Guidelines for supplementing with potassium?

**skelooth** · 09-01-2005, 12:05 AM

(I thought I'd give ironmass a chance, even though I know i'd get a quicker answer on bb.com

)

I'm on a low carb diet, so my fruit intake is pretty much 0. The staples of my diet 6 days a week are broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, chicken breast/drum/wing, fatty ground beef, bacon, eggs, cream cheese, cheese, and cottage cheese.

I don't see much potassium in those foods. So I picked up some potassium 99mg caps at the store today. I was just going to throw a 99mg cap in with my other pwo supplements.

Yes? No? Good? Bad?

All I hear about potassium from people is how dangerous it can be if you have too much, but most articles i've read say you just pee out the excess anyway.

GameDayDog · 09-01-2005, 09:20 AM

It's actually strange you should mention thys.. as I've been looking up potassium on the net for future use...

I'd just ordered some of the same pills you're talking about when I ran across thys article in the June 2004 issue of Flex magazine, page 47 ... Bob Cicherillo was explaining his withdrawl from the March 13th San Francisco Pro Invitational and said - " When that doctor told me my potassium levels were so high I was susceptible to a heart attack any minute." .... it caught my eye..

At any rate... the information I found pretty much leads me to believe that you can't have enough potassium.. especially if you're lyke me and sweat a lot when you workout, or when doing regular activities..

Thys fyrst link tells more of the advantages of potassium ... Whyle the second lynk has a long list of foods that are potassium sources...

http://www.anyvitamins.com/potassium-info.htm

http://www.hoptechno.com/book29p.htm

If you want replies... post at that other place..
If you want answers... post at IronMASS... *D

Peace..~G

**skelooth** · 09-01-2005, 02:43 PM

Quote:

The dosage underneath is the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), but be aware that this dosage is the minimum that you require per day, to ward off serious deficiency of this particular nutrient. In the therapeutic use of this nutrient, the dosage is usually increased considerably, but the toxicity level must be kept in mind.

A daily intake of about 3,500 milligrams is needed. Potassium is well absorbed, but is not stored in large quantities in the body.

That makes my little 99mg potassium supplement look like NOTHING. Considering I do a low carb diet and drink TONS of coffee, you think two a day would be safe? I seem to have the signs of potassium defficiency. I also sweat and pee like a MAD MAN.

GameDayDog · 09-05-2005, 03:14 PM

Yeah.. I thynk 2 a day would be fyne...

But it wouldn't kill ya to drink some orange juice or somethyng...

Maybe have a V-8?? *D .. If ya drink a ton of coffee.. you're gonna have to release it...

I thynk it was Mister Muscles' sig that said - Drinking 2 gallons of water a day is 2 much... When I drank that much per day, I was basically pissing liquid.

Peace..~G

**skelooth** · 09-05-2005, 03:20 PM

I can't do V-8 or OJ because I'm on a Ketogenic diet. (The fructose would insta-kick me out of ketosis)

Right now I've been doing just one 99mg cap pwo, and... maybe it's in my head, but I think it's been helping with my over all energy levels.

**Peaked_18** · 09-05-2005, 03:52 PM

RDA 2,000mg
Toxicity 18,000mg cardiac arrest nay occur

**EME** · 09-05-2005, 05:02 PM

The real problem with supplementing potassium comes in when your sodium levels are artificially lowered, as with a pre-contest bodybuilder.

The recommended daily allowance for sodium is at least 1500mg, but not more than 2300 mg. Most get much more than this.

The recommended daily allowance for Potassium is 4.7 g daily.

Sodium and Potassium work together to regulate the water levels in your body. In a situation where your sodium intake is very low, and your water levels are very low ( as in a competitive bodybuilder at competition time ), increasing potassium intake significantly can lead to a very dangerous situation that can result in heart attack and/or death. This danger is compounded when prescription diuretics are entered into the mix. In this case it isn't the total toxicity of potassium that has to be worried about, but instead the concentration in the blood due to lowered blood volume.

However, this a very specific set of circumstances that doesn't really apply to the average person.

Most people, even those dieting, should be more concerned with limiting their sodium intake to the recommended levels, and making sure they get enough potassium in their diet.

- EME

Phosphate bond · 09-06-2005, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EME

Sodium and Potassium work together to regulate the water levels in your body. In a situation where your sodium intake is very low, and your water levels are very low ( as in a competitive bodybuilder at competition time ), increasing potassium intake significantly can lead to a very dangerous situation that can result in heart attack and/or death. This danger is compounded when prescription diuretics are entered into the mix. In this case it isn't the total toxicity of potassium that has to be worried about, but instead the concentration in the blood due to lowered blood volume.

- EME

Yeah good stuff you wrote their EME.

Hyperkalemia (high serum potassium) is nasty when combined with hyponatremia (low serium sodium) and hypocalcemia (low serum calcium) and hypomagnesia (low serum magnesium) in setting of volume depletion.

EME is completely right about certain diuretics exacerbating the problem (maybe the potassium sparing diurectics being the worst).

Anyway sounds like your sodium level is respectable so 200mg of K per day won't be harmful (99mg each you said right?)

Yeah, electrolytes are very interesting to me and studying the hormonal compensations that kick it to help regulate things I always though was fascinating. Hypokalemia can lead to muscle weakness, but if you take too much potassium relative to sodium and other things aldosterone will get jacked up and may even lower the potassium levels lower than you had before (especially onvce some sodium become available).

One more thing if you end up somehow getting hyperkalemia it can lead to ascending paralysis and distal muscle weakness (particularly in the lower extremities) in addition to the other things mentioned.

09-01-2005, 12:05 AM	#1
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,205 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 158	Guidelines for supplementing with potassium? (I thought I'd give ironmass a chance, even though I know i'd get a quicker answer on bb.com ) I'm on a low carb diet, so my fruit intake is pretty much 0. The staples of my diet 6 days a week are broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, chicken breast/drum/wing, fatty ground beef, bacon, eggs, cream cheese, cheese, and cottage cheese. I don't see much potassium in those foods. So I picked up some potassium 99mg caps at the store today. I was just going to throw a 99mg cap in with my other pwo supplements. Yes? No? Good? Bad? All I hear about potassium from people is how dangerous it can be if you have too much, but most articles i've read say you just pee out the excess anyway. __________________ R I P

09-01-2005, 09:20 AM	#2
GameDayDog The Dawg Is Back!! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Doin Compound Movements 4 Scooby Snacks! Posts: 1,914 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 32	Weird Tyming... It's actually strange you should mention thys.. as I've been looking up potassium on the net for future use... I'd just ordered some of the same pills you're talking about when I ran across thys article in the June 2004 issue of Flex magazine, page 47 ... Bob Cicherillo was explaining his withdrawl from the March 13th San Francisco Pro Invitational and said - " When that doctor told me my potassium levels were so high I was susceptible to a heart attack any minute." .... it caught my eye.. At any rate... the information I found pretty much leads me to believe that you can't have enough potassium.. especially if you're lyke me and sweat a lot when you workout, or when doing regular activities.. Thys fyrst link tells more of the advantages of potassium ... Whyle the second lynk has a long list of foods that are potassium sources... http://www.anyvitamins.com/potassium-info.htm http://www.hoptechno.com/book29p.htm If you want replies... post at that other place.. If you want answers... post at IronMASS... *D Peace..~G __________________ I am Thee Alpha.. RaSP is Thee oMEGA.. Between the 2 of us - We have everythyng covered... I want to be bigger than all the humans!! "I'm sure I should be doing cardio too....but I don't run from anything...so why practice?" - 1stInDoor Goal - 200#'s 5/27/07 - 4/27/07 - 175# 3/27/07 - 167#

09-05-2005, 03:14 PM	#4
GameDayDog The Dawg Is Back!! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Doin Compound Movements 4 Scooby Snacks! Posts: 1,914 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 32	Only 200 mg's.. Yeah.. I thynk 2 a day would be fyne... But it wouldn't kill ya to drink some orange juice or somethyng... Maybe have a V-8?? *D .. If ya drink a ton of coffee.. you're gonna have to release it... I thynk it was Mister Muscles' sig that said - Drinking 2 gallons of water a day is 2 much... When I drank that much per day, I was basically pissing liquid. Peace..~G __________________ I am Thee Alpha.. RaSP is Thee oMEGA.. Between the 2 of us - We have everythyng covered... I want to be bigger than all the humans!! "I'm sure I should be doing cardio too....but I don't run from anything...so why practice?" - 1stInDoor Goal - 200#'s 5/27/07 - 4/27/07 - 175# 3/27/07 - 167#

09-05-2005, 03:20 PM	#5
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,205 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 158	I can't do V-8 or OJ because I'm on a Ketogenic diet. (The fructose would insta-kick me out of ketosis) Right now I've been doing just one 99mg cap pwo, and... maybe it's in my head, but I think it's been helping with my over all energy levels. __________________ R I P

09-05-2005, 05:02 PM	#7
EME Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,265 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 51	The real problem with supplementing potassium comes in when your sodium levels are artificially lowered, as with a pre-contest bodybuilder. The recommended daily allowance for sodium is at least 1500mg, but not more than 2300 mg. Most get much more than this. The recommended daily allowance for Potassium is 4.7 g daily. Sodium and Potassium work together to regulate the water levels in your body. In a situation where your sodium intake is very low, and your water levels are very low ( as in a competitive bodybuilder at competition time ), increasing potassium intake significantly can lead to a very dangerous situation that can result in heart attack and/or death. This danger is compounded when prescription diuretics are entered into the mix. In this case it isn't the total toxicity of potassium that has to be worried about, but instead the concentration in the blood due to lowered blood volume. However, this a very specific set of circumstances that doesn't really apply to the average person. Most people, even those dieting, should be more concerned with limiting their sodium intake to the recommended levels, and making sure they get enough potassium in their diet. - EME __________________ PhysiqueFXonline - Online Nutrition and Training with Michael and Kendra Elias: www.MichaelandKendra.com Team Molecular Nutrition Creative Director FAME Media Group / World Natural Sports Organization Editor-In-Chief FAME Magazine www.FAMEWorldTour.com

09-05-2005, 03:52 PM	#6
Peaked_18 a la commode Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,247 Recipes: 2 Rep Power: 96	RDA 2,000mg Toxicity 18,000mg cardiac arrest nay occur

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