Potassium – What Is It Good For? Key Facts About Its Function in the Body
Electrolytes are incredibly important in maintaining the water balance of the human body. Potassium is one of the most important electrolytes, essential for ensuring proper functioning of the heart, muscles and nervous system. It also helps regulate blood pressure, supports cell hydration and concentration.
Potassium is definitely one of these elements about which it’s worth knowing something more, especially when you care for your health and wellbeing. What potassium is helpful for? What are its properties? Can it be harmful in excessive amounts?
Spis treści
- Everything you need to know about potassium
- Meaning of potassium
- When might potassium be helpful for you?
- Daily body’s demand for potassium - how much to take?
- What types of foods contain potassium?
- Potassium deficiency - what is the reason?
- Low potassium - symptoms
- High potassium - reasons
- Too high potassium - symptoms
- Choose your best potassium supplements from OstroVit!
Meaning of potassium
Potassium is a crucial mineral and electrolyte in the human body. Mostly it can be found in intracellular fluids, but also in bones and digestive juices. This element is necessary for many enzymatic processes and mechanisms related to the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins.
Potassium is also responsible for proper transmission of nerve impulses, it also supports muscles and helps maintain optimal water balance in the organism. As one of the most important macroelements it helps to keep optimal functioning of heart muscle, regulates blood pressure and stimulates the nervous system. Additionally, it influences protein synthesis, is crucial in the process of removing metabolic waste products and stabilises cell membrane functions.
When might potassium be helpful for you?
The list of benefits from maintaining the right amount of potassium in the human body is quite long. First of all, this macroelement is responsible for conduction of nerve impulses. Common results of potassium deficiency is tingling and numbness in the limbs, problems with memorizing or nervous hyperactivity.
An appropriate level of this element in the human body is crucial for well functioning of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system. Potassium not only regulates water and electrolyte balance and acid-base balance, but also supports heart functioning and helps to keep optimal blood pressure. It protects against cramps and muscle weakness, supports cell oxygenation and facilitates absorption of nutrients. Plus, it plays an important role in keeping glycogen stores in muscles, which is significant for physically active people.
Daily body’s demand for potassium - how much to take?
Insufficient potassium’s supply in the human body may cause many health problems, including muscle cramps, palpitations or overall weakness of the organism. Demand for this element depends on many factors, health conditions and lifestyle. According to WHO’s recommendations, the daily dose of potassium for people of age above 16 should be 3510 mg.
Increased demand for potassium can occur with chronic illnesses, intensive training and also as a result of taking significant medications. You need to remember about supplementation of this mineral especially during high blood pressure therapy with diuretic medications, which can increase excretion of potassium in the urine. Diuretics can cause potassium deficiency, that’s why the level of this element should be under medical supervision.
What types of foods contain potassium?
Potassium is a macroelement that should be regularly supplied to the body with food. A balanced diet and appropriate amounts of food adjusted to the patient's age, physical condition and lifestyle are very important. This mineral is commonly present in food - excellent source of potassium include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, groats, bran, meat, fish and dried fruits (dried apricots, figs, plums, raisins).
Consumed food can cover daily potassium requirements - but it’s crucial to eat well-composed meals, which is not always easy.
Potassium deficiency - what is the reason?
Insufficient potassium intake can deplete its store in the body. The most common reason for the lack of this substance in the system is a poor diet low in fruits and vegetables.
Lowering potassium levels may be also caused by factors such as:
- excessive sweating
- pancreatic disfunction
- kidneys problems
- chronic diarrheas and nausea
- eating disorders
- use of diuretic medications
What’s significantly dangerous is long-term potassium deficiency, which may cause irregular heartbeat and major increase of blood pressure. That’s why you should carefully monitor your body and not avoid any disturbing symptoms.
Low potassium - symptoms
Excessive decrease of potassium in blood can manifest as irregular heartbeat, muscle cramps, apathy and depressed mood. Moreover, within many people struggling with too low density of this element these symptoms are common: feeling of weakness, tiredness and fatigue. It’s extremely important that also the increased blood pressure could be caused by potassium deficits, or even skeletal muscle paralysis.
Low potassium concentration increases the risk of strokes, ischemic heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. That’s why you should monitor the elements’ level in your blood - especially when you are at risk.
Recommended potassium dietary supplements
High potassium - reasons
Potassium is a mineral whose concentration in the body is regulated by proper kidney function. When its intake with food exceeds demand, in healthy people excess potassium is excreted with urine and does not adversely affect health.
Too high a concentration of potassium in your body might occur because of:
- kidney insufficiency
- excessive supplementation
- use of medications reducing potassium excretion (e.g. angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
- adrenal insufficiency
- metabolic acidosis
Potassium surplus has a negative impact on the body, causing dangerous heart rhythm disorders and impairing nervous system function.
Too high potassium - symptoms
Excessive potassium levels are rarely caused by eating habits. It is more common that elevated results are due to unmonitored supplement intake or kidney and pancreas diseases. Typical symptoms of too high potassium levels include heart rhythm disturbances, tingling in the limbs, muscle weakness, and in extreme cases - cardiac arrest.
Choose your best potassium supplements from OstroVit!
Potassium has a huge impact on the body, regulating water and electrolyte balance as well as acid-base homeostasis. Its concentration in blood is important for proper functioning of the nervous and cardiac systems. If you struggle with potassium deficiency symptoms or you need to be sure its supply in your body is at the right level, you can consider implementing supplementation into your diet.
The OstroVit e-store provides you with a wide choice of products containing potassium, available in the form of tablets, capsules and drops. Their use can help cover daily potassium requirements, especially among sports enthusiasts, older adults and people at risk of excessive potassium loss.
Everything you need to know about potassium
Potassium both with magnesium and calcium forms the foundations of proper human body functioning. Regular heart work, muscle and nervous system function, and mental health - it is involved everywhere. Both excess and deficiency may cause serious health disorders. That’s why it’s worth knowing how to supply potassium, how to recognise problems and when to react.
Do you wonder what’s the reason for your fatigue, irritability or night muscle cramps? Maybe it’s not only stress or lack of quality sleep. Maybe your body is showing you it lacks potassium. Don’t ignore the signs. Focus on diet, ensure appropriate intake of potassium-rich foods and if needed - use supplements. Remember, it’s not just a chemical element - it’s a key to maintaining balance, and we all need it.
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