potassium citrate vs gluconate

gsp90x

I'm in the midst of finding info about the two.

Potassium citrate vs potassium gluconate when supplemented for the purpose of replacing potassium in a zero carb/ketogenic diet.

Any info you may have would also be appreciated.

Symptoms have been including muscle weakness especially quads, and foot/toe/calf cramping not resolved with sodium and mag. (All other symptoms are relieved with sodium and mag supplementation)

I do not eat avocados, dairy (except butter) or bananas. Spinach maybe once a month.

I do drink (and limit myself to) 2 cups of coffee per day.

Otherwise I am pretty good at adhering to only unprocessed meat/eggs/fat/vinegar/butter/soup cubes. A typical dinner for me is fried ground beef with a tbsp balsamic vinegar or skinless boneless chicken thighs with water. The odd steak or pork chops. Leafy greens a couple times a week, usually romain. Sometimes ACV or lemon juice in the water.

min 1 soup cube a day (2400mg sodium). will experiment with two as spring comes and my activity increases (I had a horrible time last year trying to sort that out. symptoms return with increased activity)

300g mag citrate daily
333mg calcium/167mg mag (oxide, citrate, fumarate, malate, succinate)/5mcg vitD3 daily.

I thought maybe trying potassium as I don't really get much and see what happens.

Thoughts? citrate vs gluconate? Or maybe increasing the sodium further might alleviate? Concerned about not enough potassium though.

wabmester

I only use the citrate form. Why? Because it binds with calcium and helps prevent kidney stones.

Did you mention hydration? The only time I've ever had muscle cramps was when I was mildly dehydrated.

auntstephie321

I started supplementing potassium but found if I got enough sodium and magnesium I felt great. I purchased the potassium gluconate

KarlaYP

I have the citrate type, but I only take it every other day. Mag and sodium are hard targets everyday! Seems to be working, for now! I'm finding things always need adjusting at some point though! More of that N=1 experiment that's ongoing!

Sunny_Bunny_

If you think anything of Dave Asprey's opinion he says that his preferred forms are potassium citrate or potassium bicarbonate. He goes on to say that too much can alter your heartbeat and not to mega dose. He says to start with 100-200mg is a good amount to start with. He himself worked up to 400mg but in this section gives no reason why.
I only supplement using NuSalt which is a potassium salt substitute you can find at the grocery store by the regular salt.
If you're having cramps at night, I would definitely get more sodium. And the magnesium amount seems a little low. But not if you get bathroom issues upon increasing. 300mg isn't very much. Information I read seems to consistently recommend 600-800 or just below your digestive tolerance.

gsp90x

Thanks folks, this is giving me great ideas to try for tweaking. Anyone else reading this, feel free to keep adding. Always looking for more input. I have potassium citrate so I'll start with one pill (99mg) for now. Do that for a few weeks and see before tweaking something else. So I'll know what is doing what. Then maybe up the sodium and mag.

Interesting.

@Karlottap definite n=1

baconslave

I second the NuSalt. With it I actually get pretty close to the potassium rec a lot of the time. Goes nicely on food or in broth.

lithezebra

I'm not supposed to take potassium supplements, so I haven't, and it doesn't seem to have caused me any problems. I feel pretty dreadful when I need sodium.