Potassium pills. Why would a person take them?

From http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/potassium-sources-and-benefits#2

Here’s how many milligrams (mg) of potassium you'll get from these potassium-rich foods:

Winter squash, cubed, 1 cup, cooked: 896 mg
Sweet potato, medium, baked with skin: 694 mg
Potato, medium, baked with skin: 610 mg
White beans, canned, drained, half cup: 595 mg
Yogurt, fat-free, 1 cup: 579 mg
Halibut, 3 ounces, cooked: 490 mg
100% orange juice, 8 ounces: 496 mg
Broccoli, 1 cup, cooked: 457 mg
Cantaloupe, cubed, 1 cup: 431 mg
Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
Pork tenderloin, 3 ounces, cooked: 382 mg
Lentils, half cup, cooked: 366 mg
Milk, 1% low fat, 8 ounces: 366 mg
Salmon, farmed Atlantic, 3 ounces, cooked: 326 mg
Pistachios, shelled, 1 ounce, dry roasted: 295 mg
Raisins, quarter cup: 250 mg
Chicken breast, 3 ounces, cooked: 218 mg
Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces: 201 mg

They also mention that potassium is depleted by boiling the food. Roasting or eating raw is preferable. I'm wondering whether the amount in the lentils has been adjusted, since most lentil recipes I know of call for boiling.

According to my doctor it helps with restless leg syndrome, your mileage may vary. I also have some chemo patients who take it for chemo induced hypokalemia. I wouldn't recommend it for general use.

BarneyRubbleMD wrote: »

Neener0808 wrote: »

I just started taking a potassium supplement as I am suffering from some leg cramps and training for a half marathon. I monitor my food and macros and I don't get a lot of natural potassium. Everyone says eat banana's but quiet frankly I can't stand banana's. It's a texture thing. I am trying this out for 2 weeks of 99mg tablet once a day.

I hear that a lot too about bananas being high in potassium but there are a lot of other things that are close and even way higher (especially cantaloupe) in potassium than bananas that you may find to your liking.

milk, 8 oz: about 330 mg potassium
bananas, 1 medium: about 420 mg potassium
orange juice, 8 oz: about 450 mg potassium
baked potato, medium: about 950 mg potassium
dates/raisins, 1 cup: about 1200 mg potassium
cantaloupe, 5" melon: about 1400 mg potassium (& only about 185 calories too, plus an excellent source of vitamins A & C as well!)

Banana's may have that reputation because of how easy they are to consume on the go. And also cheap. Basically-They come pre-portioned in their own packaging in cheap bunches, so ideal for post-run/ride/race consumption.

stealthq wrote: »

When I was a kid, I was prescribed 8 bananas a day because I was also on high-dose antibiotics that caused hypokalemia as a side effect. I ended up loathing bananas for years.

As a child, my daughter was prescribed antibiotics that came as a banana-flavoured liquid. She's now 25 and to this day the smell of banana makes her gag.

toxikon wrote: »

LadyLilion wrote: »

I take a prescription potassium supplement because one of my medications contains a diuretic that depletes my potassium. If I didn't have great insurance and OTC would be cheaper, I'd buy it OTC.

I mentioned above that the Nu-Salt I have is 530mg per 1/6tsp. One tsp a day sprinkled onto your food or into your Gatorade would provide you with 3180mg! A pack of 12 Nu-Salt shakers (3oz each) is around $20 on Amazon. About $1.70 per shaker. Very affordable!

Thanks for the suggestion!

snickerscharlie wrote: »

stealthq wrote: »

When I was a kid, I was prescribed 8 bananas a day because I was also on high-dose antibiotics that caused hypokalemia as a side effect. I ended up loathing bananas for years.

As a child, my daughter was prescribed antibiotics that came as a banana-flavoured liquid. She's now 25 and to this day the smell of banana makes her gag.

My dog was taking banana flavored medication when we got him from the humane society when he was 2 months. My son is sure it is the reason that to this day he refuses to eat bananas.

aribel95 wrote: »

I started taking potassium supplements because this app said I wasn't getting enough

Just be a bit careful with that...potassium isn't a requirement on food labels and since that's where most of the database entries come from, they aren't included in the nutritional information. Most people who are eating their veg and fruit and whatnot do not have potassium deficiencies that would require supplementation.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

aribel95 wrote: »

I started taking potassium supplements because this app said I wasn't getting enough

Just be a bit careful with that...potassium isn't a requirement on food labels and since that's where most of the database entries come from, they aren't included in the nutritional information. Most people who are eating their veg and fruit and whatnot do not have potassium deficiencies that would require supplementation.

good point! many of the database entries show a 0 for potassium even though other listings indicate it. Sometimes it's a 0 simply because it's just not measured due to not being required.