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A
Lesser Known Mineral, But Potassium Is Vital For Every Single
Cell
Potassium
is one of the most important minerals for human health, playing an essential
role in maintaining the correct electro-chemical balance in cells and the proper
functioning of cell membranes. This
role makes potassium vital for muscle contraction (including the heart muscle),
the transmission of nerve impulses, the regulation of blood sugar levels and the
synthesis of vital proteins and acids.
The maintenance of proper potassium levels within cells, particularly in
relation to the corresponding levels of sodium, is consequently crucial for the
well-being of the organism.
Clinical
potassium deficiency (hypokalemia) is therefore a serious and even potentially
fatal medical problem. Fortunately
it is hardly ever seen in the generally healthy population, but has been
encountered in alcoholics, anorexics and bulimics, those taking
certain types
of diuretic drug, those suffering from illnesses causing vomiting or diarrhea, and, believe it or
not, those given to consuming large quantities of licorice.
But although
outright hypokalemia is thankfully very rare, there’s evidence that many people
obtain insufficient dietary potassium for optimum health; and that this
insufficiency may expose them to an increased risk of chronic diseases,
including hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, osteoarthritis and
even cancer.
Ample
evidence of the importance of potassium is provided by the fact that around a third of the body’s at rest energy
expenditure is used in maintaing the potassium/ sodium balance in cells Most people are now familiar with idea
that a high sodium (salt) intake is one of the main risk factors for the
development of high blood pressure, a serious condition if left untreated, but
known as the “silent killer” because of lack of obvious symptoms.
Many
nutritionists now believe, however, that it is not so much high sodium, but low
potassium which may be the real culprit and a substantial
body of research evidence supports the idea that a diet rich in potassium will
indeed help prevent high blood pressure.
The importance of this should not be underestimated, as high blood
pressure is strongly associated with an increased risk of stroke – still one of
the biggest killers in the West.
It
almost goes without saying the that profile of the modern Western diet is far
from helpful in this regard. A diet
high in processed foods is one likely also to be very high in sodium; and a
relatively low consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is also likely to mean
a relatively low intake of dietary potassium. It follows, therefore, that the
proportion of sodium to potassium consumed by the typical modern Westerner is
almost certainly far higher than ever before in human history; and it is not
unreasonable to suppose that that this new imbalance may be a causative factor
in some of the degenerative “diseases of affluence”, sadly so characteristic
of modern urban
societies.
By
far the best way to ensure an adequate intake of dietary potassium is to consume
a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables; particularly good sources being
bananas and potatoes (in their jackets).
Fresh fruit juices, including tomato and orange, also provide a good
supply, as do green vegetables such as spinach and dried fruits such as
raisins. Soil depletion, however,
means that even these foods are poorer in minerals, potassium included, than
they used to be; and research suggests that most adults eating a typical Western
diet obtain only around 2,000- 3,000 mg of potassium a day.
This
figure needs to be set against the adequate intake established by the US
Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board
of
4,700 mg. And it should also be
noted that for those consuming a typical modern diet, high in refined and
processed foods, the potassium requirement will be even higher because of the
very high sodium content of such a diet.
For athletes, and those undertaking strenuous physical work, or intensive
exercise programmes, the requirements may be still higher because of greater
losses of potassium from the body during these activities.
Nevertheless, nutritional therapists
do not generally recommend commercially available potassium supplements, as
these normally contain quantities too low to be effective. But high dose supplements are in any
case potentially dangerous, as they may have profound effects on the body’s
biochemical balance, and should therefore not be taken except under medical
supervision. Where the diet is
inadequate in potassium, however, this may be simply remedied by using as a food
seasoning a low sodium/high potassium salt substitute available from any good
supermarket.
As always,
however, the body’s holistic functioning means that potassium works best in the
presence of a good supply of every other vital nutrient and so it is always
worth taking a good quality and comprehensive multi-vitamin/multi-vitamin
preparation.
Steve
Smith
March
2008
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