Why potassium and magnesium?

The diet doctor covers this.... https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/supplements

That's all good stuff! Well done!

Just wondering, have you tried those lo-salt products? They might be cheaper or more convenient.

Tesco does Lo Salt @ £1 for 350 grams - a teaspoon in a glass of carbonated water makes a relatively refreshing drink.

Ingredients
Potassium Chloride (51%), Salt (48%), Anti-caking Agents (Magnesium Carbonate, Sodium Ferrocyanide).

There is a connection obviously, my husband had to give up bananas (he ate 2/3 a day) for a few weeks at the request of his heart drug nurse who checks his bloods fortnightly. His potassium was too high (his BP can go dangerously low) - so you might be on track. The problem comes if you overdo it.

copilost said:

i mean 119? really. ten years ago (aged 46) i was 180 over 120! scary zone. i feel everything since then has been trashed by what i've learned here and elsewhere,

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Sometimes I do wonder if medicine has made any significant progress in dealing with the "chronic progressive" diseases that aren't easily helped by medication. Seems to me that we have consistently got it wrong.

What potassium supplements? All the ones I see are really low dose. I’ve been adding an avocado a day, has like 10x the amount

It's possible , generally early on, with a low carb diet, to "wee out" lot of fluid, and with this go essential minerals, i.e. potassium and magnesium and dare i mention salt. So they need replacing, and a number of the vegetables & fruits , e.g. @LaoDan's avocados, recommended for low carb are also high in potassium and magnesium and I try to include these in my diet.

Years before diabetes "struck", I was on diuretics, and used to get bad leg cramps from potassium loss they caused, A daily banana was my go-to solution then but obviously not now on a low carb diet if this happens. Apparently some of the low carb options are actually higher in their mineral content (try Google for lists).

LaoDan said:

What potassium supplements? All the ones I see are really low dose. I’ve been adding an avocado a day, has like 10x the amount

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Potassium supplements (in the UK, but possibly everywhere) are required to be capped at a max of 100mg.
That is actually only 2% of the recommended daily amount (according to the Potassium Citrate supplement sitting on my desk as I type).
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Potassium-HealthProfessional/
This is max dose regulation is justified by the fact that excess potassium (hyperkalemia) is potentially very dangerous.
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/what-hyperkalemia
and there are some medications (incl some diuretics) that may prevent the kidneys from flushing excess potassium out in the urine.

So those of us who have decent kidney function, and who are not taking those medications, are not really at risk of hyperkalemia unless we eat very high quantities of certain foods.

It would also be very difficult to take excessive potassium in the form of supplements. I certainly don't want to be chugging 25 tablets of it a day. But I do take 3 (300mg) which is a whole 6% of my RDA, and enough to stave off the cramps I sometimes get in hot weather. Sometimes I even go mad (on very hot days) and take 6 tablets! If I forget to supplement for a week, I might really push the boat out and take 10, spread through the day, but that would probably be after a nasty night time cramp reminded me that I need them.

Potassium is fairly available in a low carb diet, but sometimes people need a little help. I certainly seem to - but then I have a history of malabsorption, so I think quite a lot of the potassium that I eat gets passed straight through - hence the supplements.

Potassium measurements from venous blood are notoriously difficult to take and can result in pseudo-hyperkalemia rather than a true diagnosis.
Leaving a tourniquet on too long, clenching ones fist, shaking vial, etc result in extra potassium coming into a blood sample giving a higher result than actual.

I have experienced this for some time, having to maintain my potassium due to adrenal disease.

I don't think many phlebotomists have been properly briefed.

Btw Bananas are not a particularly good source of potassium , white beans are far better and have less sugar in them.
D.

Reviewed my diet. The protein shake I use has 350 per serving. My avocado per day is up in that range. I eat a lot of nuts , seeds, green leafy veggies, so I’m probably close enough. Thinking about switching to lite salt, and adding a pinch to my water jug

If you have high bp and low potassium you could possibly have Primary Aldosteronism. In PA, patients cannot keep their potassium high enough because it leaks away in their urine!

Your renin/aldosterone ratio requires checking.

Alternatively an easy check if you have high bp and low potassium is for a health care professional to try you on a potassium sparing diuretic like Spironolactone to see of the situation improves.
GPs in UK often fail to recognise Conn's syndrome, it was 25 years before the reason for my high bp was recognised.

Ace inhibitors and ARB's dont work in PA because the aldosterone is too high and renin is too low, so one does not normally produce angiotensin to need blocking.

We have very sophisticated feedback systems in the human body to create homeostasis, it takes serious changes in food input to disable it in an healthy person.
D.

copilost said:

I'm taking sando-k prescribed by the doctor (but it looks like you can buy online).
Each tablet contains 470 mg of potassium (12 mmol) and I'm taking 6 a day for 3 days.
Going back in a week or so for kidney tests.
I'm a year into low carb so probably not early adjustment. I think perhaps that by removing carb aggravation I'm exposing something that precedes it. Always have had trouble with muscle cramps and aches even when I was young, lean and fit (rowing!).

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This is very interesting, thank you for sharing. I've suffered with leg cramps for a few years and when diagnosed in hospital I was tube fed potassium as I was very low. I didn't know it was linked. So white beans are high then, I know what I'll be bulking my meals with

copilost said:

So i stopped taking my blood pressure pills (ace inhibitors and calcium channel blockers) not very good results! Then started potassium supplements and bp is best it's been in years (including before stopped prescribed meds).
Not looking for medical instruction, just wanted to log this. My diastolic is always high and meds don't seem to touch this. Interesting. Also completely controlled my bg with diet alone in one year and not even a "good work" from doctors. blah and blah.

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Hi, how long had you been diagnosed prior to getting bg down. What action did you take?