Potassium is a mineral that's absolutely essential for your muscles and nerves to function properly. Low potassium in the body is called hypokalemia, which can be caused by diarrhea and vomiting, some antibiotics and drugs, kidney disease, eating disorders and by consuming products that contain a lot of licorice. According to the National Library of Medicine, a small reduction in potassium can cause high blood pressure, and a significant deficiency is life threatening.
Step 1
Recognize the symptoms. There usually aren't any symptoms when potassium levels are mildly low, but as blood levels continue to drop, you may experience general symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, constipation or muscle cramps. If the condition is not corrected, your heart may begin to beat irregularly, and the symptoms can progress to paralysis.
Step 2
Talk to your doctor. The only way to find out whether you have low potassium is to have a blood test. In addition to appropriate tests, your doctor can also screen for underlying medical conditions that may impact levels of potassium. If you have kidney disease, you should talk to your doctor before adding potassium to your diet.
Step 3
Eat foods that are high in potassium. It's fairly easy to consume the recommended daily intake of 4.7 grams--or 4,700 mg--a day because potassium is abundantly available in many different foods. The best vegetable sources (from highest to lowest) are baked potatoes (1081 mg), spinach, tomato sauce and juice, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, beets, brussels sprouts, winter squash, artichokes, broccoli, cucumber and corn (391 mg). One cup of raisins has 1,086 mg of potassium, but other great sources of fruit include prunes (796 mg), orange juice, cantaloupe, bananas and grapefruit juice (400 mg). One cup of most any type of beans provides between 530 to 955 mg of potassium. You'll also get plenty of potassium from meat, fish and milk products. Halibut, rockfish and haddock provide 586 to 916 mg. One serving of turkey, pork, veal, beef, milk and yogurt supplies between 320 and 531 mg.
Step 4
Take supplements. The National Library of Medicine says mild hypokalemia can be treated by taking potassium supplements. If your potassium levels are severely low, your doctor may order intravenous potassium.
Step 5
Treat underlying conditions. Some diseases, such as Cushing syndrome (too much cortisol), hyperaldosteronism (adrenal gland secretes too much aldosterone) and Bartter syndrome (rare genetic condition that causes loss of potassium), affect the kidney's ability to retain potassium. Diuretics can cause too much potassium to be excreted. Any medication or medical condition that's affecting your potassium levels must be diagnosed and treated by your physician.
Tips and Warnings
- If you have reason to suspect low potassium from recent diarrhea or vomiting, or if you have heart arrhythmia, muscle weakness or difficulty moving, seek medical help immediately.
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