Low potassium causes hypertension, constipation, heart problems & more!

If you have high blood pressure and can't seem to lower it, you may be deficient in potassium.

Symptoms of potassium deficiency
Your body requires a careful balance of potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium in order to function properly. If any of these are not in proper proportion, you could become ill. In fact, you could die!

When potassium gets too low, you experience constipation, irregular heart rhythm and high blood pressure. You'll feel tired, fatigued and weak. It affects your muscles and can cause serious problems with one of the most important muscles in your body - your heart. You may be ripe for a heart attack! Potassium also affects your nervous system, and low levels can make you feel anxious or possibly cause other psychological problems.

While it's difficult to take too much potassium through supplements, it IS possible. Known as hyperkalemia, very high potassium levels can cause heart attacks and can disturb your body's electrical system by interfering with nervous system transmissions.

Potassium is strictly regulated by the government
Because potassium is particularly important to the ongoing health of your heart, the government limits supplements to no more than 99mg per serving. Plus, any supplement that contains potassium in its mixture cannot have more than 99mg per serving. Since you need about 4,700mg of potassium per day, it's impractical to get extra potassium from supplements!

If you're desperate to increase your potassium level but cannot eat enough of the foods that are rich in it, then start using a salt substitute made from potassium chloride. It doesn't taste quite as good as salt, but it'll immediately help raise your potassium level. Please remember that you must continue to take in sodium to have a proper balance and stay alive.

Most importantly, your blood electrolyte levels should be tested to make sure you're in proper balance. Your body excretes excess potassium through the kidneys, but people suffering from kidney disorders shouldn't supplement with potassium in any form without consulting a healthcare professional.

Foods rich in potassium & a guidebook to show you the way
Below is a partial list of potassium-rich foods. I've gathered them from several websites and books. To learn more about how a low potassium level can damage your health and cause premature aging, get Betty Kamen's book (Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Potassium But Were Too Tired To Ask). It just might save your life and may even get you off prescription drugs:



Sweet potatoes
Tomato paste, puree, sauce or juice
Beet greens
Baked potato
White beans, kidney beans or lentils
Plain yogurt
Canned clams
Prune juice
Carrot juice
Blackstrap molasses
Cooked halibut
Cooked soybeans
Yellowfin tuna
Cooked lima beans
Winter squash
Pacific rockfish or cod
Bananas or plantains
Spinach
Peaches
Milk or buttermilk
Pork, chicken or turkey
Apricots
Rainbow trout
Honeydew melon
Orange juice
Split peas
Avocado
Celery
Broccoli
Raw, unsalted nuts

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I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

"Let food be thy medicine and
medicine be thy food" - Hippocrates