HOUR 2
The Power of Potassium – Improving Bone and Organ Health– Carolyn Dean MD ND
Is Potassium Important for Good Health?
In my eBook, ReMag & ReMyte – Invisible Minerals Part II, I talk about the importance of potassium:
Potassium is the third most abundant element in the human body.. Potassium is mostly found inside the cells to the tune of 98%, whereas 98%...
HOUR 2
The Power of Potassium – Improving Bone and Organ Health– Carolyn Dean MD ND
Is Potassium Important for Good Health?
In my eBook, ReMag & ReMyte – Invisible Minerals Part II, I talk about the importance of potassium:
- Potassium is the third most abundant element in the human body.. Potassium is mostly found inside the cells to the tune of 98%, whereas 98% of the body’s sodium is found outside the cells. The intracellular-to-extracellular dance of potassium and sodium helps create and conduct electrical impulses in muscle cells and nerves. Calcium and magnesium have a similar dance card.
- Potassium deficiency leads to muscle cramps and arrhythmias, but to a lesser extent than magnesium deficiency, the reason being that potassium deficiency is less common than magnesium deficiency.
- Since 98% of potassium is found inside the cells, measuring potassium in the blood can be misleading. We have the same problem with measuring magnesium. Potassium is an important electrolyte for electrical conductivity in the heart, as is magnesium. So medicine is unable to measure the two most important electrolyte minerals that create the electrical conductivity of the heart. Like most other minerals, potassium activates various enzymes; the most surprising one is related to sugar metabolism.
In my eBook Pico Potassium: Magnesium’s Best Friend, I write about the significant role of potassium in preventing strokes, kidney stones, improving bone health, and type 2 diabetes. I will include a few of these references in this blog:
- Potassium and Stroke – NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
FDA approves the following health claim: “Diets containing foods that are a good source of potassium and that are low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.”
- Potassium and Kidney Stones – NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
The most common type of kidney stones contains calcium in the form of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. Low potassium intake impairs calcium reabsorption in kidney tubules, increasing urinary calcium excretion and potentially causing hypercalciuria and kidney stones.
- Potassium And Bone Health – NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
Observational studies suggest that increased consumption of potassium from fruits and vegetables is associated with increased bone mineral density and improved bone health.
- Potassium and Type 2 Diabetes – NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
Magnesium deficiency is a marker for diabetes and has an effect on insulin secretion. Unfortunately, that information is not applied clinically. Potassium is also needed for insulin secretion from pancreatic cells and hypokalemia impairs insulin secretion, possibly leading to glucose intolerance and eventually Type 2 Diabetes.
- Potassium for Cardiac Arrhythmias - National Council on Potassium
Maintenance of optimal potassium levels (at least 4.0 mmol/L) is critical in these patients and routine potassium monitoring is mandatory. The co-administration of magnesium should be considered to facilitate the cellular uptake of potassium. They leave out the fact that magnesium itself is crucial to prevent and treat heart arrhythmias.
The Relationship between Potassium and Magnesium
A potassium deficiency may be found on a blood test but not show a magnesium deficiency. If you have low magnesium and low potassium, your potassium won’t improve when you take potassium supplements unless you also take magnesium. Because doctors don’t use an accurate test for magnesium, they never find the underlying problem. Additionally, low potassium levels can increase urinary magnesium loss, and magnesium deficiency exacerbates a potassium deficiency.
The RDA for potassium is 4-5 grams, which is 4,000-5,000mg daily, because potassium levels in the body are quite high. You can get potassium through your diet, especially if you eat a lot of vegetables. But throwing away the cooking water also throws away all the potassium. Here is a list of some potassium-rich foods:
- all green, leafy vegetables
- bananas
- nuts
- avocados
- citrus fruit
- potatoes
Should I Take Potassium Supplements?
After medical school and during my naturopathic training and when I was researching my Magnesium Miracle book, l learned that potassium has very important interactions with magnesium, however I was still reluctant to recommend potassium supplements because of the FDA ruling that a potassium supplement can only contain 99 mgs of potassium per dose. Instead, I encouraged people to make potassium broth and eat lots of vegetables, thinking that would be enough.
I changed my mind about potassium supplements when I began embracing the Keto diet and realized people were no longer eating enough vegetables. Also some of my customers with atrial fibrillation, even though they were becoming saturated with ReMag, still had symptoms, which I realized were probably due to low potassium.. Some people were recommending cream of tartar powder for its high potassium content – but I was concerned that they wouldn’t know how much potassium they were taking and could overdose or under dose.
What If I Need More Potassium?
Exactly. Years of experience show me that many of our customers needed more potassium. When I decided to make Pico Potassium, I realized all I needed to do was concentrate the stabilized ion of potassium chloride that we have in ReMyte. On our FDA-compliant label, the dose on Pico Potassium is 99 mg per ¼ tsp. I recommend that if someone is not getting 4,700 mg of potassium in their diet; if their blood level of potassium isn’t in the high normal range; if they have heart rhythm symptoms even when they are saturated with 2-4 tsp of ReMag a day; or if they are on a diuretic, they can take Pico Potassium.
Sharing the Potassium Love
Here is a report from a customer taking our Pico Potassium:
I’m on my 3rd day of Pico Potassium and I don’t how to express it other than to say, I have reached another positive level of wellness, another level of calmness, in spite of the turmoil around us. Please convey my gratitude to the wonderful Dr Dean and her Team for this product. And it also tastes good as well. What a combination they all make together. I suddenly love my water.
Tonight on our weekly radio show, Dr. Carolyn Dean will be talking about The Power of Potassium with our listeners and call-in radio show guests. Please plan to join us at 7pm eastern 4pm pacific. You’ll be encouraged by the information you learn, motivated by the health opportunities that are available to you, and energized to move forward confidently in the direction of your health desires!
About Dr. Carolyn Dean
Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND has been featured on national media for over 30 years offering practical strategies to improve health, vitality, and well-being the natural way. As a medical doctor, naturopath, certified clinical nutritionist and master of many modalities including acupuncture and homeopathy, Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND has authored over 33 books and 100 publications including The Magnesium Miracle, 3rd Edition, Hormone Balance, Future Health Now Encyclopedia and Heart Health. Please note that the information and opinions expressed on these broadcasts are not designed to constitute advice or recommendations as to any disease, ailment, or physical condition. You should not act or rely upon any information contained in these broadcasts without seeking the advice of your personal physician. If you have any questions about the information or opinions expressed during these broadcasts, please contact your doctor.
Video Version: https://youtu.be/Oe8WnbKqW9I
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