14) "AS YET UNPROVEN" SUPPLEMENTS

e) Potassium

We've all heard that we should eat bananas because of the potassium they contain. Bananas are a tropical fruit with high amounts of sugar. We recommend anyone with type 2 diabetes avoid bananas. But wheat germ is an excellent substitute, with high amounts of potassium, low amounts of sodium, and large amounts of fiber. Any diet rich in vegetables and meat probably has enough potassium, as long as salt is not added to food and processed food is kept to a minimum.

Having said that there is a certain archeological foundation for using potassium rich foods. It is only in modern times that mankind began eating large amounts of table salt (sodium). Prior to that mankind probably ate about equal amounts of potassium and sodium. Note that most cardiologists do not recommend potassium containing "Lite Salt". Too much potassium in its simplest form can cause heart arrythmias and death.

Again, turning to Wikipedia for its concise but understandable references:

Potassium in the diet and by supplement

Adequate intake
A potassium intake sufficient to support life can generally be guaranteed by eating a variety of foods, especially plant foods. Clear cases of potassium deficiency (as defined by symptoms, signs and a below-normal blood level of the element) is rare in healthy individuals eating a balanced diet. Foods with high sources of potassium include orange juice, potatoes, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, broccoli, soybeans, brown rice, garlic and apricots, although it is also common in most fruits, vegetables and meats.

Optimal intake
Epidemiological studies and studies in animals subject to hypertension indicate that diets high in potassium can reduce the risk of hypertension and possibly stroke (by a mechanism independent of blood pressure), and a potassium deficiency combined with an inadequate thiamine intake has produced heart disease in rats. With these findings, the question of what is the intake of potassium consistent with optimal health, is debated. For example, the 2004 guidelines of the Institute of Medicine specify a DRI of 4,000 mg of potassium (100 mEq), though most Americans consume only half that amount per day, which would make them formally deficient as regards this particular recommendation. Similarly, in the European Union, particularly in Germany and Italy, insufficient potassium intake is somewhat common.

Medical supplementation and disease
Supplements of potassium in medicine are most widely used in conjunction with loop diuretics and thiazides, classes of diuretics which rid the body of sodium and water, but have the side effect of also causing potassium loss in urine. A variety of medical and non-medical supplements are available. Potassium salts such as potassium chloride may be dissolved in water, but the salty/bitter taste of high concentrations of potassium ion make palatable high concentration liquid supplements difficult to formulate. Typical medical supplemental doses range from 10 milliequivalents (400 mg, about equal to a cup of milk or 6 oz. of orange juice) to 20 milliequivalents (800 mg) per dose. Potassium salts are also available in tablets or capsules, which for therapeutic purposes are formulated so allow potassium to leach slowly out of a matrix, since very high concentrations of potassium ion (which might occur next to a solid tablet of potassium chloride) can kill tissue, and cause injury to the gastric or intestinal mucosa. For this reason, non prescription supplement potassium pills are limited by law in the U.S. to only 99 mg of potassium.

Individuals suffering from kidney diseases may suffer adverse health effects from consuming large quantities of dietary potassium. End stage renal failure patients undergoing therapy by renal dialysis must observe strict dietary limits on potassium intake, since the kidneys control potassium excretion, and buildup of blood concentrations of potassium may trigger fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

Insidermedicine, From Boston - (January 13, 2009) -

According to research in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the urinary excretion ratio of sodium to potassium may predict heart disease risk. In a study of nearly 3,000 people, researchers found that, compared with a normal ratio, the highest sodium-potassium ratios indicated a 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease. That is, too much sodium and too little potassium may increase the risk of stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular events.

An expansion on the same study by the National Institute of Health adds weight to the theory that less sodium and more potassium is beneficial:

January 26, 2009

Sodium/Potassium Ratio Linked to Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Two nutrients, sodium and potassium, likely work together to affect blood pressure and heart disease risk, according to a new study. Nearly 1 in 3 adult Americans has high blood pressure—defined as 140/90 mmHg or higher—and about 37% have pre-hypertension, which is defined as 120-139/80-89 mmHg. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work too hard and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart disease and stroke, the first- and third-leading causes of death nationwide. In the past, researchers funded by NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) showed that long-term interventions to reduce sodium intake in people with prehypertension can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The new Trials of Hypertension Prevention Follow-up Study involved almost 3,000 participants who were 30 to 54 years old and had prehypertension. Researchers collected urine intermittently during 24-hour periods over 18 months in one trial and 36 months in another. They then compared the urinary levels of sodium and potassium with subsequent cardiovascular diseases during 10 to 15 years of follow-up. The results, published in the January 12, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, showed a significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease with higher ratios of sodium to potassium. A high sodium/potassium ratio was a stronger indicator of increased risk among the participants in the study than levels of either sodium or potassium alone. These results support previous findings that lowering dietary sodium intake while increasing potassium intake can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease. “This means that the general population should eat foods low in sodium and high in potassium,” says Dr. Eva Obarzanek of NHLBI’s Division of Prevention and Population Studies, one of the study’s co-authors.

Recent national nutrition surveys show that, on average, Americans consume about 3300 mg of sodium per day (almost 1-1/2 tsp per day of salt) and 2600 mg potassium per day. These are far from the recommended goals of 2300 mg or less for sodium and 4700 mg or more for potassium. In fact, a recent report found that only 13% of the population is meeting the sodium goal and well below 5% is meeting the potassium goal. “First and foremost, people need to read nutrition labels on foods and choose foods that are low in sodium,” Obarzanek says. “People can get accustomed to a lower sodium level if they persist in consuming a diet low in sodium. Over time, the taste and preference for salt decreases.” You can boost your potassium intake by choosing more whole unprocessed foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fresh or frozen meat, poultry and fish, and low-fat or non-fat milk products. These foods tend to be low in sodium as well.

Unfortunately most potassium supplements are dangerous. We can find no research which supports taking organic potassium as a supplement. Wheat germ is probably the best source. The best course of action appears to be to alter the sodium to potassium ration by removing salt shakers from the kitchen and the dining room. Simply don't use salt and don't eat a lot of pre-prepared food, which tends to be loaded in sodium.

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Current Chapter: 14) "AS YET UNPROVEN" SUPPLEMENTS

a) Introduction
b) The Good and the Bad
c) Vitamins and Antioxidants
d) Calcium and Dairy Intake
e) Potassium
f) Phytonutrients, Catechins and Flavonoids
g) Cinnamon
h) Herbal Supplements
i) Other "Panaceas"
j) Alcohol and Coffee

 

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