Question:
Everything I’ve read on Potassium suggests anywhere from 1000 to 5000 mg/day. The only potassium supplements I’ve found so far are a whopping 99 mg! So, I’ve been using Morton Lite Salt, which has something like 340 mg. potassium per 1/4 tsp, on my food and also in water for a supplement. I read that most meats have tons of potassium. If one is eating plenty of meat, why is potassium deficiency so common with this diet? What good is a 99 mg supplement? I posted a couple days ago about a strange sensation, like I’m stoned, I have a hard time describing it. Got a great response, thanks, mostly about potassium and sodium. Been on the Atkins diet 15 days now, lost 10 lbs from day 4-8, nothing since, keto is light pink. BP is good, using almost no aspartame, eating apx. 5 gm carbs a day, lots of eggs, cheese, meat, generic centrum twice a day, fish oil twice a day. Sometimes it hits all of a sudden. Been doing the potassium thing the last couple days as mentioned above. I wonder if it’s from taking the supplements I’m taking. (I remember years ago my wife had me start taking some kind of multi, and after awhile, I started getting what might be the same feelings I’m having now, (I remember it mostly when I was fueling my service truck every morning.) She said maybe it was the zinc, and it seems like it did go away when I quit taking the multis.) I’ve heard a couple similar stories. So this morning I made sure I had a couple eggs before my vits., potassium(salt), water,more water, now it’s 6 PM and I’m having these weird head feelings…no vits since this am so far, didn’t seem to bother me today until I stopped running around and sat down at my desk. That seems to be the only consistent thing, it happens when I’m at my computer or on the couch or in bed. When I’m up and hopping I feel great. Unfortunately I spend days at a time at my desk. I get almost NO exercise. (Please, I know, and as soon as I feel the need to be preached at about that I’ll let you know, but that’s a subject for another day. (:-) ) Yesterday I had this damn feeling in my head most of the day (sitting at my desk with my face in the computer screen.) Sometimes a wave seems triggered by a noise head is swimming…??? Sometimes it feels like more than my head…??? Sorry so long. Any good guesses? Burl
Response:
<dizzy stuff snipped Yesterday I had this damn feeling in my head most of the day (sitting at my desk with my face in the computer screen.) Sometimes a wave seems triggered by a noise head is swimming…??? Sometimes it feels like more than my head…??? Sorry so long. Any good guesses? Burl
OK – Have you had your eyes tested recently? What exactly is your BP, you say it’s good, but if it’s too low it could be a problem. Also, is your computer screen non-interlaced? An interlaced screen can cause a flicker, might be a problem. — Eternal viligance is the price of … thinness.
Response:
read that most meats have tons of potassium.
Burl, Hmmm…let’s check it out, shall we? <G bacon: 15-30 mg per serving (well…I guess bacon is a marginal food, in terms of meat but you’d need a lot of bacon to get 1/4 worth of the potassium in lite salt ground beef: 85 mg chicken (dark meat): 70 mg flounder: 90 mg hot dog: 70 mg lamb: 90 mg pepperoni: 19 mg pork chop: 53mg cheese (monterey jack): 38 mg (all meats are for 1 oz) compare that with tuna, which is 331 mg! non-flesh sources that are significant sources of potassium are much easier to find. Grains and starchy beans have amounts measured in Grmas, rather than milligrams. Sources of significant potassium levels that also fit into the parameters of most lowcarb diets are bit tougher: almonds: (1 cup) 1039 mg cabbage: (1 cup) 145 mg mushrooms: (1 cup) 555 mg zucchini: (1 cup) 450 mg All amounts are from the Consumer Guide’s Complete Book of Vitamins and Minerals and rounded down to the nearest whole milligram. in addition to getting in less potassium than grain-eaters, our needs (especially during induction) have increased due to the water-jettisoning effects of the initial phase of lowcarb diets. What good is a 99 mg supplement? head is swimming…??? Sometimes it feels like more than my head…??? Sorry so long. Any good guesses?
Sorry, no guesses. hth, Lynne 170 pounds lost the lowcarb way–maintaining since Feb ‘97
Response:
If one is eating plenty of meat, why is potassium deficiency so common with this diet?
Because with each negatively charged ketone you excrete, you also lose a positively charged ion, generally a potassium ion, along with it. Add that to the fact that you’re no longer eating bananas or drinking orange juice, and voila, deficiency. What good is a 99 mg supplement?
No good at all, IMHO. As I understand it, by law, OTC potassium supplements can’t contain more than 99 mg per dose, because too much potassium consumed by persons with certain disease states can be deadly (most notably kidney failure). The salt substitutes get around that law because they’re "food", not "supplements." Plus they’re generally cheaper, too. Caroline 215/181/148 having your e-mail automatically deleted. TIA***
If you like this post and would like to receive updates from this blog, please subscribe our feed.