Does Potassium Affect Appetite?

You need potassium, along with sodium and chloride, to keep your body fluids in balance. You also need potassium to metabolize carbohydrates and proteins, to regulate blood pressure and heart rhythm, and for nerve and muscle cell function. Having levels of potassium that are too high or too low in your body can affect your appetite.

Hypokalemia

When your blood potassium levels fall too low, this condition is called hypokalemia. Symptoms include appetite loss. Other symptoms might include intestinal paralysis, which can lead to bloating, abdominal pain and constipation. Hypokalemia might cause muscle cramps, muscle weakness, confusion, constipation and abnormal heart rhythms as well. A large drop in your body's potassium level can cause abnormal heart rhythms that are life threatening.

Research and Causes

In animal research, insufficient potassium intake noticeably reduces appetite and growth, according to "Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals," by the U.S. National Research Council. Low potassium levels in people are most commonly caused not by dietary deficiency, but by excessive potassium loss such as from using diuretics, prolonged vomiting or overuse of laxatives. Other causes might include alcoholism, eating disorders, excessive sweating, antibiotics, kidney disease, magnesium deficiency and eating large amounts of licorice.

Hyperkalemia

Excessive potassium levels in your body also can cause appetite loss, nausea and vomiting, tingling sensations in your hands and feet, and other symptoms similar to hypokalemia, including muscle fatigue, irregular heartbeat and heart attack. Having potassium levels that are too high is called hyperkalemia. Taking certain medications raises your risk for hyperkalemia, including potassium-sparing diuretics such as amiloride and blood pressure medicines such as benazepril. In most cases, hyperkalemia occurs when your potassium intake exceeds your kidneys' capacity to eliminate it and most often is due to decreased urinary excretion of potassium.

Considerations

The recommended intake for potassium is 4,700 mg daily for both men and women. This intake level will reduce your salt sensitivity, reduce your risk for kidney stones and lower your blood pressure. Potassium is found in supplement form and in many foods, including bananas, potatoes, oranges, artichokes, spinach and sunflower seeds. An upper intake level for potassium has not been set by the Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board. However, an oral dose larger than 18,000 mg taken all at once might cause severe hyperkalemia, even if you have normal kidney function.