Potassium "To Your Good Health"

This a reprint from a brochure on K-Life a water softener salt substitute. K-Life is a product of Vigoro Industries, Inc.

The mineral potassium is of critical importance to human health. It plays a major role in both how and how well the body functions. Athletes drink special beverages to replenish the potassium lost in perspiration. Individuals who take certain heart and blood pressure drugs that cause potassium loss are advised to take potassium supplements to assure that they have adequate potassium in their bodies.

WHAT DOES POTASSIUM DO?

Generally speaking, potassium provides the positive electrical charge inside all living cells that is required to balance the negative charges of other elements. This balancing action, maintaining the necessary concentration of nutrients inside and outside the cells, is essential to the normal functioning of every organ system in the body. Potassium also influences the ability of nerves to respond to outside stimulation and of muscles to contract.

HEALTH RISKS OF TOO LITTLE POTASSIUM

In groups on low potassium diets, strokes, high blood pressure, and diabetes occur much more frequently than in groups who consume sufficient or high potassium diets. While low potassium is only one factor that contributes to the development of the diseases, it has been shown that not enough potassium over time does increase the risk of acquiring one or more of them. In most cases, the increased risk of developing these disorders is associated with relatively modest differences in potassium intake (1900-2600mg/day being "low", 2700-2960 mg/day being "adequate"). There are isolated instances in which too much pottassium can be harmful to certain individuals. Most often, these persons are easily identified and under a physician's supervision, including careful monitoring of their potassium intake. These include patients with some forms of kidney disease, patients taking certain prescribed medications that interfere with the body's utilization of potassium, and patients with specific defects in adrenal or pituitary glands.

Less than 2% of the population is considered to be at risk of developing potassium overload.

HOW MUCH POTASSIUM DO WE NEED?

As with most nutrients, there is no exact quantity of potassium that every person should consume. The Committee on Dietary Allowances recommends 1,875 to 5,625 milligrams ofpotassium each day in order to maintain adequate and safe levels of potassium balance.

Prehistoric man, eating only natural foods, had a diet very high in potassium, estimated to be at least four times higher than the typical diet inWestern societies today. In current primitive societies still living on the "stone age diet", studies have found little, if any, evidence of diseases that are known to be related to potassium deficiency. Foods containing the highest quantities of potassium include dairy products, potatoes, and fruits and other vegetables. In a typical diet, dairy products can supply 35-40% of our daily need for potassium.

DOES OUR DIET HAVE ENOUGH POTASSIUM?

Getting adequate potassium into our diets is hampered by the relatively few good sources of potassium and further by the limited consumption of those foods due to our society's dietary habits.
No single food eaten in normal quantities can fulfill the body's potassium requirements. For example, a medium-size baked potato, an excellent source of potassium, contains over 700 mg of potassium. Yet, this is only about one-fourth of our daily potassium requirement.

An alternative source of potassium, one that could be easily and inexpensively incorporated into our diets, holds strong appeal.
Potassium in the water represents a potentially significant benefit to the majority of humans.

While potassium added to water with the use of potassium exchange resins for water softening would not provide excessive amounts of potassium, it could increase daily potassium intake enough to afford positive benefits in terms of human health. The moderate increase in potassium intake that would be provided by potassium added to the water supply could have long-term, significant effects on reducing the social and personal costs of several common diseases, as well as the frequency of the diseases themselves.

Amount of Potassium from Drinking Two Ouarts* of Water Softened with Potassium Chloride (K-Life) Regenerated Ion Exchange Resin
Initial Water Hardness (Grains per Gallon)	Potassium (mg)
5	133
10	266
15	400
20	533
*An adult will typically drink two quarts of water per day. CAUTION: Individuals under treatment for renal or cardiac disease, diabetes or receiving medication for high blood pressure shouid consult their physician prior to consuming water softened with this product.

ADVISEMENT

The information in this brochure is not intended to be medical advice. Each individual should consult with his own physician about the health issues discussed herein. Information in this publication was obtained from Dietary Potassium: Health Risks of Deficient and Excess Intake, David A. McCarron, M.D., December 1989.