Potassium and Fitness Go Hand in Hand!
Hand!
Potassium
Are you getting enough of this important nutrient?
• A diet that contains sufficient amounts may reduce the
risk of high blood pressure and stroke.
• A decrease in muscular strength is often due to a lack
of this mineral in the diet.
• Sufficient potassium in your diet helps soothe feelings
of anxiety, irritability and stress.
Sources: United States Food and Drug Administration,
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Imagine being so fatigued you barely can get through the
day. Your reflexes are slow, and your muscles are weak and
often cramping. The depression that’s had you in its grip
doesn’t seem to be lifting, and you frequently feel
nauseated. What could be wrong with you?
While it’s best to see your physician to rule out serious
illness when such warning signs occur, it’s good to know
that the above symptoms simply may be an indication that
your body is deficient in the mineral potassium.
It is the third most abundant mineral in the body and is
essential for your good health. Although the apple most
often gets the credit for “keeping the doctor away,” foods
rich in this mineral are responsible for a number of health
benefits.
Sufficient amounts in the diet helps keep your muscles
strong (including that hard-working muscle, your heart) and
helps control blood pressure and the water balance in your
cells.
It also helps keep nerve impulses firing in top form, and
releases energy from protein, fat and carbohydrates during
metabolism.
Sufficient amounts in the diet helps protect you against
heart disease, hypoglycemia, diabetes, obesity and kidney
disease. It helps keep muscles strong, bowels regular and
works to eliminate irritability, confusion and stress. And
it may help to lower high blood pressure, as well as
protecting against the blood pressure-boosting properties of
sodium.
So how do you ensure your level is adequate? A variety of
foods (fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, nuts, poultry)
contain this mineral. Bananas are popularly known as a good
source — they contain 400 mg each — but other food sources
are even richer such as:
• Lima beans (1 cup) 1000 mg
• Cantaloupe (half a 5-inch melon) 975 mg
• Fresh orange juice (1 cup) 975 mg
• Potato (medium-sized) 900 mg
• Almonds (4 oz) 786 mg
• Whole milk (1 cup) 675 mg
• Salmon (4 oz) 470 mg
• Chicken (4 oz) 410 mg
The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of
Sciences suggests the daily requirement for men and women is
2000-3500 mg. But although it may seem as if you can get
your daily requirement almost without thinking about it — a
healthy and balanced diet usually provides between 2000 and
6000 mg of each day — many of us don’t get the amount we
need. For example, unless you eat only raw, fresh foods, you
probably aren’t getting adequate amounts. This mineral is
lost when food is cooked.
Additionally, there is a chemical relationship between
potassium and sodium — if your sodium intake is high, your
potassium will be low. Given the average salt intake in most
American diets, it’s difficult to keep that balance with
food sources alone, which is why it’s important to take a
daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement.
What else shifts that potassium balance? Processed food is
one culprit. Not only is processed food generally high in
sodium, the processing procedure itself can remove
potassium.
And if you regularly drink coffee, cola or alcoholic
beverages, you may be creating a deficiency, as the caffeine
in coffee and colas lowers your level, as does alcohol.
Additionally, potassium is easily lost in urine, and certain
conditions (such as severe diarrhea or poor diabetic
control) deplete your body’s stores.
While most of us will benefit from a nutritional supplement
containing potassium, it is especially important for those
who are at higher risk for deficiency. These include those
who:
• Engage in rigorous body-building
• Take diuretics
• Take cortisone medications
• Have chronic liver disease
• Have kidney damage
• Suffer from physical and/or mental stress
Although the potassium in most multi-vitamins generally is
regarded as safe for everyone, potassium supplementation
alone should be monitored by your physician, as extremely
excessive intake can be toxic.
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