In this podcast, we’ll discuss the causes and symptoms of potassium deficiency. We need a lot of potassium—around 4700 mg per day! Most people eat a lot of junk food or processed foods high in salt and not enough potassium, which throws off the sodium-potassium ratio. Your body needs a 2:1 ratio of potassium to sodium.

Every cell in the body has a sodium-potassium pump that helps to generate electrical current around the cell, which powers the nervous and muscular systems.

Potassium is also important for the health of your blood vessels. Low potassium is one of the leading causes of high blood pressure; however, it isn’t often used in conventional medicine as a treatment. Over 90% of high blood pressure is essential hypertension, which means the cause is “unknown.”

Here are some signs of potassium deficiency:

•Fatigue

•Muscular issues

•Constipation

•Tremors

•Abnormal heart rhythm

•Mental issues (delirium, hallucinations, psychosis, depression)

•Headaches

•Low back pain

•Dizziness

•Nocturia

•Edema

•Increased pulse rate

•Increased risk of stroke

The most serious symptom of a potassium deficiency is sudden cardiac death. If you have low potassium, your risk for sudden cardiac death increases by 10x.

You could end up with low potassium if you’re not consuming enough potassium-rich foods like leafy greens, squash, nuts, shellfish, bone broth, avocado, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Other potassium deficiency causes include the following:

•Consuming refined sugar, refined starches, and refined grains

•Stress

•Steroids

•Gut inflammation

•Alcohol consumption

DATA:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/f...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/artic...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...