A Western diet (the so-called "Standard American Diet", for example) has too much sodium and too little potassium. A healthy sodium-to-potassium ratio in our diet is a key parameter for optimum functioning of myriad organs in our body — see the section titled "Dr Richard Moore" below for details.

How to fix our sodium-to-potassium ratio? It's quite simple! We may explore a 2-pronged strategy: (a) cut down on sodium intake by reducing (or eliminating) added salts, and (b) increase potassium intake by consuming more plant foods, especially dark leafy greens (which are revered in Whole Food Plant-Based guidelines for a variety of reasons; "Leafy Greens are the Best Veggies!" — Dr Greger).

How to cut down on sodium intake? See Sodium Guidelines to understand "how much sodium do we really need?" and articles in this section: Salt. Then consider adopting a salt-free diet: an SOS-Free Diet where SOS stands for Salt, Oil, Sugar.

How to consume enough potassium? Potassium deficiency is one of the top micronutrient deficiencies in USA! See 98% of American Diets Potassium-Deficient (2013) by Dr Greger. In addition to the Dr Greger video below, see How To Consume Enough Potassium.

Do we get enough potassium on a Whole Food Plant-Based diet? Yes! Dr Greger has nothing special to say about potassium in his Optimum Nutrient Recommendations. He has special guidelines for calcium, iron, iodine and selenium but no mention of potassium. So I don't have to memorize which foods have high potassium to make sure I get adequate potassium.

Kidney health: For potassium discussions in the context of kidney disease, see Dr Shivam Joshi on Kidney Disease and other articles in the section Kidney Health & WFPB.