Potassium

STRENGTH: 99 mg
FORM: 100 Tablets

You have heard the term electrolyte; there are a number of nutrients that fall into this category. In this case they are substances that help to maintain its body's fluid levels. When you are sick or active you tend to loose electrolytes; when this occurs your bodies performance levels suffer because you become dehydrated. This class of nutrients can help to regulate (lower) blood pressure and heart function which can be beneficial to many, especially those individuals with hypertension.

The electrolyte we are discussing here today is Potassium. Potassium regulates water balance and assists the body’s ability to recuperate. Potassium can help to regulate joint stiffness, and is crucial for the elimination of wastes. Potassium is a natural pain reliever. It can help to control convulsions, headaches (even migraines), it can increase the speed in which cuts, bruises and other injuries heal and generally contributes to a sense of well being. Potassium is stored throughout the body, but is found mostly in the muscle. Athletes have used it (when balanced with other minerals) for years to help increase performance and energy levels. From a therapeutic stand point, a recent study showed that men who took a potassium supplement with a diuretic decreased their incidence of stroke by sixty percent!

Potassium works with sodium in all cells to help maintain and restore membrane potentials and to assist in many metabolic processes. Potassium neutralizes acids and restores alkaline salts in the bloodstream. Its high intracellular concentration is regulated by the cell membrane through what is known as the sodium - potassium pump. As you can see a chronic potassium deficiency most surely can cause many types of degenerative diseases, including diseases that you would not normally associate with a deficit with like joint and bone diseases. Most low fat foods contain some form of potassium (as apposed to the high fat foods that are part of so many fad diets). The best food sources are fruits, vegetables and juices, dairy products, fish, lean meats and poultry (bananas, cantaloupes, orange juice, baked potatoes and low-fat yogurt are the best sources).

There are many reasons why a potassium deficiency might occur, some of them are:
• Chronic diarrhea
• Processed food
• Reliance totally on grains
• Fatty foods
• Psychic/physical stress
• Stimulation of aldosterone
• Stress stimulation of cortisol
• Use of diuretics
• Excessive vomiting
• Eating sodium bicarbonate
• Laxative use

Potassium gives us the ability to think clearly because it sends oxygen to the brain; it also helps to maintain the proper pH of our bodily fluids as stated. Potassium is very important in its involvement as a systemic detoxifier because it stimulates the kidneys to eliminate poisonous body wastes; it also acts as a mild diuretic which helps to lower the blood pressure. There is one other benefit of taking Potassium that most people do not think about, and that is that it has been shown to promote healthy skin tone (in conjunction with drinking plenty of water!)

Deficiency symptoms might include cardiac failure, poor reflexes, nervous disorders, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, muscle damage, anxiousness, drowsiness, weakness, nausea, irrational behavior and an irregular heartbeat even cardiac failure! Low potassium levels (Hypokalemia) can result in a protein wasting condition which reduces the total cell mass in the body. Many people experience this to a lesser degree when they diet; they experience what is known as ‘water weight loss’. This occurs mostly because the muscle tissue is wasting away.

So you can see that nutrient deficiencies, even small ones can cycle into a traumatic event that throws the body into a state of chaos! And remember to always take nutrients like minerals in a balanced format, don’t take too much of one and not enough of another. †

REFERENCES:

1. Young DB, Lin H, McCabe RD. Potassium's cardiovascular protective mechanisms. Am J Physiol. 1995;268(4 Pt 2):R825-837.
2. New SA, Bolton-Smith C, Grubb DA, Reid DM. Nutritional influences on bone mineral density: a cross-sectional study in premenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997;65(6):1831-1839.
3. Trinchieri A, Zanetti G, Curro A, Lizzano R. Effect of potential renal acid load of foods on calcium metabolism of renal calcium stone formers. Eur Urol. 2001;39 Suppl 2:33-36.
4. Stoltz ML, Andrews CE Jr. Severe hyperkalemia during very-low-calorie diets and angiotensin converting enzyme use. JAMA. 1990;264:2737–2738.
5. Kotler, D. P., Tierney, A. R., Wang, J. & Pierson, R. N. (1989) Magnitude of body-cell-mass depletion and the timing of death from wasting in AIDS. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 50: 444-447.