Most people know of the main benefits of potassium supporting a healthy heart, supporting healthy blood sugars, help bouncing on fluids, things like that. But there are some unexpected, very interesting benefits of potassium we should know about.
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How much potassium do we need?
Out of all the minerals, potassium is needed in the largest quantity—we need 4 700 milligrams of potassium every single day. We don’t require a fraction of that quantity for other nutrients.
With potassium, it’s unique that we need a lot of it primarily because it supports two major areas: the muscles and the nerves. We have these little tiny pumps. They’re called sodium-potassium pumps. We have billions of them in the muscles and in the nervous system and they allow the muscles and nerves to work. They are also necessary in producing energy.
Important points about potassium
There are a couple of really important points about potassium. The first thing is, why are we deficient? Because the average person, especially in the U.S., only consumes about a cup and a half of vegetables per day, and vegetables are one of the best sources of potassium, a cup and a half of vegetables is just not going to be close to what we need. We’re going to need between 7 to 10 cups to get closer to that 4 700 milligrams and include other foods that have potassium.
What foods are high in potassium?
They will tell us: it’s fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, things like that. If we look at a half of a cup of whole grains, we’re going to get less than about 200 milligrams of potassium, and whole grains has phytic acid, which blocks minerals, especially potassium, especially phosphorus, zinc, copper (learn more about why we need copper?), magnesium (learn more about 9 Unexpected Benefits of Magnesium ), and manganese. Whole grains are not a good source of potassium or minerals.
What about refined grains?
With refined grains, we reach out and lose minerals, not to mention all that refined flour that turns into glucose, which then requires potassium to help in its storage of glucose. The more refined grains or sugar that we consume, the less potassium we’re going to have. That’s going to be available, because it’s going to be locked up in the storage of that stored sugar as glycogen, leaving us with a potassium deficiency, as a side note, for those of us that are on the ketogenic diet.
When we do keto and we switch fuel from burning sugar to burning fat, we’re going to be using up this stored sugar, this stored glycogen, and that is going to release a lot of fluid in tissues, and with that, loss of fluid becomes a loss of electrolytes, including potassium. When we start on a ketogenic diet and don’t substitute that potassium, it may end up with keto fatigue.
What about getting potassium from fruit?
Fruit does have some potassium. One apple would give about under 200 milligrams of potassium. But we need 4 700. How many apples would we have to consume? What about all that sugar that comes with fruit? Fruit is also not the best source of potassium because it comes with a lot of sugar.
What about fish or beef?
Fish will actually give potassium. A half a fillet will give us up to 600 milligrams of potassium. Three ounces of beef will give 270 milligrams of potassium. All these other foods will contribute to adding up to the requirements need for potassium.
A potato
One medium-sized potato will give 800 milligrams of potassium, but it will also give a lot of starch and we don’t want to consume potatoes.
The best source of potassium
Leafy greens, avocados and certain greens will give more potassium than others, like swiss chard and beet tops. The cool thing about eating enough greens is that it will also give magnesium.
Why we can become deficient in potassium?
And one interesting thing about potassium is we could be deficient in potassium if we’re low in magnesium, both of those minerals are needed together.
We can become deficient with potassium through diet, which is a very common reason, but the more stress we have, the more potassium we will lose, the more sugar we eat, the more caffeine we consume, the more alcohol, the less potassium we’re going to have in our body diuretics.
For example, there are common reasons why people are deficient in potassium—if we consume too much salt, we can become deficient in potassium because sodium and potassium work together. The more salt we consume, the more potassium we need. And that also goes with the more potassium we consume, the more salt we need, because they both function in their normal ratios, but typically we need at least twice as much potassium as we do sodium and salt, so when we injure ourselves or we go through surgery, our body dumps potassium.
The benefits that are unexpected from potassium
- Number one: cognitive benefits. The nerves and the muscles need potassium. We have nerves in our brain so our brain needs potassium, and when we have sufficient potassium, we support cognitive function, memory, focus, concentration. And when we’re deficient in potassium, we become a bit disoriented.
- Number two: cerebellum support. What is the cerebellum? It’s the back part of our brain that’s involved with coordinated and controlled movements, and if we’re deficient in potassium, we could be a little uncoordinated. How many children that are not coordinated are just deficient in potassium? Since an average child’s diet probably doesn’t get any potassium at all. They consume a lot of ultra processed junk food.
- Number three: mood support. Potassium supports our mood. Potassium can help take us out of a flight or fight mode like a sympathetic nervous system dominant situation. Potassium is really good for people that are in stress. Potassium is very important in calming a person down. Potassium will help uplift someone and bring them up. Potassium will help make a person less irritable, less worried, less fearful. Potassium is really important in stress and stress depletes potassium.
- Number four: potassium will make muscles stronger. This means when we exercise, we’ll be less fatigue. We can also experience fatigue from a loss of sodium as we could from a loss of potassium.
- Number five: potassium can protect us against leg cramps. A lot of people think that leg cramps are always a magnesium deficiency, but we can experience light cramps from a potassium deficiency too.
- Number six: potassium counters the effect from high sodium. Potassium and sodium work together and an average person on a regular diet is going to be much heavier on the sodium balance, than the potassium, and all these things we hear about the negative aspects of too much salt, in reality is a deficiency of potassium. Because potassium protects against the side effects of too much salt, and excessive salt is one of the causes of low potassium.
- Number seven: potassium can help have regular bowel movements; it helps to protect us against constipation. Because potassium is involved with muscle and nerve, and colon is smooth muscle, and if we’re deficient in potassium that smooth muscle is not going to work as well as it should.
