Welcome back to the Mineral Series!  We enjoyed exploring the magnificence of Magnesium last week. This week we are going to talk about the essential mineral Potassium.  As we are learning in this series, minerals are the building blocks for all the chemical processes that are needed for our body to function properly– from supporting cellular function and nerve/energy transmission to proper heart beat and muscle contraction/release.

Potassium
This mineral is the third most abundant mineral in the body, making it possible for various functions to occur.  It’s primary role is to help maintain proper fluid and electrolyte balance in the body, which provides a wide array of benefits such as:

• Essential for heart health-
  • Helps regulate a healthy heart beat
  • Can reduce the rate of possible stroke
  • Assists with maintaining healthy blood pressure levels
• Helps reduce appearance of cellulite (cellulite can be a product of fluid retention due to too much sodium and not enough Potassium)
• Beneficial for Bone health because it can help increase bone density (fantastic for osteoporosis)
• Prevents muscle cramping (we have many customers that have found Potassium to be beneficial for relieving leg cramps)

Foods with Potassium
The daily amount of required Potassium is about 3,400 milligrams for men and 2,600 milligrams for women per day.  That being said, most people do not obtain enough of the daily required amount of Potassium.  Here are the foods that contain Potassium and how much they may contain to get an idea on how much you’ll need to eat to meet this higher threshold:

• White Beans — 1 cup cooked: 1,004 milligrams
• Lima Beans — 1 cup cooked: 955 milligrams
• Avocado — 1 whole: 690 milligrams
• Broccoli — 1 cup cooked: 458 milligrams
• Sweet Potato — 1 medium: 438 milligrams
• Bananas — 1 medium: 422 milligrams
• Salmon — 3 ounces: 416 milligrams
• Peas — 1 cup cooked: 384 milligrams
• Sardines — 1 can/3.75 grams: 365 milligrams
• Grapefruit — 1 whole: 354 milligrams

Supplementing with Potassium
If you think you may need to boost your daily required amount of Potassium or if you feel like you need help keeping your fluid or electrolyte balance up or to help in one of the other mentioned benefits above– then you always have the option of supplementing with the following:

• Nature’s Way Potassium Complex— This is a Potassium Citrate supplement that will yield 99mg of Potassium per capsule and is a great option to start with since it is a great price.  It is also good for uric acid and gout support.
• Now Potassium Gluconate—  This form of Potassium is said to be a more absorb-able form of Potassium and will help with a wider range of benefits.
• Now Potassium Iodide— This form of Potassium can help with thyroid health in general and can also protect the thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine (which can be detrimental on the thyroid).  This supplement is for temporary use.

Coupling with Potassium
Electrolyte Stamina— This formula includes Potassium along with the other electrolyte minerals.
Water Out— This formula includes Potassium along with herbs that can help relieve the effects of water retention in the body that may cause swelling.
Potassium and Magnesium— This pair is great taken together for muscle cramps, proper fluid balance, heart health and nervous system support in general!

Lack of the essential mineral Potassium is one of the most overlooked minerals in addressing various ailments in the body.  This could be a great first avenue to explore to help increase over-all wellness– try adding more Potassium to your daily regimen!

As always, do what you feel is best for YOUR body — if you aren’t sure, ask your doctor.  We are health ENTHUSIASTS not licensed practitioners.