Potassium and Protein?

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I never get enough potassium or protein in my diet. What health problems can arise from these deficiencies? And are there any potassium supplements out there?

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  • WombatHat42
    WombatHat42 Posts: 192 Member
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    Potassium deficiency is hypokaaemia(very low potassium). Potassium is needed to have proper muscle fucntion(especially the heart) and lack of it leads to cramping. Excess will do the opposite and can cause heart attacks(but that is very high levels)

    Lack of protein can prevent proper muscle regeneration among other things. Dont know much about the lack of this as potassium was the more covered topic in A&P.

    There are protein supplements and potassium. What I would suggest is buy some whey protein(be sure to get a reputable brand, I prefer flavorless whey isolate from myprotein and mix it into a smoothie) and some bananas and make a protein shake. That will give you extra protein and potassium without adding many calories.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    If you are basing your belief that you're not getting enough potassium on your MFP nutritional report, you can almost certainly RELAX. User-submitted entries (i.e., MOST of the entries) in the MFP database do not include a potassium measurement, even though most foods include SOME potassium.

    It took me a year of logging, but once I learned some tricks about finding accurate non-user submitted entries, my potassium levels per my nutritional report more than DOUBLED.
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
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    Your body needs and consumes protein every day whether you're eating it or not. If you're not providing it through your diet, then your body will simply grab off a piece of muscle and break it down to its amino acid components. Over the long run, you wind up losing all your muscle tone and your metabolism drops.

    Potassium is an essential electrolyte. A chronic deficiency can actually result in impaired organ function, so it's pretty serious if you're not getting enough.

    http://www.md-health.com/Potassium-Deficiency.html

    And to answer your basic question: yes, potassium supplements are widely and cheaply available at pretty much store that sells vitamins.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    Protein I don't know about, but I've read supplementing potassium without a doctor's go ahead isn't a good idea. Plus finding supplements that give more than a fraction of the daily RDA is tough.

    Potassium is highest per calorie in the following foods:

    Beet Greens

    Swiss Chard

    Lima Beans

    Sweet Potato

    Potatoes

    Soybeans

    Spinach

    Pinto Beans

    Lentils

    Avocado

    source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=90&tname=nutrient

    There are other foods that have a decent amount. Bananas and raisins do.
  • VanessaVegana
    VanessaVegana Posts: 36 Member
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    Thanks everyone! :)
  • WombatHat42
    WombatHat42 Posts: 192 Member
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    If you are basing your belief that you're not getting enough potassium on your MFP nutritional report, you can almost certainly RELAX. User-submitted entries (i.e., MOST of the entries) in the MFP database do not include a potassium measurement, even though most foods include SOME potassium.

    It took me a year of logging, but once I learned some tricks about finding accurate non-user submitted entries, my potassium levels per my nutritional report more than DOUBLED.

    Completely agree, probably should have said the same in my post. Unless you are cramping up A LOT more you should be fine. My doctor runs a CBC blood work every 6-12 months. If your doctor does too perhaps ask them about it.
  • WombatHat42
    WombatHat42 Posts: 192 Member
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    Also, I took a look at your food log and you arent that bad in terms of protein you are at least getting half of the recommended. If you can add some nuts or beans to your diet or protein powder(i know some dont like it and I am against it for prolonged periods)

    As for potassium, Gatorade has about 2% the daily requirement(75mg) in 20oz. So if you are worried maybe drink one every now and then.
  • VanessaVegana
    VanessaVegana Posts: 36 Member
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    Yeah I guess I kind of freaked out when I saw my potassium levels on here. You guys are right a more accurate reading would be from my doctor. I have bought some protein powder, now I just have to use it lol.
  • VanessaVegana
    VanessaVegana Posts: 36 Member
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    Also, I took a look at your food log and you arent that bad in terms of protein you are at least getting half of the recommended. If you can add some nuts or beans to your diet or protein powder(i know some dont like it and I am against it for prolonged periods)

    As for potassium, Gatorade has about 2% the daily requirement(75mg) in 20oz. So if you are worried maybe drink one every now and then.

    Why are you against prolonged usage of protein powder? Does it have bad side effects?
  • WombatHat42
    WombatHat42 Posts: 192 Member
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    Because protein powders and other supplements arent regulated by the FDA and too much protein can harm the kidneys. I dont meant you cant have one everyday(as long as you actually need the protein and arent able to get it somewheres else). I am more referring to people who do one before one after a work out 5+ times a week. If you are eating a healthy diet you dont really need it but there are still times where it comes in very handy - like a long day on campus or at work and you dont have time or money to eat somewhere a portein smoothie is great.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Low potassium or protein can cause many different problems, up to (and including) death.

    You should check with your doctor. He can advise you about taking the supplements you need, if you need any.
  • takeadeepbreath
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    Do not supplement potassium unless your doctor tells you you need to. The average person absolutely doesn't need to even worry about it. You get plenty of potassium from foods you eat every day.

    The only people who need to log their potassium intake on MFP are people with kidney disease who have been told to limit it.
  • Joannah700
    Joannah700 Posts: 2,665 Member
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    Also, I took a look at your food log and you arent that bad in terms of protein you are at least getting half of the recommended. If you can add some nuts or beans to your diet or protein powder(i know some dont like it and I am against it for prolonged periods)

    As for potassium, Gatorade has about 2% the daily requirement(75mg) in 20oz. So if you are worried maybe drink one every now and then.

    On top of the Gatorade mention, Vitamin Water's Revive has 880 mg of potassium in a bottle.
  • ddkphotos
    ddkphotos Posts: 304 Member
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    Please share your tricks!


    It took me a year of logging, but once I learned some tricks about finding accurate non-user submitted entries, my potassium levels per my nutritional report more than DOUBLED.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    Please share your tricks!


    It took me a year of logging, but once I learned some tricks about finding accurate non-user submitted entries, my potassium levels per my nutritional report more than DOUBLED.

    Well, it's really about:

    1. When eating or cooking with INGREDIENTS (meat; fresh fruit and veg; unprepared grains or dry beans), look for the USDA entries. They DON'T HAVE AN ASTERISK next to their name. Lately, the MFP people ::seem:: to have modified all those entries to include the word "generic." But be careful: historically the word "generic" in the database has been understood to be a red flag for extreme inaccuracy. I'm not sure why the MFP people changed this. The most important thing is to choose something that does not have an asterisk. This is the primary way that my logged potassium levels have increased. I didn't change what I was eating: I changed the way I was logging.

    2. If a USDA entry is not available (especially for prepared foods: bread, anything in a can or frozen, pre-made salads etc.):
    a. Manually check out the nutritional information before logging it. Is there ANYTHING next to potassium? If it says N/A or 0 you know it's inaccurate because frankly there's at least a little potassium in pretty much everything. Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice with prepared foods since right now companies are not required to put potassium info on the label. But at least you'll know a starting point for how much MFP is undercounting.
    b. Double-check to see how many confirmations from other users an entry has. If it's something with multiple entries (and damn near everything has multiple entries) check the ones that have the most confirmations first. It doesn't mean they're actually accurate, so you should still check, but it's an indicator that there's a higher PROBABILITY of the data being accurate. This is just a good practice for logging in general, because dayum there's a lot of nonsensical derp that members have added to the database.
    c. You can of course, modify entries to include a potassium estimate. I have done this with a few foods that make frequent appearances in my diary. For instance, I prefer to log my specific brand of milk rather than the generic milk entry because I do think that milk is one of those things that different processors add things to or dilute, so there can be some variation. But I looked at the standard generic USDA entry for milk to see the potassium level, and then modified my brand-name entry to include that as a potassium estimate. Best to only do this though if you have some experience looking at a lot of accurate potassium entries so you have an educated sense of what to expect.