A Powerful Electrolyte Potassium for Your Body’s Sake
Reminders that Make A Difference
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Potassium belongs to the family of trace minerals that is part of every cell in your body. Without it, literally, life would not be possible. Yet keep in mind that potassium needs other nutrients to be present to do its job. That is why our emphasis here is to bring to attention not only the benefits or minerals and vitamins, rather to raise your awareness about the complexity of our bodies and learning to keep them balanced.
Potassium is also an electrolyte, which means that it carries an electric charge. Electrolytes are super important for our bodies, as they perform an important coordination of muscles, – heart muscle included, – keeping the liquid balance throughout all systems, ensuring the work of nerves and brain. That is why people who lose electrolyte balance can feel sick. That is why professional athletes hydrate with electrolyte drinks during an exhausting training session and during a game, as their bodies get depleted of electrolyte through sweating. Many people lose electrolyte balance during Summer months, as they ignore hydration balance.
Drinking water is important, but we need to consume fresh fruit and vegetables that provide electrolyte sources for our body and cells to get hold of. Here’s a list of some USDA recommended foods that carry the amount of potassium per serving.
Experts say that the daily intake of potassium should be around 4,700 milligrams. But due to a highly processed diet in this country, an average intake of this mineral per day is 3,200 milligrams, and 2,400 milligrams for women.
Winter squash, cubed, 1 cup, cooked: 896 mg
Sweet potato, medium, baked with skin: 694 mg
Prunes, dried, 1/2 cup: 637 mg
Potato, medium, baked with skin: 610 mg
White beans, canned, drained, half cup: 595 mg
Yogurt, fat-free, 1 cup: 579 mg
Halibut, 3 ounces, cooked: 490 mg
100% orange juice, 8 ounces: 496 mg
Lima Beans, 1/2 cup: 485 mg
Broccoli, 1 cup, cooked: 457 mg
Cantaloupe, cubed, 1 cup: 431 mg
Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
Pork tenderloin, 3 ounces, cooked: 382 mg
Lentils, half cup, cooked: 366 mg
Milk, 1% low fat, 8 ounces: 366 mg
Salmon, farmed Atlantic, 3 ounces, cooked: 326 mg
Pistachios, shelled, 1 ounce, dry roasted: 295 mg
Raisins, quarter cup: 250 mg
Chicken breast, 3 ounces, cooked: 218 mg
Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces: 201 mg
Most people rely only on bananas to get their potassium. Yet the variety for this amazing nutrient is so abundant in fresh produce available all-year-round! A balanced diet which comes from different sources ensures that our bodies get the potassium it needs. Just include more of fresh produce in your diet every single day!
Scroll to our discussion points to get more information about potassium and learn something new about its benefits for different systems in our body. Learn new information, but ALWAYS contact your doctor with more questions.
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Potassium and Medications
Source webMD
Besides being linked to the potassium in your diet, potassium levels in your body are influenced by several factors, including kidney function, hormones, and prescription and over-the-counter medications.
People who take thiazide diuretics, often used to treat high blood pressure, may need more potassium. That’s because thiazide diuretics promote potassium loss from the body.
Steroids and laxatives also deplete potassium.
Other drugs used to lower blood pressure, including beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, raise potassium levels in the body.
People with reduced kidney function may need to limit their daily potassium intake.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about how all of the medications you take affect the potassium levels in your body, and if you need more, or less, of the mineral.
my mother in law had to take and watch her potassium
Karen,
It is really a walking a thin line game, i.e., taking supplementation recommended by the docs.
The body changes so fast.
WE are truly blessed enjoying healthy living. Just eat well and from fresh fruits and veggies, plus exercise, plus lower stress… he he Just a little bit of everything!
Didn’t know this! I hope I was getting enough potassium this spring when I had bronchitis and was on steroids!
Potassium and Your Heart
Source webMD
Potassium plays a role in every heartbeat. A hundred thousand times a day, it helps trigger your heart to squeeze blood through your body.
It also helps your muscles to move, your nerves to work, and your kidneys to filter blood.
Potassium doesn’t treat or prevent heart disease. But getting enough of it can help your heart in many ways:
Better blood pressure
A diet high in fruits, vegetables and fat-free or low-fat dairy foods can help cut systolic blood pressure by more than 10 points in people with high blood pressure.
You shouldn’t take potassium pills unless your doctor recommends it.
Lower cholesterol
While there’s no direct link between the two, many diets that lower cholesterol are also high in potassium, as well as fruits and veggies. If you drop your LDL (bad cholesterol), the chance you’ll get heart disease will also go down.
Regulated heartbeat
Potassium enables your heart to beat in a healthy way. So, if you have rhythm problems, potassium may be key. Your doctor can advise you on that. A check might be part of your routine doctor visits.
well them are all good reason to take our potassium but i prefer to eat it i dont take pills
Karen,
Cantaloups are some of my favorites. I remember loving this berry growing up. We would wait until late August to get hold of fresh watermelons and melons from our grandma’s orchard.
i can not wait till mine come in
I just got one the other day, and need to get a special ingredient to try a recipe. I’ll showcase it, if it comes out well!
Supplementing with Potassium
Source webMD
Most people who eat a healthy diet should get enough potassium naturally. Low potassium is associated with a risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, cancer, digestive disorders, and infertility. For people with low potassium, doctors sometimes recommend improved diets – or potassium supplements – to prevent or treat some of these conditions.
Potassium deficiencies are more common in people who:
Use certain medicines, such as diuretics
Have physically demanding jobs
Athletes exercising in hot climates and sweating excessively
Have health conditions that affect their digestive absorption, such as Crohn’s disease
Have an eating disorder
Smoke
Abuse alcohol or drugs
well then i am safe there i only have one bad habit
Summary for Your Quick Reference – WHY We Need Potassium In Our Lives
Helps Prevent Kidney Stones
These are hard little balls made from minerals in your pee, and they can really hurt if they get stuck when you’re trying to go. More acid in your body — often thanks to a meat-rich diet — makes you more likely to get them. Potassium helps get rid of acid, which keeps those minerals where they belong (in your bones) and prevents those painful stones.
Helps With Osteoporosis
As people age, their bones tend to get brittle. The typical diet in the U.S. doesn’t help, either. Lots of meat and dairy can cause your body to make too much acid, and that can weaken your bones faster. Foods rich in potassium — mostly fruits and vegetables — can slow it down
Helps Your Muscles Work
You need just the right amount of potassium inside your cells — and sodium outside your cells — for your muscles to work well. Too little, or too much, of either can make your muscles weak or make them squeeze when you don’t want them to.
Helps Prevent High Blood Pressure
This is when blood pushes too hard against the walls of your veins and arteries. It can lead to stroke, heart disease, and heart failure. It’s often called “the silent killer” because you rarely have symptoms. The sodium in salt makes it worse, but potassium can help you get rid of sodium and ease tension in the walls of your blood vessels.
Helps Prevent Strokes
A stroke is when blood flow is limited or cut off to part of your brain, often because a blood vessel burst or got blocked. High blood pressure can play a role in that, so you’re less likely to have one if you keep that under control and get the right amount of potassium. Signs of a stroke include slurred speech, arm weakness, or drooping on one side of your face. If you have any of these, get medical help right away.
It is always better to get your nutrients from the foods you eat! Vary the sources, add some rarely eaten in your household foods, enrich your well-being.
wow i just cant believe that it has all thees benefits thanks
Karen,
I found the benefits of electrolytes long time ago, when I was at school and running. Not having good hydration and food really showed up when results did matter!
I learned to eat well and prepare my body long time before the competition.
I always know when I am low in potassium because I end up with leg cramps at night – really sucks to be woken up in the middle of the night in pain! I usually make sure I eat an extra banana the next day!
Amanda,
It’s not POTASSIUM that gives you cramps in leg muscles!
It is the lack of magnesium and manganese balance that brings us to that cramping condition!
Check out MAGNESIUM POST FOR THE FOODS TO GET THIS TRACE MINERAL FROM!
Side Effects from Potassium Supplementation
Source webMD
Too much can cause nausea, vomiting, stomachaches, diarrhea, and ulcers –> ALWAYS talk to your Doctor about any supplementation. She or he will explain their effects, importance, interaction with other medication, if any.
I don’t think I would take a potassium supplement since it is so abundant in foods!
Amanda,
That’s the whole point – eat abundantly from the foods we have all year round.
Unless a medical condition calls for supplementation.
Potassium Load from Food!
Check out this banana split I made in the comfort of my home!
This food offering has loads of potassium and other micronutrients like Magnesium, Iron, pre- and probiotics, and much more.
that is so good i want to make this now thanks
Karen,
This on I make frequently, as I have all ingredients most of the time in my fridge (yes, I know you go and pick everything from your garden fresh!)
Looks yummy! Did you use plain yogurt or flavored?
Amanda,
I Always use PLAIN yogurt and anything out there. Adding flavor in fruit, seeds and grains.
OMG!!!! That is amazing!!! And everything I love!! Thanks
Hei, Wendi,
I find with all the pictures I take throughout the day that making a good FOOD presentation does something powerful to our brain – we EAT with EYES, Too.
It takes literally a couple more minutes to add something special about the food you are going to eat.
The difference between EATING and ENJOYING is literally an empty space!
I add something extra to the food I serve to my family:
– Different plates or napkins
– More greens where usually they do not go
– Simple flower in the middle of table
– Serve a tea in cups we rarely use
All that adds a special meaning and FEELING to the food we eat with JOY. With that, comes satiety of SOUL first, and our BODY resonates with that satiety along the way.
Overeating is IMPOSSIBLE when we put a thought to food presentation every single time we are going to eat it.