Potassium

I have been told recently that I am dangerously low on potassium. My diuretic along with all the exercise and sweating I have been doing has been taking it’s toll apparently. Although I have been trying my best to bring the amount of potassium up in my body, I fear I’m doing a crappy job. I still feel the effects of the systems listed below and that really sucks. Last night I was out at 9:00pm. The other night I was out at 9:30pm, Saturday night – 7:00pm and Sunday 10:00pm. Although to some people that is a normal bedtime but I’m usually awake until about 11:30 or midnight most nights.

I’m tired, I’m forgetting just about everything everyone has told me, I’m mixing up dates and times, I’m exhausted all the time and it’s getting rather old. I need a banana….

Potassium is an electrolyte – a mineral salt that conducts electricity when dissolved in water.

Deficiency Signs and Symptoms

A potassium deficiency is characterized by muscle weakness, fatigue, mental confusion, irritability, weakness, heart disturbances, and problems in nerve conduction and muscle contraction. A diet low in fresh fruits and vegetables but high in sodium is the typical cause of dietary potassium deficiency. We often see dietary potassium deficiency in the elderly.

However, dietary potassium deficiency is less common than deficiency caused by excessive fluid loss (sweating, diarrhea or urination) or the use of diuretics, laxatives, aspirin, and other drugs. The amount of potassium lost in sweat is quite significant, especially with prolonged exercise in a warm environment. Athletes or people who regularly exercise have higher potassium needs.

Beneficial Effects

Potassium is an extremely important electrolyte that functions in the maintenance of:

· Water balance and distribution

· Acid-base balance

· Muscle and nerve cell function

· Heart function

· Kidney and adrenal function

Over 95 percent of the body’s potassium is in cells. In contrast, most of the body’s sodium is outside the cells in blood and other fluids.

How does this happen?

Cells actually pump sodium out and potassium in via the "sodium-potassium pump". This pump is in the membranes of all body cells, and one of its most important functions is preventing cellular swelling. If sodium is not pumped out, water accumulates in the cell, causing it to swell and ultimately burst.

The sodium-potassium pump also functions to maintain the electrical charge within the cell. This is particularly important to muscle and nerve cells. During nerve transmission and muscle contraction, potassium exits the cell and sodium enters, which results in an electrical charge change. This change causes a nerve impulse or muscle contractions, so it is not surprising that a potassium deficiency affects muscles and nerves first.

Although sodium and chloride are important, potassium is the most important dietary electrolyte. In addition to functioning as an electrolyte, potassium is essential for conversion of blood sugar into glycogen, the storage form of blood sugar in the muscles and liver.

A potassium shortage results in lower levels of stored glycogen. Because exercising muscles use glycogen for energy, a potassium deficiency produces great fatigue and muscle weakness, the first signs of potassium deficiency.

Principal Uses

The principal uses of supplemental potassium are for potassium depletion (deficiency) and high blood pressure.