However, many nutritionists now recommend upping the daily quota to 3,500 milligrams to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. For hypertension patients using diuretic medication, it is often recommended to supplement their diet with orange juice, bananas and vegetables which contain high amounts of potassium. Increased potassium intake helps maintain normal plasma levels. There is no known food supplement which would directly increase total body potassium by compensating for a dietary K deficiency. The fraction of potassium which is present outside the cells plays an active role in the propagation of electrical signals between neurons, skeletal muscle function and regulation of blood pressure.
Urinary excretion protects against the accumulation of high levels of potassium.
However, acute hyperkalemia can be lethal by causing cardiac arrest. Potassium is sacrificed when grains are milled. Because laxatives and diuretics both wash potassium from the body, they should be taken only as a physician directs. Some of the diuretics used to treat hypertension hydrochlorothiazide and furosemide, to name two deplete body potassium. Water is flushed out of the body along with potassium, thus blood volume is reduced as well as blood pressure.