Increased potassium intake in adults can benefit blood pressure without adversely affecting blood lipids, catecholamines or renal function (1). Increased potassium intakes might reduce blood pressure in children, though data are limited (1), and, an inverse relationship between potassium intake and risk of stroke has been suggested (1). Increasing daily potassium intakes from fruits and vegetables (alkaline foods, as opposed to meat and dairy produce, acid-forming foods) may help to reduce calcium excretion in the urine and thereby have a positive effect on bone mass and concomitant benefit on risk of osteoporosis (3). A large, longitudinal study reported that 24‐hour urinary potassium excretion was inversely associated with all‐cause mortality in a general population of Japanese adults aged 21 to 85 years (5).
Due to the interrelationship of potassium and sodium in the body, a one-to-one intake ratio of potassium to sodium is considered most beneficial for health (1, 6). Inadequate intakes of potassium may often be seen together with a high consumption of sodium, possibly due to dietary transitions towards a more processed diet.