Sodium and potassium

I try hard to meet the RDA of potassium like I try to meet all my vitamins and minerals, and in my totally non-medical opinion I think everyone else should try, too. As for salt, I know when I'm not getting enough, not by the numbers, but because my blood pressure runs low anyway, so I get dizzy.

It's used in pretty much every function:

Potassium is a very important mineral for the proper function of all cells, tissues, and organs in the human body. It is also an electrolyte, a substance that conducts electricity in the body, along with sodium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium. Potassium is crucial to heart function and plays a key role in skeletal and smooth muscle contraction, making it important for normal digestive and muscular function.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/potassium


Scares the heck out of me to think of all the years I went eating garbage food and guzzling soda without getting enough potassium or much of anything else I needed. Surprised I'm not dead.

Salt is also necessary, though from what i can tell you pretty much have to cook from scratch to fail to get enough of it:

http://www.rsc.org/get-involved/hot-topics/Salt/do-we-need-salt.asp

It is the sodium (ions) present in salt that the body requires in order to perform a variety of essential functions. Salt helps maintain the fluid in our blood cells and is used to transmit information in our nerves and muscles. It is also used in the uptake of certain nutrients from our small intestines. The body cannot make salt and so we are reliant on food to ensure that we get the required intake.