Vitamins, Minerals
& Weight Loss

Below is an excerpt from Part Two of

The 2004 Multi-Diet

by Anderson A. Anonymous, M.D., Ph.D.

Potassium

Recommended Dietary Intake

3500-mg is the Daily Value for potassium set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Food and Nutrition Board did not set an official scientific US RDA but it did estimate that a “Safe and Adequate Intake” range would be between about 2000-mg and 3500-mg per day. It also stated that the higher figure was probably closer to the optimal amount. The healthy adult human body contains a total of about 180,000-mg (180-g) of potassium. The chemical symbol for potassium is “K”.

Usual Potassium Intakes

Surveys show the normal adult dietary intake of potassium at between 1950-mg and 5900-mg per day 3400-mg/day is typical of the young adult age group and other age groups are generally below this amount. People who eat large amounts of fruit and vegetables may have potassium intakes as high as 8,000–11,000-mg per day

Absorption, Metabolism, Excretion of Potassium

Intestinal absorption of potassium is very efficient—more than 90% is absorbed. Excretion of excess is also very efficient—therefore the kidneys can regulate blood concentrations effectively over very wide intake ranges. However, the kidneys do not conserve potassium as well as sodium.

A primary dietary deficiency of potassium is not considered likely during normal eating because potassium is so widely distributed in foods. However, with a few exceptions, the overall effect of food processing has been to reduce the amount of potassium and increase the amount of sodium in modern food supplies. Alcohol and coffee will also increase the normal losses of potassium.

Your goal is to keep your average potassium intake (from both food and supplements) at about 3500-mg per day.

Potassium Deficiency & Toxicity Symptoms

A potassium deficiency may cause all or some of the following symptoms: low energy level, muscle weakness (skeletal, intestinal, heart, and respiratory muscles); difficult breathing; irregular heartbeat; listlessness; drowsiness; irritability; swollen abdomen; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; paralysis. Potassium deficiencies are known to occur on poorly constructed weight-loss diets.

Excesses (as well as deficiencies) of potassium can also cause irregular heartbeat. Many people can feel this as a difficult-to-describe “sensation” in the chest. Abdominal discomfort and diarrhea is often the main symptom of a single large dose of a potassium supplement.

Excessive levels of potassium in the blood can cause cardiac arrest. The Food and Nutrition Board has stated that this level of acute toxicity will result from sudden increases in potassium intake to about 18 grams (18,000-mg) per day for an adult. A fatal heart attack can be the result. This means that taking a large single dose of a potassium supplement (which may enter the blood very rapidly) is incredibly foolish. (This is also one of the reasons that supplement manufacturers generally do not make potassium supplements available in amounts greater than 99-mg per tablet.)

Food Sources of Potassium

Tomato sauce, dehydrated fruits (prunes, raisins, dates, etc.), beans, lentils, wheat bran, and banana are very good sources of potassium. Beef, veal, potatoes, and spinach are fair sources. Most vegetables (except spinach) and fruits (except banana) are fair to poor sources of potassium.

Supplemental Sources of Potassium

Potassium supplement tablets typically come in the form of potassium gluconate. Supermarkets often carry (in the salt section) a 50/50 mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride (table salt) as a “Lite” salt substitute. One-half of a level teaspoon (2.8-g) of this mixture contains about one-quarter of the recommended amounts of both potassium and sodium (about 700-mg and 600-mg respectively). This makes it a convenient way to add potassium and sodium to low-Calorie diet food. (Keep in mind the above and below warnings about too much at one time, and too much continuously over a long time—I don’t want you to hurt yourself.J)

Potassium gluconate supplements are typically available as tablets containing 99-mg of potassium each. This means that five (5) tablets contain approximately the same amount of potassium as one medium banana (7–8 inches long, 467-mg potassium, 108 Calories). The “Lite” salt substitute (potassium/sodium chloride) is usually available in supermarkets. Potassium gluconate tablets are usually available in supermarkets, drugstores, and health-food stores.

Deductive advice about Potassium

During normal eating, it is not likely that many people will experience primary dietary deficiencies of potassium—too many foods have potassium in them. However, when dieting, a primary potassium deficiency becomes easy to create. Your body needs more potassium daily than any other mineral. And even though many foods have lots of potassium, dieters don’t eat “many foods”, they eat smallish amounts of a smallish selection of low-fat, low-Calorie foods. Often these foods in these amounts won’t provide enough potassium.

Therefore, supplementing foods to ensure you get approximately the RDI of potassium is very important. Please take this point very seriously. A small daily potassium deficiency can add up (over a period of time) to a sudden attack of cardiac arrhythmia, which will—at minimum—scare the hell out of you! (This point applies to a lesser degree to the other macrominerals as well.)

Additionally, because large amounts of sodium are often added to foods (causing increased potassium excretion), it is possible that relative short-term potassium deficiencies are common for many people even during “normal” eating. In Multi-Diet terms, this means their Beasts are awake, making them eat too much—which in turn makes them get too fat. Obviously, on the Multi-Diet, you won’t be adding large amounts of sodium to your food so this is particular issue will not be a problem. (However, please read the warning about too little sodium below.)

Because of the efficient absorption of potassium and the dangerous effects of suddenly raising blood levels of it too high, it is particularly important to (1) never take too much at once and (2) drink sufficient water so that the kidneys can excrete any excess and manage blood levels properly. (See more on… water.)

Note that a daily excess of potassium (meaning more than the kidney can excrete daily) will eventually cause a toxic buildup of potassium in the tissues. This can be as dangerous over time as a daily deficiency. Even while dieting, you will probably get in the range of 1500- to 2500-mg of potassium from food. So I suggest that you do not ever take more than 1500-mg of potassium per day as a supplement unless you are using a food composition table to monitor the total amounts of potassium you are actually getting from your food.