- A new study reports that the DASH diet does not significantly increase potassium levels in people taking high blood pressure medication.
- Researchers said that the diet doesn’t appear to cause significant changes in kidney function.
- Experts say the DASH diet offers many health benefits, but they recommend that people gradually integrate it into their daily lives.
Researchers also reported that people taking these medications do not experience significant changes in their kidney function.
Both types of medications are known to increase potassium levels. High potassium levels can lead to hyperkalemia, a condition that can cause issues with the heart rhythm. People with impaired kidney function due to chronic kidney disease are at increased risk of hyperkalemia.
“The DASH diet is a well-known, proven nutrition pattern that is known to improve blood pressure,” said Marian Budu, MD, a clinical research coordinator on the GoFresh Trials at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and the presenting author of the study, in a news release.
“Knowing that the DASH diet did not increase blood potassium levels in this population with normal baseline potassium levels provides assurance that the DASH diet can be prescribed to a wide range of people,” she continued.
The preliminary findings are being presented at the American Heart Association’s
Experts not involved in the study told Healthline that the research provides medical professionals with important information.
“While we have traditionally exercised caution before recommending the DASH diet in patients who are prescribed ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, or potassium-sparing diuretics, these results show that those patients could likely adopt the DASH diet without significant concern for harm,” said Cheng-Han Chen, MD, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA.
“DASH diets do not appear to increase potassium levels to any significant degree in patients taking medications that are known to potentially raise serum potassium,” added
“This is important because it is a theoretical concern that diets rich in potassium could cause high levels in potassium in some patients.”
The new study was a secondary analysis of the GoFresh and GoFresh Rx randomized trials that enrolled Black adults in the greater Boston area with high blood pressure.
Some of the participants were taking medications to lower their blood pressure, and others were not taking any hypertension drugs.
The analysis took place in 2026 and included 356 Black adults with an average age of 53. About 70% were women.
The participants also had varying degrees of kidney function. In addition, they had limited access to grocery stores.
Half of the participants received three months of weekly DASH-patterned groceries and weekly nutrition counseling sessions. The other half received a cash stipend every four weeks to buy groceries, with no nutrition counseling.
The participants’ blood potassium levels were measured at the beginning of the study and again after 12 weeks.
The researchers reported that eating more potassium-rich foods in the DASH diet did not increase potassium levels to dangerous levels among participants taking blood pressure medications.
They noted no significant increase in potassium levels, regardless of whether participants were assigned to the dietary intervention or the monetary stipend group.
In a news release, the researchers acknowledged that their study did not include people with stage 4 or stage 5 kidney disease or those with higher-than-normal potassium levels.
They added that the study population comprised only Black individuals living in Boston, so the results may not generalize to the broader population.
The study authors said that future research should focus on participants with suboptimal kidney function and those with higher potassium levels.
Volpp agreed that more research is needed.
“This study was conducted in patients with non-elevated potassium levels at baseline and does not answer the question of whether they are safe in patients with elevated potassium levels or significant impairments in renal function,” he told Healthline.
Chen noted that potassium levels should be taken seriously.
“Certain classes of blood pressure medications can potentially cause high potassium levels, especially in people with kidney disease,” he told Healthline. “If potassium levels become too high, this can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, and muscle pain, or even serious heart problems such as arrhythmias.”
The DASH diet is a dietary plan that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins such as chicken, fish, and beans.
The plan also includes whole grains, low fat dairy products, and cooking with vegetable oils. The diet discourages the intake of red meat, salt, fat, and added sugars.
Previous research has indicated that the DASH diet can provide numerous health benefits.
A preliminary 2022 study concluded that the dietary plan can help lower blood pressure and improve heart health, but those results haven’t been published in a scientific journal. Still, the findings were consistent with a 2019 study that found the DASH diet can help lower the risk of heart disease.
In addition, a 2020 study reported that adults aged 65 and older with obesity lost body fat while following the DASH Diet. A 2023 study suggested the diet can help reduce belly fat.
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Many of these protective effects are attributed to the diet’s high fruit and vegetable content.
Chen said the DASH diet has many benefits, but the eating plan might not be for everybody.
Chen recommended that people ease into the DASH diet.
“The best way to start on the DASH diet is to slowly introduce the changes to your meals,” he said. “This can be as simple as including a few extra servings of fruits and vegetables each day as well as swapping some whole grain products for refined grains. Over time, more of the diet can be incorporated.”
Volpp agreed that introducing the DASH diet in increments is a good strategy.
“For many people, it is easiest to make small incremental changes sequentially,” he said. “One way to get started is to increase fruit by a couple of servings a day. Another is to pay attention to the amount of sodium in packaged foods and consciously choose products lower in sodium. A third is to make a conscious effort to eat more vegetables.”
“Make changes first that are easiest for you to make; it will be easier to make those changes stick,” Volpp added.
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