Potassium

#1

I just read a USDA-published article that claimed:
“Potassium is identified in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as a
nutrient to be increased in the diet (1), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM)
recommendation for Adequate Intake of potassium is 4700 mg per day (2).”

From the various sites I visited after reading that, it seems unlikely that any serious Keto dieter will be able to get the RDA of potassium from food sources. Am I mis-reading this information? (I don’t tend to think in grams and milligrams, but I am fluent in math . . .

Trying to find the perfect combination not only of fats, proteins and carbs, but of the other important nutrients as well.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

Salmon is great on many levels, so that’s one possibility. Spinach and broccoli are also quite keto, not to mention whole milk yoghurt (for those who can tolerate dairy). Tomato is boderline, but there are those who love it.

(Edith) #3

Avocado is also a great source of potassium as are hemp hearts.

I can’t be sure I’m getting enough K because many food labels don’t include potassium and many entries in My Fitness Pal don’t either. I take 900 mg of Potassium Citrate a day to be on the safe side.

(Karen) #4

Light salt in moderation.

K

(Joy) #5

A couple years ago, I posted a question in the reddit keto group about potassium. A response came from someone who was considered one of the top dogs at that site. The reply was not very educational (see below). It may be that we don’t need as much potassium as guidelines suggest, but more info would be nice.

Me: You highlight something I’ve wondered about. The [keto reddit] FAQ says 1,000mg potassium, while the U.S. recommended daily allowance is 3,500-4,700 mg. Does anyone know why the disparity?

anbeav: USDA recommendations are based on standard diets, when you eat keto you’re no longer standard.

#6

Cream of Tartar also has 496g per ounce. So it can be added to meals if needed.

(Doug) #7

I usually see it said that there is no recommended daily allowance for potassium because harmfully low levels are pretty rare. Unless it’s demonstrable that one needs more, I think it’s a non-issue, and one that seems to attract undue attention.

The body is usually very good at regulating potassium levels - if one’s kidneys are working decently well, then they adjust by excreting more if levels are getting high, or conserving it and recycling it if need be. The 1000 mg suggestion looks pretty good to me, or even a bit lower, since some will be excreted every day, pretty much no matter what.

(Bunny) #8

…Kale and wheat grass juice (powdered source only minus the fiber) are some others

(Joy) #9

Thanks for the added info. Those with high blood pressure may benefit from more though, yeah?

(Doug) #10

Perhaps, yes - if there is too little potassium, then probably. Even moreso if one is eating a lot of salt and has some extra water retention and thus higher blood pressure due to that - potassium will counteract that to an extent. It’s pretty easy to get plenty of potassium in our foods; I tend to be cautious about the whole potassium deal - especially as far as supplementation.

(charlie3) #11

Please note how everybody iis evading your question. Sayinng something or other is a “good source” and leaving it at that is a copout. I too am interested in your question. May be our primordial ancestors got all the potassium they needed eating lots of animal organs and parts we won’t touch. May be agriculture works because there is plenty of potassium in a few things but they also have too many carbs so we keto folks don’t want to go there. So may be the truth is the only way we’re going to stay below 20 net carbs AND get enough potassium is to suppliment somehow. This is no fault of keto. Go shoot some grass eater and eat all the most discusting parts or figure out some pills that will get the job done. I hear vegans, or was it vegetarians, have a similar problem but with a different micro neutriant.

The keto experts should stop ducking this issue and take it head on. Show me a less than 20 net carb meal plan that has the RDI of potassium or stop claiming to be an expert.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #12

For heaven’s sake, a little Googling reveals that the American recommendation of 4700 milligrams of potassium a day is far higher than the recommendations anywhere else in the world. Britain, for example, recommends only 2500 mg/day, which is a much more reasonable figure.

A little further Googling reveals that spinach, Swiss chard, avocado, clams, and salmon, among other foods, are good sources of potassium, so surely it is possible to figure out a diet that contains under 20 g/day of carbohydrate, yet 2500 mg/day of potassium. I just don’t care enough about this issue to be bothered to do your work for you.

When I looked on PubMed, two of the papers that caught my eye discuss paralysis from either hypo- or hyperkalemia (insufficient or excessive potassium in the blood), resepctively. I was intrigued to note that one of the causes of hypokalemia is a diet rich in carbohydrate, so a low-carb diet is recommended for keeping serum potassium high enough.

For these reasons I think this is a made-up problem, and in most cases, a well-formulated ketogenic diet is going to provide enough potassium.

Remember the 1927 experiment on Stefansson and Anderson. Both men remained perfectly healthy and showed no signs of mineral or vitamin deficiencies during the year in which they ate a zero-carb/carnivore diet, with no plant matter whatsoever.

#13

I really appreciate all the detailed and thoughtful comments. And, Charlie 3, I did notice how some responses side-stepped the initial question. I am very new to this Keto diet (8 weeks) and so I am just absorbing all the information I can gather.

Thanks again to all for your input. And henceforward I will look for nutritional information in “Show Me the Science.”

(Doug) #14

I’m certainly no expert, but there really isn’t any problem here. One could eat enough avocado to approach the 20 net carb limit, and one would take in ~4850 mg of potassium. Additionally, unless one’s kidneys are malfunctioning fairly seriously, a more rational lower limit for potassium intake is around 800 or 1000 mg per day, since the kidneys control roughly 90% of potassium excretion, and if levels are low they will recycle, rather than excrete.

Yes, Paul, and there really is not a “Recommended Daily Amount” in the U.S. As the Mayo clinic says, “Because lack of potassium is rare, there is no RDA or RNI for this mineral. However, it is thought that 1600 to 2000 mg (40 to 50 milliequivalents [mEq]) per day for adults is adequate.”

Unless one has a demonstrable lack of potassium, then I agree - it’s mostly needless worry.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #15

I agree - no matter what I eat chronometer shows quite the potassium deficit. But I feel fine and doctor’s visits always show normal potassium so I am not particularly worried.

(Championsidewinder) #16

No it’s nearly impossible to get enough potassium from foods alone and keep net carbs at 20 net grams or less, cause as I eat and log my food I can barely stay under 30 net grams of carbs

(Doug) #17

It’s pretty tough, but avocados alone would do it. I still don’t think it matters for most of us - unless there is a demonstrable deficiency then why even worry? Few of us (if any) are actually using and excreting anywhere near 4700 mg every day.

(Championsidewinder) #18

Well because I have bph so I pee a lot even though I’m at week 9 of keto and not fat adapted, and I tried to set net carbs to 20 but stupid mfp will only let me choose 5% which is to high, what a stupid app, I like carb manager but without paying money I can’t see potassium. I have gotten leg cramps at night while asleep so potassium might be going right through me, I only drink half my body weight in water because I pee too much already and some ppl here say drink more but that’s udder stupidity because it just flushes to many electrolytes

(Crow T. Robot) #19

Try Cronometer instead of MFP. It’s a lot more flexible.

Also, you might try keto-aide instead of plain water – that might help with leg cramps. Most people are helped with more magnesium not potassium.

(Championsidewinder) #20

I take magnesium malate times a day, forgot to take one that night I got the cramp