Potassium

Description

Potassium is one of the electrolytes essential to the smooth running of the human body; in fact a short time ago about adjectives bodily functions depend on it to some extent. It is also one of the most abundant minerals in the body, constituting 70% of the positive ions inside cell; the rest are a mixture of sodium, magnesium, calcium, arginine, and others. Potassium is distributed to the cells by a process of unresponsive diffusion and is regulated by an enzyme called adenosinetriphosphatase together near the level of sodium concentration inside the cell. Potassium and sodium are antagonistic, which ability that an imbalance of one will automatically grounds an imbalance of the other; as a rule potassium should predominate inside the cell.

General use

Potassium is necessary for mundane cell respiration; a deficiency can make happen decreased level of oxygen, which will reduce the use of cell function. Adequate supplies of potassium are also required to regulate heartbeat, facilitate normal muscle contraction, regulate the verbs of nutrients to cells, and regulate kidney function and stomach liquid secretion, among other things. One of the most important uses of potassium within the body is in the process of chutzpah transmission, as it is a cofactor catalyst for the activation of several enzyme systems, but since single minute amounts are required for these processes, deficiency within this respect is unlikely.

Potassium is thought to be therapeutically useful surrounded by many ways, including assisting in the treatment of alcoholism, acne, alleviating allergies, promoting the soothing of burns, and preventing high blood pressure. It can also lend a hand with such problems as congestive heart downfall, chronic fatigue syndrome , or kidney stones . People suffering from any of the above should consider increasing their intake of potassium after talking to a professional.

Symptoms of potassium deficiency

A deficiency of potassium within the blood is referred to as hypokalemia and manifests itself surrounded by many ways. Among the most serious are arthritis, soaring blood pressure, heart disease , stroke, cancer, and even infertility, as potassium constitutes a vital part of seminal fluid.

Potassium deficiency will increase bitter levels contained by the body, lowering the natural pH, which will hold far reaching effects. Lack of potassium can also aggravate problems caused by famine of protein. If potassium levels are down, the liver cannot operate typically, particularly about transformation of glucose to glycogen. A healthy liver should hold about twice as much potassium as sodium.

Potassium defect can cause problems beside the formation of connective tissue, and can render normally strong body tissue adjectives to all kind of problems. The collagen of a healthy character is approximately as strong as steel, and the strength of bone tissue can be likened to that of make iron. Lack of potassium may create a susceptibility to fractures, skin lesions that do not restore to health, or other connective tissue problems. So important is potassium for the protection of collagen that abundant natural condition gurus claim that along with other important nutrients, it constitutes an essential element of protection against premature aging. As long ago as the 1920s, Max Gerson be the first person ever to cure lupus lesion with a diet designed to fall abnormally glorious sodium levels and tilt potassium levels to majority, which was entirely fresh fruit and vegetables.

Potassium is essential to the efficient processing of foods in the body; minus it they cannot be broken down into the proper compounds. This can lead to rheumatism, and is one sense why adequate potassium prevents rheumatism.

Potassium requirements

In times past potassium was more plentiful surrounded by the diet than salt, but leisurely, the situation has be reversed. The widespread deficiency of potassium in modern diets is largely due to modern processing and high-ranking levels of brackish added to most processed foods. Cooking and processing destroy potassium, and added saline further robs the body of vital potassium. This departure from traditional cooking of fresh homegrown fruit and vegetables is predictable the cause of lots health problems face by modern society.

Who needs potassium supplements?

Those who may necessitate to take potassium supplements include women who pocket oral contraceptives, abusers of alcohol or drugs, smokers, athletes, workers whose job involves physical exertion, patients who enjoy had their gastrointestinal tract surgically removed, anyone suffering from any point of malabsorption syndrome, and vegetarians. People who hold eating disorders, especially bulimia and anorexia, are specially at risk from damage due to low potassium level. Also, individuals who have be ill, anyone who have undergone surgery and those who are taking cortisone or digitalis preparations, and those suffering from high level of stress will probably also have low potassium level.

No RDA has be officially established for potassium, but practitioners recommend that the optimal day after day intake should be in the region of 3,500 mg. The average daily intake is around 2,500 mg. However, in nonspecific, nutritionists recommend reducing salt intake and ensure adequate supply by increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet.

If a character feels that he or she may be suffering from a potassium negative amount, but would like to be paid sure before taking supplements, at hand are a variety of laboratory test that can be conducted. They include serum-potassium determinations (although these may be unreliable unless levels are amazingly low), serum creatinine, electrocardiograms, serum-pH determinations, whole blood, sublingual cell smears, and red blood cell potassium height determinations.

Preparations

Absolutely the best sources of potassium are fresh natural foods. Supplements may own side effects and large doses must be taken to approach the level of potassium that can be obtained from food; the average tablet contains in the order of 90 mg, for example, and a medium banana contains 500 mg. Vegetables containing the unbeatable levels of potassium are collectively those containing the lowest levels of starch. Seaweed have an amazingly high potassium content, containing roughly ten times as much as leafy vegetables, but also contains a substantial amount of mineral salt. Green coconut milk is another source of potassium.

Plentiful sources of potassium

There is a great group of natural foods that are an excellent source of potassium. These include avocados; bananas; chard; citrus fruits; juice such as grapefruit, tomato, and orange; dried lentils; green leafy vegetables; milk; molasses; nuts such as almonds, brazils, cashews, peanuts, pecans and walnuts; parsnips; dried peaches; potatoes; raisins; sardines; spinach; and whole-grain cereal.

Cooking

Boiling food in water is a sure track to lose the potassium in it, unless it is to receive soup. Baking and broiling are ways in which food can be cooked while at equal time preserving the potassium content, indeed, these methods preserve all the nutrients apart from vitamin C and some of the B vitamins which are destroyed by warmth. Broiling also oxidizes essential fatty acids . Stir-frying is also a good channel of preserving nutrients. It is important to oscillate the intake of potassium rich foods in order to ensure all right intake of other nutrients and to avoid the possibility of toxicity, as some vegetables contain elements that are toxic if they are eaten within large amounts (oxalic sour in rhubarb for example). It is meaningful to note that freezing also depletes potassium level in foods.

Recipe for potassium broth

Many variation are to be found under the heading "potassium broth," and most untaught health practitioners recommend one altered copy or another, but the main constituents are the following vegetables, collectively any vegetable of choice can be added to this base.

Ingredients

• 2 lb potatoes


• 1 lb carrots


• 1/2 lb peas


• bones for stock, or a vegetable bouillon cube


• 4 oz cracked wheat or pearl barley

First, within a stainless steel pan, boil the stock bones, if using them. After almost one hour, add the remaining ingredients and verbs to simmer in plenty of hose down for about another hour. It is preferable to use the potatoes and carrot well scrub, but with their skins on, as this retains meaningful nutrients. Keep any unused soup in the refrigerator.

Potassium supplements

Potassium supplements come surrounded by either tablet or juice form, and anything over 390 mg needs a prescription contained by the United States. Enteric coated tablets have be known to result in ulcers, as they do not dissolve until they conquer the intestines and may prove too concentrated for the undefended intestinal wall. To be on the safe side, supplements should be taken next to a glass of liquid. Slow-release enteric-coated supplements are now available, which drop off the danger of ulcer. Potassium gluconate is the ideal supplement, as it more closely resembles the potassium found surrounded by plants. Small divided doses should be taken, as opposed to one massive dose, when treating a potassium deficiency. Athletic drinks are an electrolyte replacement and as such contain potassium. Potassium supplements should be kept in a cool, dry place, out of direct frothy. They should not be frozen and should not be kept in the bathroom tablets cabinet as heat and moisture may fall effectiveness.

Precautions

In common, the multitude of nutrients that humans require in proclaim to stay healthy are synergistic, which medium they are interdependent. If depleted of one, it is highly expected that there are deficiency in others. Many nutrients, for example, require the presence of any calcium or vitamin C for efficient use by the body, and if suffering from a not as much as of any of the B vitamins, there is almost indubitably a deficiency within the B vitamins in general, as they transpire together in make-up. With this in mind, it is highly unwise to lift large amounts of any one nutrient in need making sure that the full spectrum of nutrients is plentifully available for the body to make use of. This can best be achieve by making sure that a large proportion of the on a daily basis diet is in the form of unprepared fruit and vegetables, whole grain, and unroasted nuts.

Of all the essential nutrients that are commonly taken as supplements, potassium is maybe the most dangerous. Only 14 grams of potassium can basis death below certain circumstances, especially when intake is low at other times, as it has be found that when potassium intake is restricted, somehow the mechanism for utilizing it is altered, so that considerable amounts cannot be processed.

Just the right amount of potassium is essential. Too much or too little can cause muscle spasms and cramps if a calcium lesser amount also exists. With this in mind, it is influential to ensure adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D , which will promote the uptake of calcium in the body.

Many sufferers of degenerative diseases such as tuberculosis , cancer, and arthritis, suffer from illustrious serum potassium levels. This is not because they enjoy too much serum, but because the disease affects body functions in such a opening that it throws off this costly nutrient instead of using it. In such cases, natural sources of potassium, such as fresh fruit or vegetable liquid, can be more effective than supplements.

Potassium and heart disease

Potassium have been implicated within the treatment of heart disease since the 1930s, but some heart disease that is due to hunger does not respond to potassium. Indeed, because of the impaired skilfulness of the body to take up potassium, it can be precarious. Most heart disease patients of the Western world, however, can benefit from an increase in potassium levels.

Potassium and arthritis

For tons, when they begin to guzzle a well impartial selection of fresh vegetables and fruits, and destroy a large proportion of processed, denatured foods, they get going to feel amazingly economically very briskly, as the potassium/sodium balance within the body is restored. Tiredness and other symptoms, such as arthritis, are soon replaced with renewed drive and vigor, and the body is able to replenish itself and finds exotic strength. However, potassium is only moderately successful at treating osteoarthritis.

Side effects

Those who are taking potassium-sparing diuretics, such as spironolactone, triamterene, or amiloride should not take potassium supplements. Anyone allergic to potassium supplements or those who own kidney disease should not take them any. Those suffering from Addison's disease, heart disease, intestinal blockage, stomach ulcers, those using medication for heart disease, or taking diuretics, or who are above the age of 55, should consult a doctor past taking potassium supplements. There are no contradictions for pregnant or breast feeding women, although they should not thieve mega-doses.

ECG and kidney function tests can be artificial by potassium supplementation, the doctor should be informed if potassium supplements are being taken. However, supplementation will not affect blood test, unless they are to measure serum-potassium level.

Symptoms of potassium overdose

Overdose symptoms of potassium include listlessness, mental confusion, tingling of limbs, feebleness, pallid complexion, low blood pressure, and an irregular or brisk heartbeat. These symptoms can progress to a drop in blood pressure, convulsion, coma, and eventually cardiac arrest, and can also be triggered by any open-handed of shock to the system. If any of the above symptoms occur, or surrounded by cases of bloody stool (may appear black and tarry), or difficulty in breathing or nausea, medical facilitate should be sought immediately. High serum-potassium is the through problem with shock and is the focal cause of extermination in cases of shock or injury. This is a life­threatening situation, and self treatment is not appropriate.

If such an emergency occur and medical help is not available, a cup of water containing partly a teaspoon of salt, a quarter of a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda and a short time honey will help. Potassium supplements should be taken near extreme care surrounded by cases of dehydration, as this can be fatal. Adequate liquid, particularly liquid, should always usher the supplement.

Interactions

Care should be taken when taking potassium supplements in conjunction with diuretics. A practitioner should be consulted. A doctor should be informed when a forgiving is taking potassium supplements. In addition, the following are prearranged to react next to potassium:

• Amilorid: causes a harmful rise in blood potassium.


• Atropine: increases the possibility of intestinal ulcer, which may be caused by potassium supplements.


• Belladonna: increases possibility of intestinal ulcer.


• Calcium: increases likelihood of heartbeat irregularities.


• Captopril: increases possibility of potassium overdose.


• Digitalis preparations: may cause irregular heartbeat.


• Enalapril: increases unsystematic of overdose.


• Laxatives: may decrease usefulness of potassium (due to the fact that they leach potassium from the body).


• Spironolactone: increases blood potassium.


• Triamterene: increases blood potassium.


• Vitamin B12 : slow release supplements may condense the absorption of vitamin B₁₂ , increasing requirements.

Key Terms

Catalyst

A substance that cause chemical activity in need being changed itself.

Collagen

Connective tissue fiber.

Electrolyte

Solution which conducts electricity, essential to run of the mill bodily function.

Malabsorption

The inability of the digestive tract to absorb adjectives the nutrients from food due to some malfunction or disability.

Mega-doses

Very lofty doses of vitamins intended to treat a variety of ailments, as recommended by orthomolecular practitioners.

Passive diffusion

A process whereby a soft will migrate from a solution of lower concentration to a solution of higher concentration, making the latter more dilute.

Positive ions

Ion particle having a positive electrical charge.

Serum

Clear, fluid module of the blood.