There’s a quiet revolution unfolding inside the boxes, bags, cans and bottles on supermarket shelves. Food-makers are trimming the blood-pressure-boosting sodium in some of their saltiest and most popular processed foods by as much as 33 percent. That’s great news, but don’t let headlines about this sodium-slashing success story stop you from taking another important step toward better blood pressure: upping your potassium intake.

Potassium may be the missing mystery mineral in your own better-blood-pressure equation. Just one in 50 Americans gets enough of this good stuff, found in abundance in almost all produce, dairy products and beans. Potassium actively lowers blood pressure, in large part by buffering salt’s efforts to jack it up. Every 600-milligram increase in the amount of potassium you eat every day (that’s less than a cup of cooked spinach) lowers your BP by one point. Wow! And that’s not all it does: It also helps with nerve functioning and muscle control (athletes may need extra — say, from a glass of fresh orange juice or a banana — after workouts).