Potassium

[Songtsan]

Why do you think it is that Potassium supplements are usually only around 3% of the RDA?

 

I do know where to buy higher amounts, but it is strange that it is so low.....

[wilfred]

surely there is enough of this in a healthy diet?

[Brian]

Why do you think it is that Potassium supplements are usually only around 3% of the RDA?

 

I do know where to buy higher amounts, but it is strange that it is so low.....

It is difficult to absorb potassium chloride quickly so large doses are generally a waste.

 

Bananas and Turkish apricots are excellent natural sources, among others.

 

Very high levels of potassium are not good so don't try to drive it up unless you know you have a deficiency...

[Songtsan]

yeah, there are tons of foods with large amounts of potassium....spinach, avocados, yogurt, sweet potatoes, white beans, and more. It's just weird that they don't have a timed release version readily available, although I know where to buy em. RDA is 4700mg per day for 18 and older, but for me, it is probably around 5500mg...I know I don't eat enough of the foods that have it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/BulkSupplements-Potassium-Gluconate-Powder-grams/dp/B00E7HDP8Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1434972812&sr=8-3&keywords=BulkSupplements+Pure+Potassium+Citrate

Edited June 22, 2015 by Songtsan

[dawei]

yeah, there are tons of foods with large amounts of potassium....spinach, avocados, yogurt, sweet potatoes, white beans, and more. It's just weird that they don't have a timed release version readily available, although I know where to buy em. RDA is 4700mg per day for 18 and older, but for me, it is probably around 5500mg...I know I don't eat enough of the foods that have it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/BulkSupplements-Potassium-Gluconate-Powder-grams/dp/B00E7HDP8Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1434972812&sr=8-3&keywords=BulkSupplements+Pure+Potassium+Citrate

 

http://www.jamiesonvitamins.com/2137

 

http://www.drugstore.com/gnc-potassium-plus-99-timed-release-tablets/qxp41584

[Songtsan]

http://www.jamiesonvitamins.com/2137

 

http://www.drugstore.com/gnc-potassium-plus-99-timed-release-tablets/qxp41584

 

Yeah, but the amount is small....why not a 500 mg timed release? Remember...4500 mg per day

Edited June 25, 2015 by Songtsan

[cheya]

Songstan,

It's low dosage because you can really screw yourself up taking too much potassium at once.

Brian's right. Don't be supplementing potassium unless you know you have a deficiency.

People who supplement are usually heart patients that are on diuretics or meds that are screwing up their electrolyte balance, which messes up their cardiac function and kidney function.

If you eat fruits and veggies, you probably get plenty of potassium.

If you seriously want to supplement, get a blood test first. And then track it over time, don't just guess on this one.

 

Good to google "potassium overdose"

 

(This from someone who takes a TON of supplements.   )

Edited June 25, 2015 by cheya

[Silent Answers]

Coconut water is full of potassium and other healthy goodness.

[flowconduit]

Supplementing on potassium is in my opinion nothing but a waste of money, buy some real food instead for real health

[Songtsan]

I do buy real food. I am worried and trying to track down the cause of a weird sensation I get in my chest. I get my electrolytes checked often. I have been shown to be low in potassium before. Its possible though, that the weird sensation is GERD, or anxiety related.....also, athletes are often low in potassium. I push myself hard every day, sometimes bicycling for 3-4 hours, bodyweight training, yoga, etc. and I work hard physically, lifting, cutting down trees, hauling trash, so I am trying to fine tune things. Might have low sodium too....I'll figure it out....

Edited June 25, 2015 by Songtsan

[vonkrankenhaus]

All of these parts of the environment ("foods") have their place and proportion as they appear in our bodies.

 

Generally, we maintain a roughly 1:7 ratio of sodium to potassium, and a 1:7 ratio of these to all other minerals.

 

We maintain a 1:7 ratio of minerals to fats/protein/carbohydrates, and a 1:7 ratio of these to water.

 

Our head is at a roughly 1:7 ratio to our body.

 

It is a very interesting study to find the various proportions that are manifesting as we appear and disappear from Earth.

 

Many of the individual whole foods and whole traditional meals devised by our ancestors also happen to be the best foods for easily maintaining biological order. Most modern food products - like refined sugar, corn syrup, alcoholic drinks, processed meats - do make it much harder to remain in any kind of balance or proportion.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

[Orion]

Because potassium deficiency is rare and taking high doses of it can cause life threatening electrolyte imbalances.

 

Food sources are better.

[Songtsan]

All of these parts of the environment ("foods") have their place and proportion as they appear in our bodies.

 

Generally, we maintain a roughly 1:7 ratio of sodium to potassium, and a 1:7 ratio of these to all other minerals.

 

We maintain a 1:7 ratio of minerals to fats/protein/carbohydrates, and a 1:7 ratio of these to water.

 

Our head is at a roughly 1:7 ratio to our body.

 

It is a very interesting study to find the various proportions that are manifesting as we appear and disappear from Earth.

 

Many of the individual whole foods and whole traditional meals devised by our ancestors also happen to be the best foods for easily maintaining biological order. Most modern food products - like refined sugar, corn syrup, alcoholic drinks, processed meats - do make it much harder to remain in any kind of balance or proportion.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

 

Wow! great knowledge!

[redcairo]

Potassium affects the heart and until yesterday (coincidentally) the highest dose capsule on the market appeared to be 99mg. I found one yesterday someone pointed me to, that is 200mg ('pure encapsulations' brand on amazon if you are still looking).

 

The RDA for potassium is incredibly high. So far the only thing I've found with a huge dose of it is orange juice concentrate. And even drinking the entire thing didn't hurt me. So I guess the 99mg limit is to protect people with some kind of other problem it could interfere with.

 

Otherwise, you can buy potassium in powder form and measure it out.

 

I use potassium sometimes as salt, and as baking soda (also with cream of tartar to make baking powder, along with EnerG which is a potassium/magnesium blend for baking soda instead of sodium).

 

[blue eyed snake]

On 25-6-2015 at 2:25 AM, Songtsan said:

 

Yeah, but the amount is small....why not a 500 mg timed release? Remember...4500 mg per day

 

When i remember well potassium in pillform can hurt the lining of the stomach, that's a reason to keep the amount in pillform low. Further when you take too much you can get problems with your heart-rhythm.

 

Plus most people do not need it. I don't know why you would want to take it but would do some bloodtesting first.

I do take potassium but I am ill and body needs it, like @redcairo I take a powdered form.

[Taomeow]

Another one of those substances surrounded by many myths.

 

In 2019, a NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) committee found that the data about how much of it is enough is insufficient to derive an estimate of a daily requirement, and recommended raising it somewhat "just in case."  That's because blood and plasma levels of potassium (i.e. where it can be measured) are a poor indicator since most of it is found inside the cells (90%), where it's much more difficult to evaluate.  The established recommended daily allowances for all ages are based on the  median potassium intakes observed in children and adults.  In other words, no one knows if what was established as a recommended intake reflects an adequate amount, a widespread deficiency, or a widespread excess.  If you want to go by those guidelines, take a wild guess.  That's how they've been established to begin with.  (For everything for which they have been established, not just potassium.)  

 

Aside from individuals who suffer from hyperkalemia (excessive blood/plasma potassium due to an impairment of the excretion mechanism by a disease or by certain medications), most warnings and cautions spoken of here concern potassium chloride.  Potassium gluconate (as well as several other forms -- citrate, asporotate, ascorbate)  is way safer.  In the old country, when I was a kid, that's what was always prescribed by doctors as a "general tonic" to kids who get sick with, e.g., common colds or strep throat or the flu too often, indicating, indirectly, that the body's defenses are down.  I got it dispensed to me in huge horse pills, which I remember well -- there's no way one could swallow them, but mercifully they tasted like chalk, no bitterness, so I chewed them.  

 

I suspect (based on vaguely remembered Linus Pauling/Max Gerson/Gilbert Ning Ling etc. literature I knew better long ago) an average diet is grossly deficient.  But I'm not the FDA, so don't take my word for it.