Potassiumis required by our body -- an essential element that would cause death if not enough is taken in.
Our body can get the potassium through medications, supplements or by eating high potassium foods.
Potassium is the main positively charged atom inside each of our cells.
Sodium is the main positively charged atom outside our cells.
Potassium is involved in a large number of the chemical reactions inside our cells.
Along with sodium, potassium maintains the membrane potential (the electrical difference between the inside and the outside of the cell) in our cells, and helps propel many of the actions of the cell, being one of the regulators of ATP (the big energy supplier of the cell).
The cell membrane is to the cell what our skin is to our body, keeping inside what should be inside, and keeping outside what should be outside.
Potassium is heavily involved in the function of the nerve cells and muscle cells.
When a nerve cell sends a message to another nerve cell or a different cell, it does it by sending potassium and sodium across the cell membrane changing the membrane potential into an action potential, shooting an electrical signal along the nerve.
For muscle cells to contract, potassium, sodium and calcium are involved.
Since potassium is so important, it must be true that we get enough from our food.
No, not true.
Even though potassium is in many foods, most of those foods have small amounts.
The average American only gets 2 grams a day of potassium -- less than half the recommended daily allowance of 4.
7 grams.
Eating high potassium foods would make it easy to get the recommended amount.
And you don't have to worry about getting too much -- there is no upper limit to how much potassium you can take in, unless you have poorly working kidneys, have Addison's disease, are on potassium sparing diuretics or have one of the even more rare diseases that require a low potassium diet.
With sodium we have the opposite problem.
Most of the foods in the American diet are loaded with sodium.
The Institute of Medicine has set an upper intake level for sodium of 5.
8 grams a day.
More than 95% of men and 75% of women exceed that amount in their diet.
With a low potassium intake, the sodium/potassium balance is off.
Eating high potassium foods and low sodium foods will restore the balance and help the body to function better and the individual to have a greater feeling of well-being.
Our body can get the potassium through medications, supplements or by eating high potassium foods.
Potassium is the main positively charged atom inside each of our cells.
Sodium is the main positively charged atom outside our cells.
Potassium is involved in a large number of the chemical reactions inside our cells.
Along with sodium, potassium maintains the membrane potential (the electrical difference between the inside and the outside of the cell) in our cells, and helps propel many of the actions of the cell, being one of the regulators of ATP (the big energy supplier of the cell).
The cell membrane is to the cell what our skin is to our body, keeping inside what should be inside, and keeping outside what should be outside.
Potassium is heavily involved in the function of the nerve cells and muscle cells.
When a nerve cell sends a message to another nerve cell or a different cell, it does it by sending potassium and sodium across the cell membrane changing the membrane potential into an action potential, shooting an electrical signal along the nerve.
For muscle cells to contract, potassium, sodium and calcium are involved.
Since potassium is so important, it must be true that we get enough from our food.
No, not true.
Even though potassium is in many foods, most of those foods have small amounts.
The average American only gets 2 grams a day of potassium -- less than half the recommended daily allowance of 4.
7 grams.
Eating high potassium foods would make it easy to get the recommended amount.
And you don't have to worry about getting too much -- there is no upper limit to how much potassium you can take in, unless you have poorly working kidneys, have Addison's disease, are on potassium sparing diuretics or have one of the even more rare diseases that require a low potassium diet.
With sodium we have the opposite problem.
Most of the foods in the American diet are loaded with sodium.
The Institute of Medicine has set an upper intake level for sodium of 5.
8 grams a day.
More than 95% of men and 75% of women exceed that amount in their diet.
With a low potassium intake, the sodium/potassium balance is off.
Eating high potassium foods and low sodium foods will restore the balance and help the body to function better and the individual to have a greater feeling of well-being.