Potassium: Benefits, Sources And Side Effects

The dangers of a high sodium diet are not unknown. By causing your body to retain more and more water, a diet rich in sodium leads to bloating and in the long term, it causes an elevation in your blood pressure.

It has been ascertained that a diet rich in sodium while also low in potassium is worse for your blood pressure and heart health causing blood pressure to rise even more rapidly. To avoid this, it is recommended to generously include potassium sources in your diet, which will help with your blood pressure concerns.

Scientists have found that increasing potassium intake reduces blood pressure even in hypertensives. So, not only does dietary potassium aid in the prevention of high pressure but also possesses therapeutic value. Getting your dose already?

As you may know, high blood pressure increases the risk of several cardiovascular disorders and stroke, which has detrimental effects on your health. By having a blood pressure lowering effect, dietary potassium has the potential to reduce the risk of these disorders.

When combined with a low sodium diet, not only is your risk of cardiovascular disorders reduced but also there is a lesser chance of mortality from these disorders if already endured. Further, potassium controls the electrical activity of the heart and thus has an overall cardioprotective effect.

(Read more: Heart disease prevention)

Potassium is an important component of your diet and has a role in the removal of excess water from your body. Excess water causes bloating, which serves as a possible mechanism for weight gain. By excreting all that extra water, potassium aids in weight loss.

Further, potassium helps to build muscles, which causes an increase in the muscle mass of your body thereby reducing excess fat. This further ensures that the weight loss process is healthy.

(Read more: Diet chart for weight loss)

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Potassium is a major component of intracellular fluids and has a crucial role in maintaining muscular functions in the body. As discussed above, it increases the availability of proteins and helps to build muscle tissue. Potassium is an important component of lean body tissues. Sodium-potassium pump helps to maintain the potassium levels inside body cells and a proper balance between sodium and potassium is essential for your muscles to work properly.

In states of low potassium, also called hypokalemia, muscle weakness is most commonly noted. This condition has other symptoms like an irregular heartbeat, mental confusion and changes in blood pressure. To ensure its avoidance, it is important that you keep a check of your potassium consumption while not going overboard, since that can have side effects as well. These will be discussed in the subsequent sections.

Your bones need potassium like all other body cells. Potassium helps to increase bone mineral density, which, in turn, improves the strength of bones. This means that the inclusion of potassium in your diet makes your bone stronger and helps to reduce the risk of fractures and other bone-related problems.

Studies have found that those who have a high intake of potassium from fruits and vegetables have stronger bones than those who do not. So, it is advisable to keep a check on your potassium intake.

Osteoporosis is a disease marked by bone loss and degradation. It is more commonly seen in postmenopausal women due to hormonal influences. Reduction in bone mass due to osteoporosis causes the bones to become weak and brittle, which often causes bone pain. Hunch back and an increased risk of fractures are some of the other symptoms of this condition. Bone strength is determined by bone mass density, bone size and material. When a person falls and the force exceeds the bone strength, the bone gets fractured.

Consumption of an acidogenic diet causes an increased rate of bone turnover, which may cause accelerated bone resorption. Since a potassium-rich diet favours an increase in the bone mass density, it also helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and aids in avoiding any complications due to it.

So, it is recommended to take care of your potassium intake, especially with an advancing age. This will help to prevent osteoporosis and will further ensure the optimisation of other body functions.

Kidney stones are a common problem caused due to the formation of calcium oxalate stones in the kidneys, which are immensely painful to pass. Diet has a major role in the formation and excretion of these stones, with some dietary components increasing its risk and size and others preventing the formation of these stones.

Studies have found that the inclusion of potassium in your diet helps in reducing your risk of kidney stones. So, if you have had a previous episode of stones, it is recommended to include more potassium in your diet in a dosage specified by your doctor.

Since potassium favours bone health, it ensures that the calcium ions stay within the bones and not escape out into the body fluids. A deficiency of potassium causes calcium to be withered off from the bones and excreted from the body along with urine. Sometimes, this excess calcium, instead of being excreted from the body, coalesces to form calcium oxalate deposits, which are basically the painful kidney stones.

So, it is recommended to increase the intake of potassium-rich foods along with improving your water intake to avoid stones.