Your body uses potassium to balance the fluid in cells. An important electrolyte, potassium plays a role in many other body functions. Your body gets the potassium it needs from food you eat, including fruits and vegetables, molasses and nuts and seeds. Kidney disease, some gastrointestinal illnesses and some medications can increase your need for potassium and could lead to the need for potassium supplements. You shouldn't take potassium supplements without consulting your doctor.
Cell Balance
The cells in your body contain a balance of sodium and potassium. This balance needs to be maintained for proper nerve, heart and muscle function. Cell walls are porous membranes, which allow for the flow of sodium and potassium in and out of cells. Cells contain a higher concentration of potassium inside the cells and sodium outside of cells. If you don't have enough potassium available the balance of sodium and potassium can't be maintained. The condition of not having enough potassium is called hyperkalemia. This electrolyte imbalance can cause dizziness, nausea, muscle cramps, abdominal pain. Severe hyperkalemia can lead to heart failure.
Enzyme Metabolism
Your body uses enzymes to process carbohydrates, proteins and other foods, in order to derive nutrition from these foods. Potassium works with enzymes for these processes. Without adequate potassium, your body becomes less efficient at converting food to energy.
Disease Prevention
A report in the July 2000 issue of "Stroke" revealed that for black men and for men with a history of high blood pressure, increased potassium intake reduced their risk of stroke. The participants in the study derived potassium from the food in their diets, not from potassium supplements. Those who consumed more potassium on a daily basis had a lower incidence of stroke in the 16.7 years of the study. Research also links higher potassium intake to higher bone density and a lower incidence of kidney stones.
Potassium and Blood Pressure
Consuming more high-potassium foods could lower your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe either a potassium supplement or more high-potassium foods in your diet. The "Journal of the American Medical Association" reported on the link between potassium and blood pressure in 1997. Adding more potassium to the diet of people with hypertension lowered both systolic and diastolic pressures.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University; Potassium; Jane Higdon; February 2004
- PubMed Health; Potassium; September 2008
- "Stroke"; Dietary Potassium Intake and Stroke Mortality; J. Fang, S. Madhavan and M.H. Alderman; July 2000
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Effects of Oral Potassium on Blood Pressure; P.K. Whelton, et. al.; May 1997
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