Freaking out about potassium
AngInCanada
Posts: 947 Member
Today is day 8 for me I believe back at keto. It's been pretty smooth sailing till this morning. I have foggy head, a bit of lightheadedness, body aches. I've ate a couple pickles, drank some salty broth, and drank a couple BIG bottles of water with mio, salt and "no salt" substitute for the potassium. So I went to Google to see what the ideal amount of potassium is for the keto diet and now I'm freaked out and in a bit of a panic. Too little potassium, you can die. Too much potassium, you can go into cardiac arrest. From what I've read potassium is an optional entry on food labels so even though MFP tracks potassium, it can be wildly inaccurate.
MFP has me at 2700 mg potassium for the day but it also tracked my salad greens at zero even though I know it has potassium.
So I'm really freaking out. This is the one thing I absolutely hate about keto. My electrolytes were wonky last time I did it for 6 months and I don't want to go down the same road again.
MFP has me at 2700 mg potassium for the day but it also tracked my salad greens at zero even though I know it has potassium.
So I'm really freaking out. This is the one thing I absolutely hate about keto. My electrolytes were wonky last time I did it for 6 months and I don't want to go down the same road again.
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No need to supplement potassium, IMO. You only lose it if you lose too much sodium.
And no need to worry about it if you do supplement, since most supplements don't have very much potassium.
The RDA is 4700mg, which is crazy high. I think they found crazy high levels were associated with lower blood pressure, so that's how they justify those levels. You are way under the RDA (as is just about everybody), so zero risk for toxicity.0 -
As a medical professional, low potassium is pretty rare, so is high, based on diet. I wouldn't worry about it honestly. Those who take blood pressure medication or diuretics are the ones who need to becareful
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LiftRunRepeat22 wrote: »Those who take blood pressure medication or diuretics are the ones who need to becareful
You may know about the diuretic effects of a ketogenic diet. That's why a lot of people supplement.
It's really interesting (to me, anyway). A combination of hormonal effects and acid-base balance in the kidney.
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No freaking out about potassium
There's no upper limit set for it and add wab said 4700 is rda. Any toxic level would be higher than that and you'd have to ssh that consistently. I'm only doing the nusalt occasionally not nearly as much as the sodium, cuz like wab said if your sodium is good you won't be dumping potassium.0 -
If you have normal kidneys,your potassium will not be high0
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Coffee also has a fair amount of potassium, if you're drinking that.0
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Thanks everyone. So if keep up on my salt intake alone, the potassium should be ok?0
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AngInCanada wrote: »So if keep up on my salt intake alone, the potassium should be ok?
In theory. We dump sodium during ketosis (and probably most carb restriction). If we dump too much, the body tries to conserve the remaining sodium by signalling (via aldosterone) to start dumping potassium instead.
Since very few people understand the need to replenish the lost sodium, they can end up low potassium as well.0 -
But since I HAVE been supplementing potassium then on theory I should be good with just sodium as long as I keep on top of it. I thought I was doing pretty good with 3500-4000 mg sodium but I will up it some more 0
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No need to go crazy. I just add sodium until my symptoms go away. Works pretty quickly for me. How'd you feel after the salt?
In any case, as @thubten1 implied, the kidneys dump the excess. It may take a few days, though. If you put on some water weight or feel bloated, you may have had more sodium than you need. Back off, and 4 days later water will be dumped along with excess sodium.0 -
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I think it's good to add some salt substitute but I just dash a little on my food.
My daughter who has had poorly controlled T1D for a few years and therefore has been making lots of ketones due to not taking enough insulin, has chronically and at times, dangerously low potassium and always has to get it via IV when she's been hospitalized for DKA. BUT, she would have 10 times higher ketones and water/sodium loss than any of us could possibly ever have. But because I know that potassium is lost at least sometimes I I'm low on sodium, I just add a dash of NuSalt on my food.
And if you did get too much, I think you would feel other symptoms before suddenly having a heart attack.
It might also make you feel better to know that recently my daughter was put on a prescription diuretic for retaining water and even though her potassium and sodium levels were both solidly in the right range, they still have her a prescription potassium supplement to take while she's on the diuretic. So It makes sense to me that it's safe to just use some salt substitute on a daily basis knowing that water loss is happening.0 -
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I add a 1/4 tsp of Losalt into my bulletproof coffee just to get it up a bit otherwise it looks like I´m not taking in much at all. Seems to do the trick, no more palpitations as electrolytes seem to be balanced.0
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i take potassium, magnesium and 2 teaspoons bouillion every day. never have keto flu, but if i'm late taking them i feel it within hours; tired, headache, cranky, weak. otherwise, i usually feel pretty good. i've been at this for 1 1/2 years and lost 130 pounds so far. have about 15 more to go, and will probably stay on maintenance keto or low carb for life.0
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I feel this way if I don't take my magnesium right away in the morning after I eat. I get very foggy and nauseated. I have never experienced the keto flu (I don't think). But this board has given me so many tips and ideas! Love it!0
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emilybeaver wrote: »I feel this way if I don't take my magnesium right away in the morning after I eat. I get very foggy and nauseated. I have never experienced the keto flu (I don't think). But this board has given me so many tips and ideas! Love it!
I take magnesium about 1/2 hour before bedtime. It knocks me out. I took it once in the morning and had to go back to bed lol. Couldnt even hold my eyes open.
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