort study of women suggest that potassium and magnesium intakes are inversely associated with risk of cerebral infarction among women with hypertension. We observed no protective effect of calcium intake on stroke risk"
• Study investigates association between intake of sodium and potassium and deaths among U.S. adults - Science Daily, 7/13/11
• Sodium/Potassium Ratio Important for Health - Medscape, 7/12/11 - "During a mean follow-up of 14.8 years, there were a total of 2270 deaths, including 825 cardiovascular deaths and 443 ischemic heart-disease deaths. After multivariable adjustment, higher sodium intake was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR 1.20 per 1000 mg/day), whereas higher potassium intake was associated with lower mortality risk (HR 0.80 per 1000 mg/day) ... For sodium-potassium ratio, the adjusted hazard ratios comparing the highest quartile with the lowest quartile were 1.46 for all-cause mortality, 1.46 for CVD mortality, and 2.15 for ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality ... The results show that sodium/potassium ratio of <1 is protective ... One simple way of boosting potassium, she notes, is to replace regular snacks with fruit"
• Boost Potassium Intake to Cut Stroke by 20% - Medscape, 2/28/11 - "Potassium intake may be increased by well-described dietary changes, mainly an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption, as recommended by all guidelines to prevent vascular diseases ... those that are very rich in potassium--including bananas, tomatoes, oranges, apricots, and most legumes--is probably best ... The researchers identified 11 studies on the association between habitual dietary potassium intake and incidence of vascular events over the past 30 years ... In the pooled analysis, a 1.64-g (42 mmol)/day higher potassium intake--which Strazzullo says is equivalent to around three pieces of fruit high in potassium--was associated with a 21% lower risk of stroke (risk ratio 0.79; p=0.0007), with a trend toward lower risk of CHD and total CVD that attained statistical significance after the exclusion of a single cohort (RR 0.93; p=0.03 and RR 0.74; p=0.0037)"
• Serum Potassium May Predict Incident Type 2 Diabetes - Medscape, 10/29/10 - "Serum potassium level was inversely associated with the risk for incident diabetes, based on multivariate analyses. Compared with adults who had a high-normal serum potassium level (5.0 - 5.5 mEq/L), those with serum potassium levels less than 4.0 mEq/L, 4.0 to less than 4.5 mEq/L, and 4.5 to less than 5.0 mEq/L had an adjusted HR of incident diabetes of 1.64 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 - 2.08), 1.64 (95% CI, 1.34 - 2.01), and 1.39 (95% CI, 1.14 - 1.71), respectively"
• Consumption of 'good salt' can reduce population blood pressure levels, research finds - Science Daily, 9/13/10 - "the average potassium intake in 21 countries including the US, China, New Zealand, Germany and the Netherlands varies between 1.7 and 3.7 g a day. This is considerably lower than the 4.7 g a day, which has been recommended based on the positive health effects observed at this level of intake ... A hypothetical increase in the potassium intake to the recommended level would reduce the systolic blood pressure in the populations of these countries by between 1.7 and 3.2 mm Hg ... Earlier studies have shown that salt reduction of 3 g per day in food could reduce blood pressure and prevent 2500 deaths per year due to cardiovascular diseases in the Netherlands. In Western countries, salt consumption can be as high as 9-12 g a day whereas 5 g is the recommended amount according to WHO standards"
• High potassium? Check your antibiotic - Science Daily, 7/1/10
• Risks from low potassium in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease - Science Daily, 2/22/10 - "In findings reported in January in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers say that even a mild decrease in serum potassium level increased the risk of death in this patient group ... Hypokalemia, or low potassium, is common in heart-failure patients and is associated with poor outcomes, as is chronic kidney disease ... Death occurred in 48 percent of the patients with hypokalemia during the 57-month follow-up period, compared with only 36 percent of patients with normal potassium. The vast majority of subjects, 87 percent, had mild hypokalemia"
• Excessive Cola Consumption Can Lead To Super-sized Muscle Problems, Warn Doctors - Science Daily, 5/19/09 - "We are consuming more soft drinks than ever before and a number of health issues have already been identified including tooth problems, bone demineralisation and the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes ... Evidence is increasing to suggest that excessive cola consumption can also lead to hypokalaemia, in which the blood potassium levels fall, causing an adverse effect on vital muscle functions ... It appears that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks – glucose, fructose and caffeine"
• Low-Sodium, High Potassium is Effective in Lowering Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 1/26/09 - "Those with the highest sodium levels in their urine were 20% more likely to suffer strokes, heart attacks, or other forms of cardiovascular disease compared with their counterparts with the lowest sodium levels. However this link was not strong enough to be considered statistically significant ... By contrast, participants with the highest sodium-to-potassium ratio in urine were 50% more likely to experience cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest sodium-to-potassium ratios. This link was statistically significant ... To lower blood pressure and blunt the effects of salt, adults should consume 4.7 grams of potassium per day unless they have a clinical condition or medication need that is a contraindication to increased potassium intake"
• Reducing Salt Intake Isn't The Only Way To Reduce Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 1/26/09 - "A new study suggests that people trying to lower their blood pressure should also boost their intake of potassium, which has the opposite effect to sodium ... To lower blood pressure and blunt the effects of salt, adults should consume 4.7 grams of potassium per day unless they have a clinical condition or medication need that is a contraindication to increased potassium intake"
• Potassium Loss From Blood Pressure Drugs May Explain Higher Risk Of Adult Diabetes - Science Daily, 11/24/08 - "a drop in blood potassium levels caused by diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure could be the reason why people on those drugs are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes"
• Low Potassium Linked To High Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 11/8/08 - "As a risk factor for high blood pressure, low levels of potassium in the diet may be as important as high levels of sodium"
• Low Potassium Levels Linked To Increased Long-Term Mortality In Heart Failure Patients - Science Daily, 6/11/07
• Potassium Citrate Beneficial for Osteopenia - Medscape, 10/23/06
• Potassium citrate supplements linked to thicker bones - Nutra USA, 10/12/06 - "Taking potassium citrate supplements could boost bone mineral density by similar amounts as observed with pharmaceuticals ... At the end of the study, women taking the potassium citrate supplement are reported to have a significant, one per cent increase in BMD in the vertebrae of the lower back (lumbar spine), compared to baseline ... However, the bone mineral density of the lumbar spine of women taking the potassium chloride supplement (none alkaline) was found to have significantly decreased after one year of supplementation, by about one per cent"
• Too Much Potassium? - Dr. Weil, 8/17/06
• Good News for Salt Lovers - New Hope Natural Media Online, 8/3/06 - "The men who ate from the kitchens using potassium-enriched salt were about 40% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than the men who ate from the kitchens using regular salt"
• Salt Substitute May Help Hearts - WebMD, 6/16/06
• Substituting Salt With a Potassium Salt May Benefit Elderly Veterans - Medscape, 6/14/06 - "subjects in the potassium chloride cohort had a hazard ratio of 0.59 for CVD mortality vs the control group ... Subjects in the potassium chloride group enjoyed an increased average life expectancy of 0.3 to 0.9 years vs the control group ... Dietary potassium chloride was associated with a significant reduction in the cost of inpatient care vs sodium chloride, with subjects in the experimental group incurring an average of $426 less inpatient cost per individual"
• Salt Substitute Significantly Reduces Hypertension Amongst Rural Chinese - Science Daily, 3/14/06 - "Among the 600 individuals studied in rural Northern China, the low-sodium high-potassium salt substitute demonstrated that it could reduce blood pressure to about the same extent as single drug therapy"
• Potassium review - ConsumerLab.com, 8/16/05
• Potassium Supplementation Reduces Blood Pressure - Healthwell Exchange Daily News, 10/30/03 - "59 healthy adults between the ages of 25 and 65 years were randomly assigned to receive 600 mg of potassium chloride three times per day or a placebo for six weeks ... Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and MAP all decreased significantly in those taking potassium (by 7.6 mmHg, 6.5 mmHg, and 7.0 mmHg, respectively), compared with initial measurements. A significant increase in blood pressure was observed in those taking placebo"
• Addition of Low-Dose Potassium to Diet Lowers Blood Pressure - Medscape, 8/19/03 - "KCl was administered as 1 slow-release tablet containing 8 mmol KCL taken 3 times daily with meals. This daily dose of potassium is equivalent to the content of 5 portions of fresh fruits and vegetables. At the end of the 6-week intervention, the 30 subjects who took potassium showed significant decreases in SBP and DBP (7.60 and 6.46 mm Hg, respectively)"
• Remember Sodium? We're Still Getting Too Much - Intelihealth, 3/14/03 - "In the case of osteoporosis, potassium appears to offset calcium losses from excessive sodium ... postmenopausal women with diets high in salt lost higher amounts of bone mineral. Eating potassium-rich foods such as bananas, tomatoes and orange juice helped stem the calcium loss"
• Potassium Administration Helps Leg Blood Flow in Heart Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 11/19/02
• Low Dietary Or Serum Potassium Risk Factor For Stroke - Doctor's Guide, 8/27/02 - "Diuretic users had an increased risk for stroke which was associated with lower serum potassium (relative risk 2.5;P<0.0001). People who did not use diuretics had an increased risk for stroke if they had low dietary potassium intake (relative risk 1.5;P<0.005)"
• Will A Banana A Day Keep A Stroke Away? - Intelihealth, 8/13/02
• Serum Potassium Not Associated With Cardiovascular Risk In General Population - Doctor's Guide, 5/14/02
• Potassium Citrate Thwarts Deleterious Effects of High Sodium Chloride Diet - Doctor's Guide, 10/14/01 - "oral potassium citrate prevents the increased calcium losses and bone turnover caused by a high dietary salt intake"

Abstracts:

• Effect of increased potassium intake on cardiovascular risk factors and disease: systematic review and meta-analyses - BMJ. 2013 Apr 3;346:f1378 - "22 randomised controlled trials (including 1606 participants) reporting blood pressure, blood lipids, catecholamine concentrations, and renal function and 11 cohort studies (127 038 participants) reporting all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, stroke, or coronary heart disease in adults were included in the meta-analyses. Increased potassium intake reduced systolic blood pressure by 3.49 (95% confidence interval 1.82 to 5.15) mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.96 (0.86 to 3.06) mm Hg in adults, an effect seen in people with hypertension but not in those without hypertension. Systolic blood pressure was reduced by 7.16 (1.91 to 12.41) mm Hg when the higher potassium intake was 90-120 mmol/day, without any dose response ... An inverse statistically significant association was seen between potassium intake and risk of incident stroke (risk ratio 0.76, 0.66 to 0.89). Associations between potassium intake and incident cardiovascular disease (risk ratio 0.88, 0.70 to 1.11) or coronary heart disease (0.96, 0.78 to 1.19) were not statistically significant" - See potassium citrate products at iHerb.
• Low serum potassium level is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and its related metabolic disorders - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2013 Feb 13 - "Subjects with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Low serum potassium concentration or low dietary potassium intake can result in metabolic disorders ... conducted a community-based study in 8592 subjects to investigate the association of serum potassium with the risk of prevalent NAFLD ... The prevalence rate of NAFLD was 30.3% in this population and gradually decreased across serum potassium quartiles. With the reduction of serum potassium level, participants have larger waist circumference (WC) and more severe insulin resistance. The correlations hold also in multivariate linear regression analysis. In logistic regression analysis, compared with subjects in the highest quartile of serum potassium level, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) in the lowest quartile was 1.33 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 - 1.60) for NAFLD, 1.81 (95 % CI, 1.49 - 2.19) for insulin resistance and 1.58 (95 % CI, 1.30 - 1.93) for central obesity"
• Potassium citrate supplementation results in sustained improvement in calcium balance in older men and women - J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Sep 18 - "The dietary acid load created by the typical Western diet may adversely impact the skeleton by disrupting calcium metabolism ... 52 men and women (mean age 65.2 + 6.2 years) were randomly assigned to potassium citrate 60 mmol, 90 mmol or placebo daily with measurements of bone turnover markers, net acid excretion, and calcium metabolism including intestinal fractional calcium absorption and calcium balance obtained at baseline and six months. At six months, net acid excretion was significantly lower in both treatment groups compared to placebo and negative, meaning subjects' dietary acid was completely neutralized (-11.3 mmol/day, 60 mmol/day; -29.5 mmol/day, 90 mmol/day, P < 0.001 compared to placebo). At 6-months, 24-hour urine calcium was significantly reduced in persons taking potassium citrate 60 mmol (-46 ± 15.9 mg/day) and 90 mmol (-59 ± 31.6 mg/day) daily compared with placebo (p < 0.01). Fractional calcium absorption was not changed by potassium citrate supplementation. Net calcium balance was significantly improved in participants taking potassium citrate 90 mmol/day compared to placebo (142 ± 80 mg/day, 90 mmol vs. -80 ± 54 mg/day, placebo; p = 0.02). Calcium balance was also improved on potassium citrate 60 mmol/day, but this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.18). Serum C-telopeptide decreased significantly in both potassium citrate groups compared to placebo (-34.6 ± 39.1 ng/L, 90 mmol/d, p = 0.05; -71.6 ± 40.7 ng/L, 60 mmol/day, p = 0.02) while bone specific alkaline phosphatase did not change. Intact parathyroid hormone was significantly decreased in the 90 mmol/day group (p = 0.01). Readily available, safe, and easily administered in an oral form, potassium citrate has the potential to improve skeletal health"
• Acute effect of calcium citrate on serum calcium and cardiovascular function - J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Sep 18 - "In summary, the acute increase in serum calcium following calcium supplement administration is associated with reduced arterial wave reflection and a marker of increased myocardial perfusion. If maintained long-term, these changes would be expected to reduce cardiovascular risk"
• Sodium intake in men and potassium intake in women determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Japanese hypertensive patients: OMEGA Study - Hypertens Res. 2011 Jun 9 - "High sodium intake was significantly related to increased SBP (P=0.0003) and DBP (P=0.0130). Low potassium intake was significantly related to increased SBP (P=0.0057) and DBP (P=0.0005). Low soybean/fish intake was significantly related to increased SBP (P=0.0133). A significantly higher prevalence of MS was found in men in the highest quartile of sodium intake compared with the lower quartiles (P=0.0026) and in women in the lowest quartile of potassium intake compared with the higher quartiles (P=0.0038). A clear relation between dietary habits and blood pressure was found in Japanese hypertensive patients using a patient-administered questionnaire. Sodium and potassium intake affect MS prevalence. Dietary changes are warranted within hypertension treatment strategies"
• The association of serum potassium level with left ventricular mass in patients with primary aldosteronism - Eur J Clin Invest. 2011 Jan 21 - "Primary aldosteronism (PA) is associated a worse cardiovascular outcome than essential hypertension. Hypokalemia, which is one major characteristic of PA, can affect both cardiac structure and function ... the control group (group 1). Thirty-two patients with serum potassium < 3·5 mmol L(-1) were defined as hypokalemia (group 2), and 53 patients with serum potassium ≥ 3·5 mmol L(-1) were defined as normokalemia (group 3) ... Group 2 patients had significant higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), log-transformed plasma aldosterone concentration, log-transformed aldosterone-to-renin ratio and lower serum potassium level than groups 1 and 3. In echocardiographic measurement, group 2 patients had higher LV mass index (LVMI) than groups 1 and 3. In multivariate analysis for factors affecting LVMI in PA patients, only serum potassium level (P = 0·001), use of spironolactone (P = 0·004) and DBP (P = 0·005) were independent factors. In the TDI study, both groups 2 and 3 had lower e' and E/e' values than group 1. Conclusions  Serum potassium level is significantly associated with LVMI in PA patients. Compared with essential hypertensive patients, PA patients had a greater impairment of cardiac diastolic function"
• Potassium magnesium supplementation for four weeks improves small distal artery compliance and reduces blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension - Clin Exp Hypertens. 2006 Jul;28(5):489-97 - "magnesium, 70.8 mg/d; potassium, 217.2 mg/d ... On K+ and Mg2+ supplementation, systolic and diastolic BP decreased 7.83 +/- 1.87 mm Hg and 3.67 +/- 1.03 mm Hg"
• The effect of low-dose potassium supplementation on blood pressure in apparently healthy volunteers - Br J Nutr. 2003 Jul;90(1):53-60 - "After 6 weeks of supplementation MAP [mean arterial pressure] was reduced by 7.01 ... mmHg, SBP was reduced by 7.60 ... mmHg and DBP was reduced by 6.46 ... mmHg ... A low daily dietary supplement of K, equivalent to the content of five portions of fresh fruits and vegetables, induced a substantial reduction in MAP, similar in effect to single-drug therapy for hypertension"