Public health advice on blood pressure has focused on one mineral for decades. A new peer-reviewed report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition argues that focusing on sodium alone leaves out half the equation, and that raising dietary potassium deserves equal emphasis.
Hypertension affects more than 1.28 billion adults worldwide and is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organization recommends sodium intake below 2,000 milligrams per day, while global intake averages roughly double that. Potassium intake, meanwhile, falls far below optimal levels in both developed and developing nations, according to the authors.
