Pass the potassium please. A new study reveals that people who have the highest ratio of sodium to potassium in their diet, had a significantly increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those who had the lowest ratio of sodium to potassium intake had less risk of dying from cardiovascular related diseases, like high blood pressure, stroke, or heart disease.
Researchers followed individuals for 15 years to determine their results. What they have found tells us we cannot just watch out for sodium, but we must monitor potassium too.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) researchers discovered that too much sodium isn’t such a bad thing, as long as you have the potassium intake to trump it.
The most important advice the researchers can give based on these results of the study solidifies the importance of a healthy diet. A diet that is balanced in both potassium and sodium is important. People can reduce their sodium intake by consuming less processed foods. Processed foods are ones that you can buy in a box, tear open from a packet, and they likely have a pretty long list of ingredients. It’s easy to increase potassium intake by eating more fruit and vegetables and dairy products, which are naturally a good source of potassium and low in sodium. This helps slim down your chances of developing high blood pressure immensely.
Processing has a huge impact on foods. For example, 3.5 oz of unprocessed pork contains 61 mg of sodium and 340mg of potassium. When you turn that into ham, it changes into a sodium-laden sample, and has a whopping 921 mg of sodium and, unfortunately, the processing reduces the potassium content to 240 mg. It becomes the perfect recipe for high blood pressure.
The Ideal Ratio
The most protective ratio for health? Sodium vs. potassium should be under 1. Meaning you should always have more potassium than sodium in a food choice.
One easy way to boost your potassium intake is to replace regular snacks with fruit. For example, a doughnut contains 210 mg of sodium and only 120 mg of potassium. On the other hand an orange has just 2 mg of sodium and 150 mg of potassium. That is the most protective ratio against heart disease and high blood pressure.
Another option is to switch to potassium-based salt substitutes. Or try sea salt, which also contains minerals like magnesium and calcium, in addition to potassium.
Potassium Rich Food List
| Potassium-Rich Foods | Serving Size | Potassium (mg) |
| Lima beans | 1 cup | 955 |
| Tomato products, canned sauce | 1 cup | 909 |
| Winter squash | 1 cup | 896 |
| Spinach, cooked | 1 cup | 839 |
| Prunes, dried | 1 cup | 828 |
| Prune juice | 1 cup | 707 |
| Bananas, raw | 1 cup | 594 |
| Yogurt plain, skim milk | 8 ounces | 579 |
| Beets, cooked | 1 cup | 519 |
| Brussel sprouts, cooked | 1 cup | 504 |
| Orange juice | 1 cup | 496 |
| Cantaloupe | 1 cup | 494 |
| Melons, honeydew | 1 cup | 461 |
| Apricots, dried | 10 halves | 407 |
| Milk, fat free or skim | 1 cup | 407 |
| Nectarines | 1 nectarine | 288 |
| Dates, dry | 5 dates | 271 |
| Figs, dry | 2 figs | 271 |
| Kiwi fruit, raw | 1 medium | 252 |
| Oranges | 1 orange | 237 |
| Pears (fresh) | 1 pear | 208 |
| Almonds | 1 ounce | 206 |
| Peanuts dry roasted, unsalted | 1 ounce | 187 |
| Avocados, raw | 1 ounce | 180 |
| Apple | 1 small | 147 |
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