Adequate potassium intake is vital to bone health because it optimizes calcium retention by the body. If you don't eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, you lose calcium through urine. Insufficient potassium levels throw your pH balance into an acidic state, when it should be slightly more alkaline. Eating potassium foods and taking dietary supplements that increase alkalinity restore the pH balance, allowing your bones to store calcium and retain their density and strength.
Step 1
Evaluate how much potassium you normally get from food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database lists the mineral content of common foods by serving size. The USDA recommends 4,700mg of potassium daily to maintain adult bone health.
Step 2
Test your body pH in order to increase potassium intake safely. According to Dr. Susan Brown at the Center for Better Bones, urine readings should ideally test between pH of 6.5 and 7.5; saliva readings should fall between 7.0 and 7.5.
Step 3
Take potassium citrate supplements. A daily mineral supplement to a healthy diet can actually increase bone density, according to findings published in the "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology" by Swiss researcher Dr. Reto Krapf.
Step 4
Eat potassium-rich vegetables often. According to the USDA, a healthy diet should include spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cooked dry beans and squash.
Step 5
Eat potassium-rich fruits frequently. The USDA reports that the highest content is found in raisins, bananas and tomatoes.
Step 6
Eat potassium-rich fish. Rockfish has high potassium content, and salmon has high levels of both potassium and calcium that contribute significantly to bone health, according to the USDA.
Step 7
Choose alkaline-forming foods more often. The Center for Better Bones suggests berries, melons, papaya, nectarines, orange squash, leafy greens, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Step 8
Select acid-forming foods and beverages less often. These include fatty meats, shellfish, cheese, walnuts, white sugar and white flour, coffee, carbonated sodas and soy milk, according to the Center for Better Bones.
Tips and Warnings
- You can purchase home pH test kits online or at some pharmacies. You'll need to test your urine or saliva first thing in the morning. Increase potassium intake in general by adhering to the USDA recommendation for daily fruit and vegetable intake. A healthy diet should include 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables.
- The National Institutes of Health advise getting a doctor's advice before increasing potassium intake if you have kidney problems. Tolerable upper level intakes can't be definitively determined scientifically. Potassium deficiency decreases bone health and also contributes to autoimmune diseases, including cancer, according to Dr. Reto Krapf's research into potassium citrate.
Things You'll Need
- Body pH test kit
- Sources of dietary potassium
- Potassium citrate mineral supplements
