High blood pressure? Drop the mercury a notch by getting more potassium in your diet.

In a recent scientific review published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, researchers evaluated the literature for blood pressure studies on potassium, calcium, and magnesium. While all three of these nutrients help lower blood pressure, potassium was found to be of special importance. In fact, those getting the most potassium in their diets had the healthiest blood pressure levels.

It isn’t just that Americans consume too little potassium (about half the recommended daily allowance), but also that we get too much sodium (about twice the RDA). Because potassium and sodium have opposing roles in the body, too much sodium and too little potassium is a recipe for high blood pressure.

Here are three ways to help get your blood pressure into a healthy range:

• Steer clear of processed foods and plain table salt. Base your meals on fresh, whole foods and choose to season with herbs and spices. When you do use salt, use Celtic Sea Salt – a pure, natural salt that provides a balance of minerals, not just sodium.

• Enjoy more potassium-rich foods like avocados, beans, lentils, Swiss chard, spinach, and cremini mushrooms.

• Because most whole-foods multivitamins provide very little potassium, consider taking a potassium supplement (like potassium citrate) to get the 4.7 grams per day recommended by the Institute of Medicine.

[Ed. Note: Nutrition expert Kelley Herring - founder of Healing Gourmet has created a revolutionary 7-part health transformation program called Your Plate, Your Fate that reveals how you can protect your health and optimize your weight by maximizing the nutrients in your food.

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