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There is a mineral that is incredibly important for health and continues to be low in the
modern, processed food diet. You've probably heard me talk a lot about how our soils have
been depleted and minerals because of modern agricultural practices. Today's health tip
is concerning potassium, which is contained in commercial fertilizers so potassium will
be found in conventionally raised crops. Why does conventional agriculture bother to replace
the potassium in the soil and not the other minerals? The reason is that potassium is
so essential to plants that they will not grow without it. So Big Ag has no choice but
to buy potassium that has been mined and add it to the soil. Pure potassium is actually
a volatile metal which explodes when exposed to air or water. The potassium ion is a critical
component of nerve conduction in it's also very important in a fluid and electrolyte
balance in mammalian systems. If our potassium goes too low, we die. Prospective studies
have shown, such as the NHANES study of nutrition in the United States, show that low intake
of potassium has negative health consequences. A study published in the Journal the American
Medical Association, Internal Medicine from the NHANES data published in 2011 found a
significant mortality benefit and lower stroke and heart disease in persons with the highest
quartile of potassium intake versus people with the lowest quartile. In other words if
you take in a lot of potassium you're less likely to die and less likely to have a heart
attack or stroke. So one might ask, "How much potassium are we talking about here?" In the
NHANES study, the lowest quartile of potassium intake was about 1.8 g a day and in the highest
quartile the intake was about 4 g per day. Now the mortality benefits with higher intake
are highly significant, up to a third less. So it looks as though we definitely want to
try to get our intake at least to that level. How easy is it to get at least 4 g of potassium
daily in the diet? Would it be better to resort to potassium supplements? First off, taking
supplements is it usually not a good option as supplements are only allowed to have 99
mg of potassium because the toxic effects a high dose potassium tablets can have on
the stomach lining. So even if you took 10 tablets, you wouldn't even get 1 g of potassium.
As the NHANES data tells us, it's easy to have a low potassium intake if we eat the
standard American diet full of refined grains, sugars and refined vegetable oils as there
is very little potassium in these foods. Root vegetables like beets, carrots and rutabagas
are a very good source having about 1.4 g per pound. Green, leafy vegetables sources
include spinach and kale which can have up to 2.5 g per pound. Winter squash and sweet
potatoes are other good sources having about 2 g per pound. There is also a good amount
of potassium in meat and dairy products. I have a health program that I put patients
on to rebuild poor health where we recommend a diet that consists of eating a lot of these
foods. Now there are other foods that are a good source of potassium that I don't recommend
on a general basis for people that have chronic health problems. One is bananas and another
is oranges. Everyone knows of bananas are a rich source of potassium. The problem with
bananas is that through hybridization, the banana is become rich source of sugar and
particularly fructose which most of us cannot handle well. The only exception here is endurance
athletes that are exercising for hours or laborers that are expending many extra calories
during their work. Other foods that are relatively high in potassium but, in my opinion, should
be limited in consumption in people with degenerative diseases include potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate
and avocados. The bottom line, eating a natural foods diet
with lots of cooked vegetables, especially the root vegetables are great sources of potassium.
Sweet potatoes and winter squash should be consumed regularly. I have about 10-12 ounces
of organic carrot juice every day which piles on more potassium. Adding organic animal products
such as meat and dairy round out a diet that will place you in the low risk category as
far as potassium intake is concerned.