What is Potassium?

Article by Ashley C

Nutritionist

Updated: October 28, 2025

4 minute read

What Is Potassium?

Potassium is the most abundant electrolyte inside your cells. Around 90% of your body's potassium is stored intracellularly, which means it's working at the most fundamental level of how your cells function.

It works in partnership with sodium through something called the sodium-potassium pump, one of the most important mechanisms in human physiology. This pump moves sodium out of cells and potassium into cells continuously, and in doing so it regulates nerve signalling, muscle contraction, circulation, acid-base balance and cellular hydration all at once.

When potassium is adequate, everything communicates properly. Muscles fire when they're supposed to. Nerves transmit signals efficiently. Your heart beats with a steady rhythm. Your cells hold onto fluid rather than letting it escape.

When potassium drops, those processes start to degrade. And given that most people are running below optimal levels on a daily basis, this is not a theoretical concern.

The Heart Health Conversation 💜

This is where the research gets genuinely impressive.Large population studies consistently show that higher potassium intake lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and significantly reduces stroke risk. Not marginally. Significantly. Women in particular appear to benefit from higher potassium intake, especially when their sodium intake is also high.

Here's the piece that most people completely miss. It's not just about how much sodium you eat. It's about the ratio of sodium to potassium. A lower sodium to potassium ratio is consistently associated with reduced risk of heart disease and all cause mortality.

This is exactly why OWNKIND includes both, and balances them properly. Because looking at sodium in isolation, or potassium in isolation, misses the point entirely. They work as a system. You have to treat them as one.

Why Almost Nobody Is Getting Enough 🔎

The World Health Organisation recommends more than 3.5 grams of potassium per day. Global average intake falls well below that. And only a very small percentage of the population consistently hits the recommendation. The reason is straightforward. Modern diets are low in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole foods, which is where potassium lives. They're high in processed foods, which are low in potassium and high in sodium, pushing the ratio in exactly the wrong direction.

There are other things that drain potassium too. High sodium intake increases how much potassium your kidneys excrete. Alcohol depletes it. Caffeine increases loss. Low magnesium levels affect how well your body retains it. Which means the person drinking multiple coffees a day, eating fairly processed food and not loading up on vegetables is losing potassium from several directions simultaneously without replacing it from any of them.

What This Means If You Train 💪

For anyone sweating regularly, the potassium conversation becomes even more important. Sweat takes potassium with it alongside sodium and magnesium. The harder you train and the more you sweat, the more you're losing. And unlike sodium, where you might get a reasonable amount from food even on a fairly average diet, potassium requires a genuinely good diet to replace what exercise takes out.

Inadequate potassium during or after training impairs muscle function, slows recovery, compromises cardiovascular stability and undermines the hydration strategies you're trying to build. It's one of the reasons plain water falls short after a hard session. You're not just replacing fluid. You need to replace the electrolytes that went with it.

Where to Get It From Food 🍌

Lentils, potatoes, dried fruits, beans, yogurt and coconut water are among the richest sources. Bananas get all the press but they're actually a fairly middling source compared to a jacket potato or a good helping of lentils.

Getting enough potassium from food typically requires eating several potassium rich foods across the day, consistently, which is easier said than do

Where It Fits in the OWNKIND Formula 🔬

Every OWNKIND sachet includes potassium as part of a properly balanced electrolyte formula because potassium without sodium, or sodium without potassium, is only half the job done.

The formula is designed to replace what sweat actually takes out and restore the balance your cells need to function properly. Not just fluid. Not just sodium. The full picture.

Because proper hydration is cellular. And your cells need potassium to do basically everything.

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