How Potassium Functions In Weight Loss
June 25, 2009 
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Did you know that increasing potassium in your diet can help you lose weight and decrease your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and other diseases? Potassium, an essential dietary mineral, helps you with:
- muscle development
- nerve functions
- metabolism
- energy production
- blood pressure regulation
- kidney function
Like calcium and magnesium, potassium is an electrolyte. It is known for facilitating weight loss.
How Potassium Helps with Weight Loss
Potassium helps you lose weight by converting food into energy and assisting to build muscles. The bigger and stronger your muscles are, the more calories they burn. With a healthy intake of potassium, your muscles will get bigger, and in turn, burn more calories.
By helping you build bigger muscles, and by providing the energy you need to exercise, potassium is a dieter’s dream mineral! Keep up your potassium levels, and your muscles will overtake your fat in no time!
Potassium also helps you balance the sodium in your cells, which helps with weight loss and provides other health benefits including reducing your risk of high blood pressure.
How Much Potassium is Beneficial?
Health care providers recommend 1600-3500 mg of potassium per day for healthy adults.
Risks of Too Much Potassium
Having too much potassium in your blood can cause hyperkalemia, which can cause stomach irritation or potentially a heart attack. Monitor your daily intake of potassium to avoid hyperkalemia.
Risks of Not Enough Potassium
Not having enough potassium in your blood can result in hypokalemia. Symptoms of hypokalemia include:
- fatigue
- muscle weakness
- leg cramps
- nervous disorders
- insomnia
- hypertension
- constipation
- muscle damage
- an irregular heartbeat
- weight gain.
Potassium-Rich Foods to Help with Weight Loss
The best way to get the right amount of potassium without overdoing it is through a variety of potassium-rich foods such as:
- wheat bread
- cereals
- oatmeal (without salt)
- grain
- bananas
- orange juice
- avocados
- cantaloupes
- tomatoes
- potatoes
- lima beans
- flounder
- salmon
- cod
- chicken
- lean meats
Unprocessed foods have the highest levels of potassium.
Also, you can minimize potassium loss from potassium-rich foods by minimizing the cooking time and amount of water in which the foods are cooked. Then enjoy your potassium-rich foods as they help you to build muscle and lose weight!
Related posts:
- Potassium Vitamins As Stress-Relievers: The Weight Loss Key?
- How Potassium Supplements Aid The Body
- Low Potassium Causes & Prevention Techniques
- Should You Switch to Potassium Salt?
- How Weights Can Help Weight Loss
Very good article. I have been studying weight loss for a long time, and did not know how much of a role potassium has in losing weight. Thanks, and great job.
This is a really good article, I have upped my potassium and monitored my food and it has been key to my weight loss and the ability to build muscle mass. People make fun of me for preaching the benefits of potassium.