Sodium and potassium...need both to be balanced? & control blood pressure?

For example if you have a high blood pressure can you take in more potassium, but if it is too low you can add sodium to your diet?





Not saying for someone who is for example prehypertension or something of that nature but I am just curious and trying to understand these two mineralsSodium and potassium...need both to be balanced? %26amp; control blood pressure?
what exactly do you mean by balance?





What i think you mean is that yes there is a certain level of sodium and potassium that your body needs to regulate various functions, like muscle contraction and nerve impulses. These are essential electrolytes that you can start lacking if youre not getting it from your diet, or if you are dehydrated.


I believe they regulate the osmotic pressure in your cells, which most likely translates into blood pressure.Sodium and potassium...need both to be balanced? %26amp; control blood pressure?
yes this is called the sodium potassium pump. Lets say your bp falls. The kidneys sense the lowered blood volume and a hormone called Aldosterone would then retain sodium and excrete potassium to maintain blood volume and bring your blood pressure up. If you have high bp, the opposite happens. You pee out the sodium and retain the potassium in an effort to lower your bp.
Sodium and potassium(are electrolytes) that need to be maintained at normal levels to maintain proper homeostasis. This is achieved by the endocrine system(see aldosterone a mineralcoticoid and also see adrenal gland) and the kidneys( see loop of Henley and function of nephron). The dietary need of people with high or low blood pressure depend on the causative reason as to why they have abnormal blood pressure. I would think that taking in any more potassium than needed could cause the serum potassium level to rise and cause bradycardia(slow heart rate) and that if you took on excessive amounts of sodium that would have a direct effect on chloride and cause other problems.
my grandmother has heart desease and has to avoid salt in her diet, but she also cannot take in potassium because she is on drugs to make her blood pressure lower...and if she got more potassium then it could go too low.





So yeah, salt and potassium do affect your blood pressure. If its too high people can cut salt from their diets and eat more oatmeal or banana's.

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