Potassium is a mineral your body uses to perform nerve and muscle functions, such as keeping your heart beating. If you do not have enough potassium, you can experience a condition known as hypokalemia, which can have severe effects on your heart if left untreated. To combat this, your physician might recommend taking a potassium supplement. Just as having too little potassium can have harmful effects, so can having too much potassium. Understanding the potential effects from a potassium supplement is important in preventing adverse side...
As an electrolyte, it conducts electricity throughout the body. The mineral is critical for functioning of the muscles, the digestive system and the heart. If you suspect a potassium deficiency, consult your physician for guide...
Potassium plays an important role in supporting the health of your cells, especially the cells in your muscles and bones. Although this mineral is essential to your overall health, iodine has the greatest impact on your thyroid...
Potassium is a mineral crucial to the smooth functioning of your body. Low levels of potassium can lead to a dangerous condition called hypokalemia. Herbs such as stinging nettle, chickweed and dandelion possess copious amounts...
When you think of allergies, you may think of pollen or eating fish, but any substance that enters your body has potential to trigger an allergic reaction. A common side effect of taking potassium supplements is an allergic rea...
The electrolyte potassium plays a role in many tissues and cells of the body, but too much can cause problems. Most people get enough potassium from food, but in some cases a potassium supplement may be necessary. However, supp...
Hydrochlorothiazide can deplete potassium because the increased urination removes some potassium along with the salt. Your doctor will likely give you instructions on maintaining proper potassium levels when you start taking hy...
Doctors also prescribe atenolol to improve survival after a heart attack, to prevent angina and migraine headaches, and to treat glaucoma. Atenolol may increase potassium blood levels, which can be dangerous. If you take atenol...
Potassium is a dietary mineral that also serves as an electrolyte, which is capable of conducting electricity. Potassium supplements in the U.S. contain no more than 99 mg of potassium per tablet by law and are available in man...
Aldactone and potassium supplements are dangerous to take together. While Aldactone forces your kidneys to hold on to potassium, the supplement increases the amount of circulating potassium in your blood. If you are taking a po...
Occasional heartburn is a relatively common occurrence, but more chronic heartburn is the primary symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease, known as GERD. While potassium supplements generally do not cause symptoms of GERD, t...
Potassium may even help you lower your blood pressure, as well as your risk for kidney stones, stroke and osteoporosis. However, getting too much potassium from supplements can be dangerous and cause heart problems.
The symptoms include a burning or gnawing pain in your stomach and upper abdomen and an uncomfortable full feeling after eating -- regardless of the amount eaten. Nausea and vomiting are also common symptoms. Several factors ma...
Just as too little potassium can be dangerous, too much potassium can be problematic -- and sometimes life-threatening -- if you do not take the correct dosage. Knowing how to recognize the symptoms of excess potassium intake i...
Certain diseases of the kidneys and gastrointestinal diseases can reduce your potassium levels and require supplementation. Your physician will prescribe potassium supplements in the dosage your body requires, which you should ...
Only your doctor can determine whether you need to take potassium supplements when you take hydrochlorothiazide; taking potassium supplements when you don't need them can be hazardous.
The combination of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, and potassium supplements can be a deadly cocktail. NSAIDs can increase the level of potassium in your blood, leading to kidney problems and other potentially ...
Diet is by far the best source of potassium. Many of the foods rich in potassium also contain an array of nutrients essential to your health. Beyond diet, potassium supplements are available, but you must use them only when dir...
If your serum potassium levels fall below what is healthy, however, your doctor will likely prescribe potassium supplements. She will also talk to you about what to expect, such as potential reactions, while taking
A major function of the kidneys is to filter excess fluids, minerals and wastes from the blood. When the kidneys no longer work, fluid and toxic waste products build up in your body. Dialysis then does the job your failed kidne...
However, if you are not eating the right kinds of food, or if you have a condition that causes your body to excrete more potassium than what is normal, expect your doctor to recommend a high-potassium diet, as well as potassium...
You need potassium for normal heart rhythm, muscle contraction and several other everyday functions. Having a well-rounded, balanced diet that includes a variety of foods should provide all of the potassium you need, but someti...
Minerals are inorganic substances that originate from soil and water. While you should get enough potassium from your diet, having absorption problems or poor diet may require you to take a dietary supplement. If you decide to ...
Potassium is an important mineral and electrolyte critical for your body's function. However, taking potassium supplements can cause an imbalance in minerals in your body, resulting in water retention. Water retention, or edema...
A potassium deficiency can occur if you are taking certain medications or don't get enough potassium in your diet. Most healthy people get adequate potassium from their diets and do not need to take potassium supplements. Ask y...
In most cases, you get the potassium you need through diet. Some instances, such as the use of certain medications or certain health conditions, make potassium supplementation necessary. It may also have a therapeutic effect in...
You would typically use a potassium supplement if your diet does not supply enough potassium -- or if you have a potassium deficiency due to illness or treatments with certain prescribed drugs such as diuretics. Doctors also re...
Potassium is a positively charged electrolyte. Different concentrations of electrolytes on either side of a neuron, or nerve cell, make it possible for one nerve to transmit a signal to the second nerve. While potassium chlori...
Many people do not consume as much potassium as they should, according to the Institute of Medicine, and since most people do not regularly consume excessive amounts of potassium they did not set an upper intake level. However,...
Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic often used to treat hypertension and also edema, or fluid retention, and congestive heart failure. It is a thiazide diuretic, the most commonly used type of diuretic and one of the least expen...
However, certain health conditions can lead to a potassium deficiency, and potassium supplements can help to counteract that deficiency.
People who do not obtain enough potassium in their diet or those with underlying medical conditions that cause potassium loss may need to increase the amount of potassium in the body through the use of liquid potassium suppleme...
Usually, people get enough potassium each day by consuming foods rich in this nutrient, including fish, beans, fruits, vegetables and meat. Potassium supplements are orally administered capsules that help raise your blood potas...
Including potassium-rich foods, such as potatoes, bananas, spinach and raisins, in your diet is the best way to get your daily dose of potassium. If you can't get enough potassium through your diet, incorporating potassium supp...
The mineral helps maintain electrolyte and fluid balance, and controls nerve conduction and muscle contraction. Chloride, which carries a negative charge, is found outside of the cells. Chloride helps maintain acid-base balance...
Most people get adequate amounts of potassium from their diets. People that do not get enough potassium in their diets or who have an illness that causes potassium loss, however, may require the use of potassium supplements to ...
Potassium is vitally important for healthy functioning of all cells in the body. Although most people obtain an adequate amount from fruits and vegetables, a doctor may prescribe supplements containing this mineral for certain ...
It is important for the normal functioning of cells, especially the electrical functions of the heart, nerve and muscle cells according to "Physiology" by Linda Costanzo, Ph.D. Many conditions and medications cause the potassiu...
The National Institutes of Health website, MedlinePlus, lists the many body systems in which potassium is needed; these include the digestive system, the cardiovascular system and the nervous system. If potassium levels in the...
Consult a physician for a diagnosis to determine if low potassium is the cause of muscle weakness. A common treatment plan for low potassium involves a change in diet and potassium supplements.
It's particularly important to the heart, muscles and digestion. Potassium is abundant in the diet, and most people don't need supplements. But some medical conditions can sometimes cause a deficit that requires supplementation...
According to Mayoclinic.com, everyone experiences diarrhea at some point, although severity is dependent on a variety of factors. If diarrhea persists for more than a few days, you can become depleted in fluids and minerals lik...
However, lowering the amount of potassium in your diet may be necessary to treat or prevent certain forms of heart disease and kidney disease. Removing high-potassium foods from your diet and taking a potassium-lowering supplem...
An essential electrolyte, potassium comes in several different compounds called salt-forms, according to "Williams Textbook of Endocrinology." The most commonly used potassium supplements used in clinical settings are potassium...
Potassium helps to control the body's fluid balance, transmit nerve signals and help the muscles contract. Although most people don't need to supplement with potassium, there are some circumstances where it may prove beneficial...
Your body cannot make potassium on its own, so you can get it from foods such as bananas, nuts, whole grains and lean meat, or you can take a potassium supplement. There are certain dangers inherent in potassium supplements; ta...
Hypokalemia, or low blood potassium, is rare and is usually the result of a metabolic disease rather than dietary insufficiency. Fruits, vegetables and some nuts and seeds are natural foods sources of potassium, and potassium s...
Adding dietary potassium aids patients on blood pressure medications or diuretics, who tend to lose nutrients through urine.
Low blood levels of potassium can be corrected by eating specific foods or taking mineral supplements...
Most people get enough potassium through their regular diet, but illnesses that include continuous vomiting or diarrhea could cause you to become deficient, a medical condition called hypokalemia. Potassium supplements are avai...
Potassium is an essential component of our diet, required for normal metabolic activity of the body. Due to its electrolytic properties, it's an essential mineral for the functioning of the heart, kidneys and muscles. But too m...
