Potassium is Low

FaunalFantasy

According to Internet sources, one is supposed to get 4700mg of potassium a day. I may get to half of that, on a good day, even if I eat banana, broccoli, lima beans, etc. In the process of trying to increase potassium I am getting way too many carbs. Would a potassium supplement be worth trying? I am worried about it being a waste of money or unsafe.

kyregi

I saw a post somewhere the other day that potassium is not on the required list on the food labels. So you might get quite a bit more potassium from foods where it is not reported. Before starting to take any supplements I would recommend to check with your doctor if you realy do have a deficit (there must be some kind of a blood test for this) and let your doctor make a recommendation on the "extra".

enchantedgardener

I saw a post somewhere the other day that potassium is not on the required list on the food labels. So you might get quite a bit more potassium from foods where it is not reported. Before starting to take any supplements I would recommend to check with your doctor if you realy do have a deficit (there must be some kind of a blood test for this) and let your doctor make a recommendation on the "extra".

THIS.

A lot of foods that are good sources of potassium may be listed in the database as having 0 mg potassium because it isn't mentioned on the food labels. If the fruit and vegetables in your food diary have 0 mg potassium, you can be sure it is probably inaccurate.
A good site for complete nutritional analysis of individual foods is nutritiondata.com.

vanguardfitness

http://potassiumrichfoods.com/potassium-rich-foods-list/

lynn_glenmont

Would a potassium supplement be worth trying? I am worried about it being a waste of money or unsafe.

I'm reading a book called "Blood Pressure Down," and the author (Janet Bond Brill) says that "although the evidence is robust that a high dietary intake of potassium lowers blood pressure, data from individual trials examining the influence of potassium chloride on blood pressure in hypertensive subjects have been inconsistent." (Potassium chloride is the form typically found in supplements.) She cites an article from the New England Journal of Medicine (Grimm RH, Neaton JD, Elmer PJ, et al. The influence of oral potassium chloride on blood pressure in hypertensive men on a low-sodium diet. N Eng J Med 1990;322(9):623:624)

Also, supplements aren't regulated (in the U.S.) in a way that ensures safety, efficacy, or even that they actually contain the things they say they do (the regulation is more about false advertising claims than about safety).

As others have pointed out, if you rely on food labels or database entries that relied on food labels, your food diary may be underreporting your potassium, since not all labels include potassium information. If you mostly eat whole foods, and use the generic (no asterisk) entries drawn from the USDA Nutrient Database, you'll get a much better sense of how much potassium you are getting.

Most people do not get the recommended 4700 mg (1 g = 1000 mg):
"At present, dietary intake of potassium by all groups in the United States and Canada is considerably lower than the AI. In recent surveys, the median intake of potassium by adults in the United States was approximately 2.8 to 3.3 g (72 to 84 mmol)/day2 for men and 2.2 to 2.4 g (56 to 61 mmol)/day for women; in Canada, the median intakes ranged from 3.2 to 3.4 g (82 to 87 mmol)/day for men and 2.4 to 2.6 g (62 to 67 mmol)/day for women" (from the National Academies Press, http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10925&page=187)

AmyBinthe603

Good topic, and interesting responses. I've been paying attention to my level also because of blood pressure. I've noticed that 90% of the foods in the MFP database don't include the Potassium count. I've been spending a lot of time on my foods and trying to find the potassium info and include it on my foods. But even with the numbers added to my food, I'm still well below the daily goal. Very interesting about that study Lynn_glenmont.... results being inconsistent...

I plan to see my doctor in April for my yearly (the big 5-0) checkup and I'll have her test me for deficits and see what she says about the whole thing...

Good topic.. Thanks for putting it out there

FaunalFantasy

Thank you everyone! This was very helpful information.

misskris78

If your doctor determines you're low in potassium through a blood test, there are prescription potassium tablets that you can take. They're awful, but do the job.

Most people do not have potassium issues unless they are taking a blood pressure medication (or any medication for that matter) with a diuretic. Many medications contain hydrochlorothiazide. The only way to know for sure is to talk with your physician.

cwsreddy

All meats and fish are very high in potassium, and you can get tons of it from your veggies as well without going over on your carbs