Potassium is an electrolyte mineral best known for its role in balancing fluids in your body. You should get enough potassium in your diet through a variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts. But certain digestive disorders or having a poor diet may limit potassium in your system, requiring you to take a supplement. Your physician may suggest a potassium supplement in a salt form, such as aspartate, to treat a deficiency. Too much potassium can wreak havoc in your body, interrupting functions of every system, so follow your doctor's orders carefully when you're taking a potassium aspartate supplement.
Function
Potassium is a positively charged cation, a type of atom, residing in the fluid in your cells. It works alongside sodium, another electrolyte resting mainly outside your cells. These electrolytes cross cell membranes as needed, balancing fluids in and around each cell. This process is essential for normal heart rhythm, muscle contraction, nerve communication, kidney function and healthy digestion.
Dosage
Potassium supplements come in several different salt forms, such as chloride, citrate, gluconate, bicarbonate, aspartate and orotate. The type in your supplement may vary, but they are all functional in your system. If you take potassium aspartate, ensure that you do not go over your recommended dietary allowance. As a healthy adult, you need 4,700 mg of potassium daily, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Multivitamin and mineral supplements in the United States do not typically provide more than 99 mg of potassium per dose, because too much can have adverse effects.
Deficiency
Potassium deficiency is known as hypokalemia, which can occur for a variety of reasons. Taking diuretics for high blood pressure, may result in potassium deficiency, but laxatives and steroids may also increase your risk, according to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Excessive vomiting and diarrhea such as that accompanying the flu are the most common causes of hypokalemia. Chronic bowel disorders resulting in constant diarrhea, such as irritable bowel syndrome, may also cause low potassium levels. Before taking potassium aspartate on your own to treat these problems, you should let your physician know so that you don't go overboard.
Toxicity
Potassium toxicity is known as hyperkalemia. It can occur when your blood level of potassium surpasses your kidneys' ability to excrete the mineral. Common side effects of hyperkalemia include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and severe diarrhea. If you take a potassium aspartate supplement, have it right after a meal, or select supplements that are coated, which may prevent gastrointestinal issues related to a large dose of potassium aspartate. In severe cases of chronic hyperkalemia, you can have diminished kidney function.
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