Potassium supplement?
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RAC56
Posts: 433 Member
Does anyone here take a potassium supplement? If so, could you recommend any good brands?
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Replies
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I don't supplement potassium. It can actually be dangerous if you don't know for sure you're deficient.
My T1D daughter gets a prescription for potassium for a chronic deficiency and it's only 99mg (or 90?) a day, which is the same as otc supplements.
Because I know she's deficient, I also tend to advise her to add some cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) to drinks and use some NuSalt (potassium chloride) on food.1 -
Yeah, I know it can be dangerous, but I'd like to bump my intake up just a tiny bit more than it is. I'll check out the NuSalt…..didn't even think about cream of tartar. Thank you.
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Only bump it up if you know for sure you are deficient. If you mess with your system in a way that's unnecessary, it will - trust me - turn round on you in the end.
Instead, bump up sodium and possibly magnesium.
You actually probably get more than enough potassium in your diet, anyway.....3 -
Are you relatively active? I lift heavy 5x per week, eating at a deficit and I take magnesium vitamins at night. Someone in this group mentioned a supplement called Zipfizz. It contains almost 1000mg of potassium! I can't speak for everyone, but, ever since I started supplementing with it, I've felt better energy wise (more alert) and performance wise (more stamina to power through my lifts).
But I also make sure I get in enough salt as well. I cook with salt and add additional salt to my food.3 -
The experiences of some of my family members suggests to be that the difference between too high potassium (referred to a kidney specialist for review) and too low (wound up in the ER with a suspected heart attack) is difficult to tweak. As suggested here, be very careful about potassium supplements.2
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Yeah, I know it can be dangerous, but I'd like to bump my intake up just a tiny bit more than it is. I'll check out the NuSalt…..didn't even think about cream of tartar. Thank you.
I suppose the logical thing would be to ask you why exactly you want to bump your intake of Potassium up. Do you have a clinical reason, or do you think that actually, you might need more sodium...?1 -
I just noticed @rac56 that you mentioned you have been unable to increase sodium yet due to blood pressure going up in response. You're definitely doing the right thing by monitoring at home if you have blood pressure issues.
How long have you been keto?
Still be careful with the potassium. Just know that many foods don't list it so you're very likely consuming more than you realize. Sodium and potassium are a delicate balance. I know you already know this. You didn't seem uninformed. I just always worry about strangers on the internet
lol
But really, there have been some past posts on here where people felt like they were having a heart attack or panic attack and it would come out they were supplementing potassium unnecessarily because they didn't realize they were actually eating more than they knew.
The Ketogains group on Facebook, which I am a big fan of, specifically supports supplementing in small amounts using NuSalt and such, but they generally advise just getting it from food because you don't need all that much if sodium and magnesium are taken care of. They are very good about only making recommendations from good science.
This graphic is one that's shared over there all the time. They actually suggest even higher sodium intake than we generally say around here. I think we are just trying to be a little conservative though since not everyone here is keto.
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I couldn't get the image to attach before...3 -
A diet that includes "whole foods" is excellent for potassium. As was mentioned above the US label regulations do not require listing potassium so most of us are probably getting more than shows up in our diaries. I know I get a pretty good hit from coffee (decaf) which I tend to drink a lot of (decaf). The 1/2 and 1/2 I use also has potassium. Regular yogurt has double the potassium of Greek, though I choose Greek for the protein. My potassium intake currently averages about 2500mg just from entries that happen to include potassium.
Other whole foods that contain a "good hit" of potassium: broccoli, spinach, Swiss chard. Nearly all meat has at least a couple hundred grams per 3 ounce serving. Fish is generally more rich in potassium than meat. Not all fish. Salmon and halibut tend to be high.
Depending on desired carb levels...white beans and black beans are an excellent source of potassium with +1100 grams per cup and +700 grams per cup. Granted they are high in total carbohydrates but net is lower (of course). Legumes have good fiber for those wanting more fiber in their diet but are not exremely low carb.
Other good sources: cantaloupe, watermelon, beets, edamame, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, chocolate...bananas.2 -
I eat at least 2 green bananas a week. And I do mean green. I have to cut the peel off with a knife.1
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@Sunny_Bunny_ (and everyone else) thank you.
I take electrolytes seriously. I tend to run a tiny bit low on potassium so I wasn't looking to up my intake but by just a tiny bit. I could probably do that by diet but just a bit of NuSalt here and there would be a good option too.
I keep a very close eye on my sodium. It is such an important electrolyte. I found out the hard way some years back before LoCarb. Spent several hot days outside guzzling down a lot of water. I love water anyway and I was sweating, working out in the yard, etc. Increasing water + NOT increasing sodium is a big no no. Spent 3 days in the hospital trying to get my sodium back up, ugh! That's why I cringe when I read some folks (no one here does this) telling new LoCarbers to drink tons of water, yikes. RN and Kidney doc said water is like a magnet in our bodies pulling out sodium. So increasing water + Increasing sodium = fine. After going through that hospital visit, I know my body's signals and it is really hard to know them when one is first coming off of the SAD, but after a while on LoCarb one can usually begin to tell when they're sodium may need a bit of a bump or a bit of a decrease. I keep pickle juice handy (stuff is additive anyway, lol) and anchovies if need be.
Unfortunately, also some years ago before LoCarb, I was put on an antibiotic that warned it could decrease potassium. It did that to me and I ended up in the ER feeling like I was dying. Blood work said, low potassium. Doc gave me two little cups of liquid potassium to drink and I felt like Wonderwoman about 5 minutes later and happily went home. Lesson learned. I could not believe the difference I felt after those two little cups of potassium. That's why I have at least 1/2 of an avocado a day. In the hot summers around here, I also usually have around 4oz of Harmless Harvest coconut water. We get heat advisory days here. I kid you not, I've lost count of how many folks (walkers, mailman, etc) have come by my place looking like death, only to be totally revived with more energy after some of that coconut water. Hubby and I are 60 years old but no matter what one's age is, electrolytes matter. Btw, I also take magnesium supplements and also highly encourage folks to supplement with that mineral also.
I appreciate the well-balanced approach to LoCarb that you all practice and share here. 3 -
My cousin landed in the hospital due to low potassium levels too! Scary stuff.
Just a little background, I drink a gallon of water per day. I take 1200mg of magnesium at night. I drink my Zipfizz at night as well. And tons of salt. My husband likes to joke that I like my salt with food lol
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@LolaDeeDais23 it sounds like you're good. Btw, I think a 'sea salt' type of salt tastes a lot better than regular table salt. I use Redmond Real salt but there are other good brands available. I'm gonna check out that Zipfizz, thank you! 0
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USDA says one cup of pureed avocado is 1116 mg of potassium
cauliflower raw, 100 grams has 299, put some Nusalt on either one of just these two items and you have plenty of potassium.
I prefer obtaining my potassium in my foods. I could eat avocado at all meals and have at times
Plenty of low carb veggies have lots of potassium, so no beans nor bananas needed to get a good daily supply.
Good luck on getting it sorted out.1 -
I make a gallon of electrolyte drink every morning and polish it off over the course of the day. It is Crystal Light, a teaspoon of Morton's Lite Salt, and a teaspoon of epsom salt. I watch the sodium on the MFP tracker and try to get 4000-5000 mg a day. If I am low, I eat olives.1
