I want to strongly caution anybody on this forum, do not recommend potassium supplementation. That is something you need to speak with your doctor about. It can be over done, it can be taken the wrong way, you can end up in the hospital.
Interesting fact, if you keep your sodium on point your potassium naturally stays in balance.
I have to admit - the whole “Potassium” thing baffles me.
On the one hand, you have these “nu-salt/lo-salt” products available right there on your supermarket shelf. Here’s a product that’s designed to be a salt substitute for people with high blood pressure or whatever. It’s basically designed to stick in your salt shaker and be liberally applied to your food. It is basically 66% potassium, the way I understand it.
And on the other hand, you have that 99mg limit of “Elemental” potassium in supplements - a hard limit apparently enacted to prevent overdose…
So is there something about the resulting potassium in “lo-salt” that makes it impervious to overdose or something? With all the dire warnings about how too much potassium can kill you, I would think having a big tub of lo-salt would be incredibly dangerous in someone who really wants to salt up their french fries…
Nope.
This is actually the product that people tend to overdo.
I’m actually surprised myself that they sell it without trepidation
Says who? How much are you taking? Because being keto especially at first requires a SUBSTANTIAL increase to keep you in balance. Most “electrolyte water” has near nothing in it, and “sprinkling” salt in stuff isn’t going to get you up around the typical levels we maintain which is near twice the RDA in most cases. You also speak of salt and magnessium yet no mention of potassium, which is the one that (lack of enough) in most cases causes the racing heart problem for many people. Also, how fast is your RHR? Have you checked?
See, this is what makes me feel like the whole “potassium overdose” thing might be way overblown. Why would they leave those ticking timebombs right there on supermarket shelves? 
It’d be interesting to read about any documented issues with products like these - because I would think if you give people products like these to abuse, they will abuse them…
There are many more stories that aren’t hard to find . People can and do overdose on Nu salt and Lite salt . About recommending electrolytes
I’m with CountryMtnKid and IceNine too on the potassium. Overdoses is way overblown. The RDA is 4700mg. Your drink is good, but doesn’t get near that unless you’re also eating 15 cups of spinach every day. You can’t overdose Pot. supplementing up to 4700mg a day. Might try it. I’ve read Potassium half life is 2 to 4 weeks, so it might take that long to get your Pot. levels in balance. You might look into K2 also; a most deficient vitamin/hormone in most people. It’ll also help synergize the pot., Mg and sodium.
Yeah, that Reddit story is pure anecdote though (at least in a sense in that we really don’t know how much potassium he ingested to get himself into that situation) - and anecdotes aren’t data. I’m more looking for actual science and hard data. I don’t doubt that potassium poisoning is possible - I’m certain it happens. I’m just baffled that it doesn’t happen far more often with everyone giving out willy-nilly electrolyte advice on the usual keto forums. For as long as I’ve been involved in this keto business, there’s always been so much emphasis placed on electrolytes, electrolytes, electrolytes.
It’s a situation that would lend itself to LOADS of cases of potassium overdose. Yet - it’s not happening except in some isolated cases like the one you posted. I guess I kind of expect people to be dropping dead of potassium poisoning with how much emphasis is placed on electrolyte importance (and how blindly people tend to follow certain aspects of a diet). That’s why I can’t help but feel this whole potassium thing is really overblown.
The minute I joined the forums I read about the need to keep up electrolytes. Here is how I handled it. I’m a saltaholic, so that part is covered. I just bought Epsom salts, and plan to take a few soaks a week. But I know how serious a thing potassium is, since I have friends who have to take supplemental potassium, and have to have their levels constantly monitored by their doctors. I am getting mine from food. Will have levels checked next month by my doctor. I would be scared to death to fool around with potassium supplementation. That’s just me.
@Regina in case you’re interested, I’ve recently ditched the Epsom salts in favour of Dead Sea mineral salts as the mineral / electrolyte content is vastly superior, and apparently more readily absorbed. They cost twice as much but the feel from them is much nicer, they make my skin all soft.
I believe the case that was quoted involved a Type I diabetic who was also on potassium sparring medication who took initially stated he took 2 teaspoon as a single dose. By the end of the discussion he had modified that to say it was more like 2+ TABLESPOONS over a very short period of time, all the while he was actively altering his eating habits to increase his dietary potassium intake. There is a lot of fail in those actions. This strikes me a someone who read a lot of the internet but elected to skip all of the warnings and disclaimers that where intended directly for those with conditions such as his.
For the average healthy person Lo-Salt has little to no risk. It would be difficult to overdose without actively trying to as the food/beverage would be unpalatable. This guy was being an absolute idiot and trying to “hack” his body/health. He nearly paid for it with his life.
From my experience in the clinical setting it is fairly rare to see hyperkalemia, and it is always in people that are at high risk for it. I don’t believe I have ever personally seen a case where a healthy person developed hyperkalemia from over supplementation.
Now hypokalemia? Much more common.
Great - thanks for the info. Any particular brand you recommend?
I’ve just been ordering organic types from eBay, but not sure where you are or if you’ll be able to do the same. First I found a 10kg tub for £19.99 but I’ve now got a 25kg sack on order for the same price so much better value.
This right here. This right here is what I believe most people do when it comes to diet and exercise advice
I guess that’s why i’m kind of surprised that we don’t see this sort of thing more often. The advice is that most keto problems (particularly early on) are solved with electrolytes. On the opposite end, you have warnings (like the one Brenda offered) telling you there’s a real, palpable danger there (which I don’t doubt - I’d just like to see how real this is in the form of actual data).
I want to say the truth like somewhere in the middle - but that doesn’t really appear to be the case. And we certainly can’t use that reddit guy as the poster child for this, right? I mean, he was a one-off by every metric…
I work for idmprogram.com
We never give potassium supplement amounts to our clients. Never. We refer them to their doctor if they want to supplement potassium. There are important reasons for this… not because we scare easily.
It’s fine that you disagree though because others will read this thread and be aware that it’s something that they should be careful with regardless.
This is what I went thru when I started keto. Because of all the scare warnings being touted I was scared to death of potassium. Was one of the worst times I’ve ever had and almost quit keto because of it. Doctor was pushing me to as well.
Before I drag this thread any further off topic, you know what I would do in your case? I’d simply get a fitbit. Even if you aren’t exercising or using this fitbit to its full advantage, you get a constant heart rate monitor that’s capable of showing you the peaks and valleys in your day.
My resting heart rate (according to the fitbit software) is roughly 47-49 daily which is considered athletic-level at my age (49).
But I am no athlete.
So I did what any reasonable person would do. I talked to my doctor about it, and he had me walk around with a heart monitor for several days. It confirmed what my fitbit already knew: My heart rate was low all things considered. “Bradycardia with no known medical origins” is what he wrote it off as - because I had no other symptoms of distress. He had me do a stress-test as well, which showed I was a reasonably healthy guy for my age.
Fitbits, despite being cheap consumer devices, are remarkably useful - even for your own peace of mind. If this whole heart rate thing is troubling you, you might be able to give yourself some peace by wearing one. I still wear mine, even though I’ve not seen >5000 steps in a day in a very long time.