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I've read on some blogs that potassium helps lower blood pressure for people that have a high sodium intake. I've also read that these two nutrients interact with each other, so if you have more potassium, you have less sodium in the blood and vice versa. A few places tout that it 'balances out' your electrolytes.
If this is true, can a person with very high potassium levels (hyperkalemia) experience the symptoms of having low sodium levels (hyponatremia?) Or is it more complex than that?
Dietary sodium stimulates the excretion of potassium into the urine and potassium stimulates the excretion of sodium, but when consumed in usual amounts, this does not result in abnormal blood potassium or sodium levels (Harvard.edu, Bpac NZ).
In salt-sensitive people, high sodium intake can result in high blood pressure. In these (and possibly other) people, high potassium and low sodium intake can contribute to a decrease in high blood pressure (Health.gov).
