Potassium vs Magnesium for Health. An Essential Mineral, Whose Time Has Yet to Come.
- Alastair Hunt
- 11 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Magnesium has become the darling of the wellness world - featured in influencer reels, podcast sponsorships and stress-busting supplement stacks. It’s the mineral of the moment: calming, sleep-enhancing, and mood-supportive. Potassium, on the other hand, gets no such love. It's seen as clinical, old-school - even boring. But it shouldn’t be. Potassium is just as essential, arguably more so when it comes to blood pressure, electrolyte balance and heart health. If magnesium is fashionable, potassium is foundational - and it’s time we gave it the attention it deserves.
As ever, please talk to your doctor or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle, especially if you are under treatment. Links to supporting studies at bottom of page.
Who is Missing What and by How Much?
Magnesium deficiency is well recognised, especially in populations consuming highly processed diets. In the United States, for example, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicates that nearly 50% of adults consume less magnesium than recommended, with older adults, people with type 2 diabetes, and those under chronic stress at particular risk. This has fuelled the popularity of magnesium supplements for sleep, anxiety, metabolic health, and blood pressure support.
However, potassium deficiency may be an even bigger concern - and is less often discussed.
According to NHANES, fewer than 2% of adults meet the recommended daily intake for potassium (3,400 mg for men, 2,600 mg for women). This shortfall is concerning because potassium plays a direct and powerful role in regulating blood pressure, counterbalancing the effects of sodium and protecting cardiovascular function.
The Roles of Magnesium and Potassium in the Body
Magnesium is essential for over 300 enzymatic reactions, including those regulating muscle and nerve function, blood glucose levels, and blood pressure. It is also needed for protein synthesis and bone health. Potassium, on the other hand, is the body's principal intracellular electrolyte. It plays a key role in muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, and maintaining fluid balance. Importantly, potassium works in opposition to sodium to help regulate blood pressure.
How Much Do You Need, and From Where?
Magnesium requirements range from 310 to 320 mg/day for women and 400 to 420 mg/day for men. Potassium needs are significantly higher: 2,600 mg/day for women and 3,400 mg/day for men. Despite their importance, both minerals are under-consumed in typical modern diets.
Magnesium is found in leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Potassium is abundant in fruits like bananas and dried apricots, vegetables such as spinach and potatoes, beans, dairy products, and fish. Salt substitutes often contain potassium chloride, but should be used with care, particularly by those with kidney or heart conditions.
Supplementation: Useful or Risky?
Magnesium supplements are widely available in forms such as citrate and glycinate, which are better absorbed than magnesium oxide. They’re commonly used to support sleep, stress management, blood sugar regulation, and blood pressure control. Side effects like diarrhoea are typically mild and dose-related. For healthy adults, the upper safe limit from supplements is 350 mg/day.
Potassium supplements, by contrast, are tightly regulated due to the narrow margin between beneficial and harmful doses. Over-the-counter tablets are typically limited to 99 mg to reduce the risk of hyperkalaemia (high blood potassium), which can cause cardiac arrhythmias or even sudden death. As a result, supplementation is usually only advised for those with diagnosed deficiency under medical supervision.
What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough?
A magnesium deficiency can develop gradually and may initially be asymptomatic. Over time, low magnesium may lead to fatigue, cramps, numbness, seizures and arrhythmias. Risk factors include chronic gastrointestinal disorders, type 2 diabetes, and heavy alcohol use.
Potassium deficiency - whether from poor diet, dehydration, or medications like diuretics - can cause muscle weakness, constipation, fatigue and in severe cases, dangerous heart rhythm disturbances (hypokalaemia). Both minerals are vital for long-term heart and nerve health.
Study Insight: Potassium and Blood Pressure
A 2020 meta-analysis by Filippini et al., published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analysed 32 randomised controlled trials using a novel statistical model. The results revealed a U-shaped relationship between potassium intake and blood pressure. Moderate potassium intake significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, especially in those with hypertension or high sodium diets. However, very high potassium intake - particularly when exceeding about 3,000 mg from supplements - was associated with a reversal of this benefit, sometimes even increasing blood pressure.
The study identified the optimal range for potassium excretion to be between 90 to 130 mmol/day (equivalent to 3,500 to 5,100 mg of intake). These findings reinforce public health recommendations to raise potassium intake through food rather than supplements and to exercise caution in individuals on blood pressure medication or with impaired kidney function.
Why Potassium Isn’t Trending (Yet)
While magnesium has become a darling of the wellness world - celebrated for its effects on sleep, stress, and muscle recovery - potassium remains curiously overlooked, despite being just as vital for health. One of the key reasons is regulatory: over-the-counter potassium supplements are limited to just 99 mg per dose, a tiny fraction of the daily requirement of 2,600 to 3,400 mg. This makes it difficult to promote as an effective supplement, especially when compared with magnesium, where a single capsule can meet the full recommended daily intake.
Safety concerns also play a role. Potassium, when taken in excess - particularly by those with kidney conditions or on certain medications - can cause hyperkalaemia. This risk makes influencers wary of recommending it publicly, in contrast to magnesium, which has a much wider safety margin and typically causes nothing more than mild digestive discomfort at high doses.
Another factor is marketability. Magnesium has been successfully rebranded as a "wellness mineral" linked to calm, energy and performance. Potassium, meanwhile, is still seen as a clinical nutrient - associated with bananas, blood pressure, and heart health. It doesn’t fit neatly into the supplement lifestyle aesthetic and because it’s best sourced from whole foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes and dairy, it offers little commercial incentive for supplement brands or influencer partnerships.
Final Thoughts
Essential potassium hasn’t had its "moment" not because it lacks importance but because it doesn’t align with supplement marketing models. As interest in whole-food nutrition and sodium-potassium balance grows - especially in the context of metabolic and cardiovascular health - that may well change. But for now, potassium remains an under-promoted yet critical piece of the nutrition puzzle.
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Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Studies and Resources
Sriperumbuduri S, Welling P, Ruzicka M, Hundemer GL, Hiremath S. Potassium and Hypertension: A State-of-the-Art Review. Am J Hypertens. 2024 Jan 16;37(2):91-100. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpad094. PMID: 37772757.
Chia YC, He FJ, Cheng MH, Shin J, Cheng HM, Sukonthasarn A, Wang TD, Van Huynh M, Buranakitjaroen P, Sison J, Siddique S, Turana Y, Verma N, Tay JC, Schlaich MP, Wang JG, Kario K; HOPE-Asia Network. Role of dietary potassium and salt substitution in the prevention and management of hypertension. Hypertens Res. 2025 Jan;48(1):301-313. doi: 10.1038/s41440-024-01862-w. Epub 2024 Oct 29. PMID: 39472546.
Chan RJ, Parikh N, Ahmed S, Ruzicka M, Hiremath S. Blood Pressure Control Should Focus on More Potassium: Controversies in Hypertension. Hypertension. 2024 Mar;81(3):501-509. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.20545. Epub 2023 Aug 29. PMID: 37641923.
Fu J, Liu Y, Zhang L, Zhou L, Li D, Quan H, Zhu L, Hu F, Li X, Meng S, Yan R, Zhao S, Onwuka JU, Yang B, Sun D, Zhao Y. Nonpharmacologic Interventions for Reducing Blood Pressure in Adults With Prehypertension to Established Hypertension. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Oct 20;9(19):e016804. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.016804. Epub 2020 Sep 25. PMID: 32975166; PMCID: PMC7792371.
Filippini T, Naska A, Kasdagli MI, Torres D, Lopes C, Carvalho C, Moreira P, Malavolti M, Orsini N, Whelton PK, Vinceti M. Potassium Intake and Blood Pressure: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Jun 16;9(12):e015719. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.015719. Epub 2020 Jun 5. PMID: 32500831; PMCID: PMC7429027.
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