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Potassium

Posted by Blog Saturday, March 5, 2011

Potassium is an electrolyte mineral that is essential for nutrition. The chemical symbol for potassium is the letter K, named after the Latin word kalium. The word kalium comes from the Arabic word for alkali, which means cooked ashes. Potassium dissolves into charged particles (ions) in watery fluids. Cells need a high concentration of potassium inside cells to function normally. As mentioned, potassium concentrations are about 30 times higher inside cells than in extracellular fluid.

Cells work hard using a sodium-potassium ATPase pump to keep the potassium concentration high inside the cells. The ATP in the name of this pump indicates that it requires energy. This pump maintains an electrochemical gradient known as the membrane potential across the cellular membranes.


POTASSIUM AND ENERGY PRODUCTION
Potassium is needed by an enzyme called pyruvate kinase. This enzyme is used to break down carbohydrates for energy production in the cell. Pyruvate kinase is also involved in synthesizing glucose in the liver. One of the signs of potassium deficiency is fatigue, which may be caused by a lack of potassium in the pyruvate kinase enzyme, leading to a lack of energy.


OSTEOPOROSIS
Diets rich in fruits and vegetables have been found to lower the risk of osteoporosis. There are many nutrients in fruits and vegetables, including potassium and calcium. Potassium in food and in supplements decreases calcium loss through the kidneys, which increases bone formation and lowers bone loss. Potassium-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, increase the available acid buffers in blood, especially bicarbonate. Bicarbonate reduces blood acidity.

American diets tend to be low in foods that leave an alkaline residue in the body, such as unprocessed fruit and vegetables. At the same time, American diets tend to be high in foods that leave extra acid residues in the body, such as meat, fish, eggs, and cheese. Normal metabolism also leaves acid residues in the blood that need to be buffered. If the amount of potassium-rich fruits and vegetables eaten is not sufficient to produce enough alkalinity to buffer blood acids, the body has the ability to remove calcium from bones. This calcium  elps neutralize the blood, but leaves the bones depleted in calcium. This increases the risk of osteoporosis.

Increasing the amount of potassium-rich fruits and vegetables in the diet helps to preserve calcium in bones. The calcium can then stay in the bones because the extra potassium in fruits and vegetables buffers blood acidity. In support of this theory, potassium bicarbonate supplementation has been found to decrease urinary acid excretion and to decrease urinary calcium excretion. Of course, it is best to obtain potassium from the diet. Decreased urinary calcium also helps lower the risk of kidney stones.


More about Potassium:

Potassium

POTASSIUM DEFICIENCY

FOOD SOURCES OF POTASSIUM

POTASSIUM TOXICITY AND POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENTS

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