Potassium
Potassium is a mineral and salt the body uses for nerve impulses, muscle contractions and a steady heartbeat.
Potassium is a mineral and salt the body uses for nerve impulses, muscle contractions and a steady heartbeat. Most of it sits inside the cells, and the kidneys keep the level in the blood within a narrow band. It works closely with sodium to balance fluids in the body.
Heavy sweating, vomiting or diarrhoea can lower potassium for a while, and so can some medicines such as diuretics. Fluid balance, large supplement doses and some blood pressure medicines can raise it. How the sample is handled also matters: a sample that stands too long or is shaken can show a higher value.
Foods that help
Vegetables, potatoes, beans, lentils, bananas and other fruit, nuts, dairy and fish provide potassium. A diet built on fresh produce gives more potassium and less salt.
Foods to limit
Salty processed food, ready meals and snacks shift the balance between sodium and potassium. Potassium supplements and salt substitutes in large amounts add more than the diet usually needs.
Track it through the year
One value is a snapshot. Following it up shows whether what you changed is working.
Related markers
Educational information only — not a diagnosis. Every result is checked against safe limits, and anything critical is escalated for follow-up.
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