Low Potassium - Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Today , we're gonna talk about low potassium .

Okay ?

The signs , the symptoms , the causes , the treatment , all the details about potassium .

I've done a lot of videos on potassium .

I'm always updating my videos .

I'm finding new information , and I'm also reminding people about things that are really , really important .

And out of all the minerals , I think potassium is at the top of the list as far as importance .

So the reason why we need potassium mainly is because it's a part of a certain enzyme or a pump in all of your cells called the sodium and potassium pump .

Okay ?

That is the pump that keeps , these 2 minerals separated to a certain degree to create a battery effect in your cells .

So potassium is intimately involved in the power in the cells , and I'm talking about the power to generate energy for your nervous system primarily as well as your muscular system .

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All your muscles .

And I'm not just talking about your skeletal muscles from your legs and your arms , but the muscles in your colon , the muscles in the lung , which is the diaphragm , which is a little bit different , but that's not a skeletal muscle , but it allows you to breathe .

So that's a really , really important function right there .

It also is involved in pH , and potassium also works with other minerals like sodium , for example .

It can also work with magnesium .

And so in the diet , for example , if 1 is going too high , the other 1 will also need to go up as well .

For example , you don't have to worry about consuming too much sodium as long as your potassium is at least twice as high .

And so the average person needs like 47 100 milligrams of potassium and like half of that sodium ideally .

But that can increase if you're going up with the sodium .

But the average person is not consuming even close to what they really need of potassium .

And this is why this video is important because most people are deficient in potassium .

So you should know the symptoms .

You should know how you become deficient .

It's not always , from your diet , but the medical term for low potassium is hypocalinemia .

Okay ?

That means low potassium in your blood .

The thing you need to know with potassium is that 98% of all the potassium is located inside the cell .

Only 2% is outside the cell in your blood .

So when you get a blood test , you're really only measuring a very tiny bit , like 2% of all your potassium in your body .

So it's not the best way to know what's going on , deeper inside the body .

An intracellular potassium test is more difficult , and sometimes it's hard to find a lab that will do that .

So let's kinda go through the symptoms of low potassium .

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Number 1 would be muscle weakness .

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Let's say you're climbing up the stairs and you're like , oh my gosh , my legs are just so heavy , or you're starting exercise and you just don't have the gas , you just feel kind of tuckered out .

That can be a potassium deficiency .

This is why it might be good sometimes to take an electrolyte powder with potassium to get more energy while you're exercising .

A lot of times people will feel a significant difference with that .

Now we also have your lungs , which is controlled by the diaphragm .

So in other words , a lack of potassium could affect your breathing .

Right ?

It's harder to breathe .

A lack of potassium can affect the colon muscles , the peristalsis , the pumping action of your digestive system , and that can show up as constipation as a symptom .

And also you can notice , cramping in your calves , in your feet , in other parts of your body .

You can even notice , twitching , but also twitching could be a lack of calcium as well , or even magnesium .

A lot of these minerals kinda cross over , so cramps in your calf could be potassium .

It could be magnesium .

It could be calcium .

So this is why the video to kind of learn a little bit more about the overview of this 1 mineral .

Another common symptom is arrhythmias , the heart rhythm .

Another 1 would be hypertension as in high blood pressure , and even as that might relate to vascular stiffness .

In other words , potassium helps keep the arteries soft , okay , to prevent high blood pressure .

So 90% of all , hypertension is called essential , which means unknown cause .

I think a good portion of that is either a potassium deficiency , insulin resistance , or a low vitamin d situation .

Another symptom , it would be fatigue , and then another 1 , alkalosis .

You have a situation where potassium's intimately involved with helping regulate your pH .

So if your blood is a little bit too alkaline or too acid , potassium is usually involved .

If the pH is , more alkaline in your blood , okay , potassium is gonna move from your blood more into the cell .

So you'll end up with less potassium .

Potassium is also involved in the storage of sugar in your liver and in your muscles .

It's called glycogen .

So if you're consuming sugar , you'll lose potassium in this in the sugar itself .

It kinda gets stuck in the liver and in the muscles .

It becomes unavailable to you unless you use up that sugar .

So , but that's just 1 way that you can become deficient in potassium .

Another symptom would be insomnia .

Another symptom would be a higher pulse rate .

So potassium keeps your pulse rate lower .

And another condition called pulsatile tinnitus .

Now what is that ?

That is a situation where you start hearing your pulse beats .

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It could be a swishing or a pounding where you put your head in the pillow and you just hear your heartbeat just pounding like that .

It's not even necessarily a higher pulse rate .

You just hear or feel your heart rate .

Okay ?

That is a potassium deficiency .

Alright .

So now the question is , how do you become deficient in the first place ?

It could be because you're not consuming foods high in potassium .

That's a common cause .

And then also you're eating a lot of junk foods , which are loaded with sodium .

That really throws off your ratios .

Another few common causes would be , you're losing fluids , like either your vomit , you're doing excessive laxatives where you're you're losing , fluids or you have diarrhea .

That could be the reason why you're deficient in potassium .

Another common thing is diuretics .

Diuretics many times will pull out sodium and potassium .

Stress in general can create a potassium deficiency , and this is why a condition where you have high levels of cortisol , called Cushing's syndrome can give you signs of a potassium deficiency .

So by taking potassium , you can feel calmer .

You can have more energy .

You can have more strength in your muscles , you can have better bowel movements .

But like I mentioned before , potassium is involved with storing sugar .

So 1 way to deplete or shift the available potassium Okay ?

Okay ?

I have done that many times , in my twenties , in my thirties now , and I'm being very sarcastic .

I'm in my fifties , and I haven't consumed , refined sugars in many , many , many years .

But when I used to eat a lot of sugar , I had a lot of these symptoms that we're talking about .

This is why diabetics are usually always deficient in potassium , and they should be consuming a good amount of potassium , the higher their blood sugars are .

And so even potassium can help the insulin work better .

It can help the insulin resistance situation .

Now when someone starts , the ketogenic diet , they lose a lot of , glycogen .

Since a lot of that potassium is stuck in that glycogen , they're gonna also lose a lot of potassium .

This is why when you're on the ketogenic plan , I always recommend take electrolytes to get back that potassium .

So you wanna get heavy potassium , definitely a good amount of sodium as well to get your electrolytes back .

Drinking a tremendous amount of water , forcing yourself to drink like a gallon of water can definitely do it as well .

When you're doing fasting , okay , I always recommend adding more potassium , as well as , sodium , as in sea salts , through the process .

That way , you can keep your electrolytes up because you're not eating any food , And so you need to be taking these nutrients because you don't really store a lot of these electrolytes for a long period of time .

So if you're doing prolonged fasting , you could really end up with a potassium deficiency and feel faint and even pass out , you know , and that's not a good thing .

So take your electrolytes if you're fasting .

If you have low magnesium , that can affect your potassium as well .

Okay ?

Because they it takes a certain amount of magnesium to retain , potassium .

And the last thing that can affect potassium is if you get injured or you go through surgery .

Yeah .

And so that can shock the body .

It's a big , source of stress , and then you could just dump your potassium and end up with hypokalemia .

So what are the best foods to eat your potassium ?

What about a banana ?

Well , a banana has a lot of sugar and it only has like 300 milligrams for a medium sized banana .

You need 47 100 milligrams .

Okay ?

So a banana is not a good source of potassium .

What about potatoes ?

Well , potato has a good amount of potassium , but it also has all that starch .

Unless you consume a raw potato , which you're probably not gonna do , I would avoid potatoes too .

So these are the foods that are high in potassium .

At the top of the list , you have beet leaves .

If you put those in your salad , you'll have a lot of potassium .

You also have any type of leafy green is loaded with potassium .

The salads , any of the cruciferous vegetables , any of the leafy greens will give you enough potassium .

Avocados are a very good source of potassium .

Squash and lima beans have a good amount of potassium .

Now , of course , lima beans are in the bean family .

I don't really recommend consuming a lot of those .

If you're gonna have them , have a small amount .

And we also have salmon , has a good amount of potassium .

So potassium is not just in vegetables , it's also in certain meats as well .

So I hope you now have a better understanding of potassium and a better appreciation of potassium .

If you haven't seen this video on electrolytes that I did , I have a very cool demo in this video to show you how potassium and other electrolytes can power your body .

Check it out .

I put it up right here .