Too much potassium?

mike_gee15
mike_gee15 Posts: 46
in Food and Nutrition
Is there such a thing? Negative effects? Positive rewards? Help someone..

Replies

  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    I'm sure you can get too much, but seeing as how it's difficult, at least for me, to reach the "recomended" 3000mg I can't imagine it would be easy to overdose on.
  • jillybeanpuff
    jillybeanpuff Posts: 144 Member
    how in the world do you get too much potassium?? I'm good if I get half of my recommended amount
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
    I eat fairly clean and I can't even get 50% of my daily macro. Please tell me what you're eating to be over to a point where you think you're eating too much of it! I'd really like to get more in my everyday food.
  • skyline2055
    skyline2055 Posts: 49 Member
    i can never reach my potassium goal . i always come out way too short
  • _granola
    _granola Posts: 326
    Yes, it's called hyperkalemia. It doesn't really occur in average, healthy people. It occurs mostly in people with kidney issues (chronic renal failure or type I diabetes). It's very, very unlikely you would be able to consume enough potassium from food to have this happen.
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
    I track my potassium due to HBP. As I understand it, potassium is in most if not all foods, but it is not a nutrient that companies are required to list on lables, so you may be getting more than you think. If you are getting close to your goal, you may be getting enough. I think you could only overdose if you take supplements.
  • ayamagali
    ayamagali Posts: 167 Member
    I have managed to get over on it once! It involved a couple baked potatoes and bananas and beans, lol.
  • mike_gee15
    mike_gee15 Posts: 46
    Well I consume quite a bit of beans and bananas on a few days, and go over my macros on it.. thanks for the input. But i try to eat about 2 to 3 bananas a day.
  • victoriannsays
    victoriannsays Posts: 568 Member
    It is possible to have too much potassium. It is known as hyperkalemia.

    Don't try to supplement potassium if you feel you aren't getting enough from your diet.. hyperkalemia can cause serious heart dysrhythmias as well as other complications.
  • spidey11186
    spidey11186 Posts: 141 Member
    It is possible to have too much potassium. It is known as hyperkalemia.

    Don't try to supplement potassium if you feel you aren't getting enough from your diet.. hyperkalemia can cause serious heart dysrhythmias as well as other complications.

    hellooooo nurse :-)
  • victoriannsays
    victoriannsays Posts: 568 Member
    It is possible to have too much potassium. It is known as hyperkalemia.

    Don't try to supplement potassium if you feel you aren't getting enough from your diet.. hyperkalemia can cause serious heart dysrhythmias as well as other complications.

    hellooooo nurse :-)


    hahaha :)
  • mike_gee15
    mike_gee15 Posts: 46
    It is possible to have too much potassium. It is known as hyperkalemia.

    Don't try to supplement potassium if you feel you aren't getting enough from your diet.. hyperkalemia can cause serious heart dysrhythmias as well as other complications.

    I don't supplement it, it just comes from my bananas and beans. How much does cause that tho? Like do you know the levels or whatevever?
  • _granola
    _granola Posts: 326
    It is possible to have too much potassium. It is known as hyperkalemia.

    Don't try to supplement potassium if you feel you aren't getting enough from your diet.. hyperkalemia can cause serious heart dysrhythmias as well as other complications.

    I don't supplement it, it just comes from my bananas and beans. How much does cause that tho? Like do you know the levels or whatevever?

    A medium sized banana has about 450mg of potassium. You would have to eat around 8-9 bananas a day to even reach the recommended daily intake of potassium. Trust me, you are not going over potassium every day and you have nothing to worry about.

    You can track potassium on here too - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings. Just note that even if you use good entries for certain foods (meaning they will list how much potassium a food has), other foods simply don't have potassium levels listed.
  • coolraul07
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
    It is possible to have too much potassium. It is known as hyperkalemia.

    Don't try to supplement potassium if you feel you aren't getting enough from your diet.. hyperkalemia can cause serious heart dysrhythmias as well as other complications.

    I don't supplement it, it just comes from my bananas and beans. How much does cause that tho? Like do you know the levels or whatevever?

    Potassium RDA is 3500mg. I researched this last summer and I read that it's not concern unless you exceed 18,000mg on an extended basis. Long story short:
    1) don't worry about going over unless you're doing some extreme OCD-level crap (e.g. dozen bananas and gallon of V-8 juice daily)
    2) don't take a potassium supplement unless explicitly instructed by a doctor to do so.
  • mike_gee15
    mike_gee15 Posts: 46
    Alright, thanks ya'll! I appreciate that. :)
  • tetecia
    tetecia Posts: 75 Member
    you've got to eat a lot of potassium enriched foods to be able to reach the maximum allotment of potassium daily. I'm instructed to take in 4500mg daily or i need to go on meds for it and it is SO Difficult for myself. Most people don't get anywhere near the recommended 3500mg> However, if you want to watch you K+ then track it, you can do it on here. Like someone above mentioned, you dont want to go above the 3500mg/daily unless instructed it can really mess up your heart rhythm.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    I eat fairly clean and I can't even get 50% of my daily macro. Please tell me what you're eating to be over to a point where you think you're eating too much of it! I'd really like to get more in my everyday food.

    You can have a look at my diary.
  • j75j75
    j75j75 Posts: 854 Member
    I never get enough, according to my diary. But I think some foods are listed wrong. Some foods don't even have potassium info available on their website, so I'm in the process of emailing a few companies.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    Here's a good resource:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    I've been adding potassium entries to MFP database for 6 months.
    The key, so I've been reading, is to get a 2:1 potassium to sodium ratio. Or 1.5:1.
    I had hypertension so I use the 2:1 guideline.
  • j75j75
    j75j75 Posts: 854 Member
    Here's a good resource:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    I've been adding potassium entries to MFP database for 6 months.
    The key, so I've been reading, is to get a 2:1 potassium to sodium ratio. Or 1.5:1.
    I had hypertension so I use the 2:1 guideline.

    Nice site. Pretty sure I was able to calculate how much Potassium is in the Epicurean Blean Blend I've been eating lately. Potassium is not listed on the label or on the site. And they haven't returned any of my emails!! :angry: :angry:

    Turns out it's a lot of Potassium though, because it's all beans, lentils, and peas.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    The problem is usually incorrect data. Just yesterday I noticed that my Kirkland brand gel form Ibuprofin contains 20 mgs. of potassium in just one pill.:laugh: :

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