Potassium↔Sodium Ratio Tracker
Turn daily sodium and potassium into a simple K:Na score
Potassium, sodium and K:Na ratio FAQ
What does this potassium↔sodium ratio tracker actually show?
This page takes your best estimate of daily sodium and potassium and turns them into two simple ratios: a sodium-to-potassium ratio (Na:K) and a potassium-to-sodium ratio (K:Na). A lower Na:K and higher K:Na usually mean your day is more “potassium-leaning” than “salt-leaning,” which is the direction many heart and blood pressure guidelines prefer.
Where do the sodium and potassium ranges in the text come from?
Many public health groups suggest that adults aim for less sodium and more potassium over time. For example, global guidance often talks about sodium intakes in the ballpark of <2,000 mg/day and potassium in the mid-3,000 mg or higher range for most adults, depending on health status and local recommendations. The tracker compares your numbers against those kinds of ranges but doesn’t override advice from your doctor.
Is there a single “perfect” potassium-to-sodium ratio?
There isn’t one universal magic number that fits every study or country, but many experts like the idea that potassium should at least match, and ideally exceed, sodium. When potassium grams clearly lead sodium grams over the day, Na:K tends to fall and blood pressure risk markers often look better in population research. The tracker simply grades your current day as more sodium-heavy, roughly balanced, or potassium-leaning.
Does this tool track multiple days or just one?
The calculator is designed for a single day (or a typical day). You can run it several times across the week with different totals—high-takeaway days, home-cooking days, travel days—and either jot the ratios down or paste the summary into your notes to spot patterns over time.
What if my sodium is low but potassium is also low?
In that situation the ratio might look “OK,” but total potassium could still be under most suggested ranges. The result cards call that out: they look at your ratios and your ballpark grams at the same time. Often the next step is not adding salt back, but building in more potassium-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and dairy if they fit your medical plan.
Who should not use this page to change their intake on their own?
Anyone with kidney disease, heart failure, adrenal or hormonal issues, those on potassium-sparing medicines or ACE inhibitors, or people told to follow strict fluid or electrolyte limits should use this page as education only. In those situations, even “healthy” potassium-rich foods or aggressive salt cutting can clash with your care plan, so work with your healthcare team before chasing a specific ratio.
Is this the same as a lab test for sodium or potassium?
No. This tool works on dietary estimates per day, not blood work or 24-hour urine collections. It is closer to a food log summary than to a medical test. Lab tests look at how your body is handling electrolytes overall; this page simply helps you notice whether your eating pattern tends to be salty, potassium-rich, or somewhere in between.
How to use this potassium-to-sodium ratio tracker
The aim of this tracker is to turn a pile of nutrition numbers into a single, easy-to-read K:Na score. Instead of memorising milligrams and label lines, you can see whether a day tilts more toward sodium or toward potassium and what that might mean for your next few food choices.
1. Choose your units and add sodium
Pick whether you’re entering values in milligrams from nutrition labels or millimoles from a lab-style report. The page loads with mg first because that’s how most apps and food labels display sodium and potassium. Then drop in your best estimate of sodium for the day: add up the numbers from a tracking app, a worksheet from your dietitian, or a few key foods you want to sanity-check.
2. Add your daily potassium total
Next, enter the potassium grams or millimoles for the same day. Here it helps to think about produce, beans, dairy and other potassium-rich foods. Even if your total is an approximation, putting both sodium and potassium side by side lets you see whether salty options are crowding out higher-potassium choices in your usual pattern.
3. Read the Na:K and K:Na ratios
Hit Check K:Na ratio to see:
- Your sodium-to-potassium ratio (Na:K) as a “something to 1” number.
- Your potassium-to-sodium ratio (K:Na), which simply flips the perspective.
- A plain-language note about whether the day looks sodium-leaning, roughly balanced or potassium-leaning compared with common guideline-style patterns.
You’ll also see how your rough grams compare with simple adult ranges, so you’re not just chasing a ratio in isolation.
4. Copy your snapshot into your notes
Use the Copy summary button to paste the snapshot into a note, spreadsheet, or chat with a coach or clinician. The summary includes your inputs, both ratios and the assumptions behind the comparison, so you can look back later without re-running the calculator for that day.
5. Make gentle, realistic shifts instead of big swings
Once you know how “salty” a typical day is, the next step is usually small, repeatable swaps: choosing less processed or ultra-salty foods a little less often, and layering in potassium-rich options like fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, baked potatoes, yogurt or milk if they suit your plan. The goal is not to hit a perfect number overnight, but to trend toward a pattern where potassium clearly has a say.
If changing sodium or potassium makes you feel worse, or if you live with conditions that affect fluid and electrolytes, pause and check with your healthcare team. The numbers here are intended as guide rails, not strict prescriptions.
How the potassium-to-sodium ratio math works
The calculations behind this tool are kept deliberately simple so it is clear what is happening when the ratios change. It focuses on daily totals and relative balance, not precise lab readings or medical dosing.
1. Normalising mg and mmol
If you choose milligrams, the tracker uses your numbers as-is. If you choose millimoles, it converts them into approximate milligrams using standard molecular weights for sodium and potassium. That lets the tool compare your day with guideline-style intakes that are usually written in mg, while still accepting mmol entries when that is what you have.
2. Building the Na:K and K:Na ratios
Once both electrolytes are expressed in the same unit, the calculator divides sodium by potassium to get the Na:K ratio, and potassium by sodium to get the K:Na ratio. These are shown as “X:1” style numbers so you can instantly see whether sodium or potassium is leading and by how much. A lower Na:K and higher K:Na generally correspond to a pattern with more potassium relative to salt.
3. Comparing with simple guideline-style ranges
The tool then compares your totals with broad adult ranges that favour lower sodium and higher potassium. If your sodium sits well below the comparison point and potassium is at or above it, your result will typically be labelled potassium-leaning. If sodium dominates and potassium trails, it will be described as sodium-leaning, with notes about focusing on both sides of the ratio rather than only one mineral.
4. Why the ratios are rounded
Food labels and tracking apps already round to whole grams or nearest tens of milligrams. The tracker rounds ratios to a single decimal place so you can think in rough patterns—“about 0.7:1” or “around 2:1”—instead of worrying about tiny differences that do not change day-to-day decisions. The important part is the direction of travel: moving from sodium-heavy days toward ones where potassium clearly has a bigger role.
Because kidney function, medications and other medical factors can change what is safe for you, treat the ratios and ranges here as a starting framework. If your own care team gives you different targets, those always win.
References and further reading on potassium↔sodium balance
These resources explain why keeping sodium modest and potassium higher is often recommended for blood pressure and heart health:
- World Health Organization — Sodium reduction — outlines global recommendations for keeping daily sodium intakes relatively low and describes links with blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
- World Health Organization — Guidance on dietary salt and potassium — discusses suggested sodium and potassium intakes for adults and why the balance between them matters.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — Reducing sodium and increasing potassium may lower CVD risk — summarises large-cohort research showing that lower sodium, higher potassium and a better Na:K ratio are linked to lower cardiovascular disease risk.
Use these as background reading, then work with your healthcare or nutrition team on specific sodium and potassium goals that fit your own health conditions and medications.