Potassium
Recommended Intake
Potassium Deficiency
Potassium Toxicity
Major Food Sources
Blood Pressure
Tips for Increasing Your Potassium Intake

Potassium is a mineral and an electrolyte. Electrolytes are compounds that are able to conduct an electrical current. Sodium and chloride are also electrolytes. Potassium helps:

• regulate fluids and mineral balance in and out of body cells
• maintain your normal blood pressure
• transmit nerve impulses
• your muscles to contract

Recommended Intake
There is no daily recommended intake for potassium. However, the minimum amounts needed for good health have been determined. These are:

Many experts believe that adults should get 3,500 mg a day of potassium for optimal health.

Potassium Deficiency
A low blood potassium level, called hypokalemia, indicates a potassium deficiency. For the average healthy person, a potassium deficiency is rare. However, certain conditions can cause the body to lose significant amounts of potassium, and thereby increase the risk for deficiency. These conditions include:

• excessive vomiting, diarrhea, or laxative use
• kidney problems
• use of certain blood pressure medications including Thiazide diuretics and Furosemide (a diuretic)
• continually poor food intake, as may occur with:

  alcoholism
  anorexia nervosa or bulimia
  very low calorie diets

Signs of a deficiency include:

• weakness
• appetite loss
• nausea
• fatigue
• muscle cramps
• confusion
• apathy
• constipation

If hypokalemia persists, it can lead to irregular heartbeat. This decreases the heart's ability to pump blood.

Potassium Toxicity
Potassium is rarely toxic because excess amounts are usually excreted in the urine. However, people with kidney problems may be unable to properly excrete potassium, allowing it to build up in the bloodstream. A high level of potassium in the bloodstream is called hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia can cause slowed heartbeats and may eventually cause the heart to stop beating. Therefore, people with kidney problems need to closely monitor their potassium intake.

Major Food Sources
Potassium is found in many foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Less processed foods tend to have more potassium.

Blood Pressure
Potassium is believed to play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure. In 1988, the INTERSALT study reported that a high potassium intake can lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. Potassium may even allow these people to take less medication to control blood pressure.

More recently the DASH study (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) showed that a diet rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and dietary fiber helps to lower blood pressure and to keep it under control.

Tips for Increasing Your Potassium Intake
To help increase your intake of potassium:

• Eat legumes, such as black beans, lentils, and chickpeas, three times per week. Combine them with rice and vegetables and wrap in a warm tortilla.
• Make garden salads with half green lettuce and half fresh spinach.
• Choose fish as your entrée a few times per week.
• Snack on raisins and other dried fruits for a sweet fix.
• Use avocado on sandwiches or bagels in place of mayonnaise or cream cheese.
• Eat two brightly colored fruits and vegetables each day; these include sweet potato, Swiss chard, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, tomato, spinach, and yellow bell peppers.