How to get enough potassium?
Options
cjjh123
Posts: 21 Member
Potassium is a very important mineral/ electrolyte. How do I know if I'm getting enough?
1
Replies
-
I'd like to add a word of caution: don't get too much potassium. When I started I over-supplemented and had crazy hear palpitations. I use lite salt (half potassium) on most things, eat leafy greens and avocados. I also take a magnesium/potassium supplement.2
-
I'd like to add a word of caution: don't get too much potassium. When I started I over-supplemented and had crazy hear palpitations. I use lite salt (half potassium) on most things, eat leafy greens and avocados. I also take a magnesium/potassium supplement.
Thanks, @asgentr & @cjjh123 - we're overdue for this discussion!
@asgentr, what did you do to dial your potassium down to the right level?0 -
If I plug into Mfp my food I'm way too low but with no bananas or potatos not sure what to do. I would prefer to get my vitamins and mineral from natural sources of food. I'll take a supplement if I really have too.1
-
If I plug into Mfp my food I'm way too low but with no bananas or potatos not sure what to do. I would prefer to get my vitamins and mineral from natural sources of food. I'll take a supplement if I really have too.
Good question.
You can use Nosalt along with table salt to make Keto'-Ade:MyriiStorm wrote: »Keto-ade:
1/4 tsp. salt (sodium chloride)
1/4 tsp. "lite" salt (potassium chloride)
1 Tbsp. lime juice
4 drops liquid stevia
16 - 20 oz. water
Some people prefer Mio instead of the lime juice and stevia.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10505314/how-do-you-up-your-sodium
1 -
When I first started I used a sports electrolyte packet that had around 400mg of Potassium. I read that I needed around 1,000mg on top of what was normally in my diet, so I drank 1.5 packets and also had an avocado and likely some almonds. That was way too much for me. I almost hauled myself to the ER for rapid heart beat, but decided to gulp a ton of water and a bit of salt to balance things out. I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do, but the palpitations were gone by the morning and I cut way back on supplementation.2
-
Can someone clarify for me? I realize we lose potassium when we have low salt in our system but I never thought I would need supplementation if I ate a properly formulated low carb or slow carb diet with enough salt.
I eat greens, meat, fish, cheese, some yogurt and nuts. And depending upon how low carb or slow carb I am eating, milk or cream.
According to this website, most of what I eat is pretty good for potassium. Also since potassium isn't listed on labeling (at least here in Canada) if I do use canned or boxed goods, there may be potassium there as well (this rarely happens).
Am I missing potassium on this diet? Or is mfp just not adding it up properly.
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthy-eating/high-potassium0 -
I just do what my mom and dad said and "Eat your vegetables." But I heart my veggies, so it's not a big problem for me. But I was glad to run into this thread because I could see how people could easily go overboard on potassium.0
-
dasher602014 wrote: »Can someone clarify for me? I realize we lose potassium when we have low salt in our system but I never thought I would need supplementation if I ate a properly formulated low carb or slow carb diet with enough salt.
I eat greens, meat, fish, cheese, some yogurt and nuts. And depending upon how low carb or slow carb I am eating, milk or cream.
According to this website, most of what I eat is pretty good for potassium. Also since potassium isn't listed on labeling (at least here in Canada) if I do use canned or boxed goods, there may be potassium there as well (this rarely happens).
Am I missing potassium on this diet? Or is mfp just not adding it up properly.
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthy-eating/high-potassium
I agree. You get more potassium than you realize. It's not necessary to supplement it. If you feel you must, a couple shakes of a lite salt containing potassium chloride is plenty.
Sodium is the primary electrolyte to supplement and I believe magnesium is important as well.
See the link @RalfLott shared or check out the electrolyte post in the launch pad for details on magnesium2 -
NoSalt is pretty awesome for this. I tend to keep my s:p ratio at 1:4 or so, BUT that's likely not a good idea for someone putting down 3-5g sodium per day.1
-
If I plug into Mfp my food I'm way too low but with no bananas or potatos not sure what to do. I would prefer to get my vitamins and mineral from natural sources of food. I'll take a supplement if I really have too.
Good question.
You can use Nosalt along with table salt to make Keto'-Ade:MyriiStorm wrote: »Keto-ade:
1/4 tsp. salt (sodium chloride)
1/4 tsp. "lite" salt (potassium chloride)
1 Tbsp. lime juice
4 drops liquid stevia
16 - 20 oz. water
Some people prefer Mio instead of the lime juice and stevia.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10505314/how-do-you-up-your-sodium
We get potassium from various foods. Potassium just isn't always properly listed on foods.
This site lists the potassium in various foods per 100g. Chicken has potassium, eggs, cheese, nuts, greens, and etc.
http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5b.html
If you get enough potassium via food and enough sodium, you don't need to supplement much, if at all. I'd change the ketoade recipe to "up to 1/4 tsp" but I think half that might be better once you know your sodium levels have been fine for some time, as you'll have a reserve that is preserved. Healthy sodium levels preserve magnesium and potassium levels.
Sodium>mag>potassium
So I don't supplement lite salt much any more. I do a few healthy shakes in my ketoade and let it be. If you are getting 5000mg of sodium daily, your magnesium over 400mg, and you still have keto flu symptoms, it's ok to supplement it a little to see if that's what you're missing. But otherwise I wouldn't worry obsessively over potassium.2 -
Well, MFP is being a jerk. This link is easier to read.
http://www.pittsburgh.va.gov/Dialysis/docs/PotassiumValuesofFood.pdf0 -
Chicken is a huge source of potassium, too. I'm one of those that if I even use Lite Salt, I dump magnesium like I've got a hole in me somewhere...regardless of sodium levels... So, I only use it on heavy exertion days, like when we moved in the middle of summer here, over 10 days, and I was pouring sweat like it was monsoon season.
As @baconslave said, and someone mentioned above, because potassium is not one of the required nutritional label listings, it is inconsistently reported, and unless you have an extremely restricted diet that doesn't include any meat and/or any leafy greens, chances are you're probably getting enough. fatsecret.com is another great source of nutrition data, as well as usda.gov.1
