Agony of Brain Fog, Headaches, Muscle Weakness and Cramping?  The Answer May Actually Surprise You!

Electrolytes
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Potassium and sodium are macrominerals (as are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur and chloride).  Electrolytes have 4 general functions:
1. Control the osmosis of water between fluid compartments.
2. Help to maintain the PH balance.
3. Carry electrical current.
4. Serve as co-factors needed for optimal activity of enzymes.

Potassium and Sodium need to maintain homeostasis, if one goes low, the other will too.  Supplementing one and not the other, can cause this to happen.  Please remember, when getting a blood test for potassium, that you have no tourniquet on, no fist pumping or gripping anything, this will falsely elevate your results!  Be sure to be well hydrated so that these measures are not needed.

Errors in Potassium Measurement: A Laboratory Perspective for the Clinician
Jaya R Asirvatham, Viju Moses,1 and Loring Bjornson
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662091/
 
The Potassium Draw: Special Measures
From “A Manual of Laboratory Diagnostic Tests” by Frances Fischbach, Page 247-253.
https://hkpp.org/patients/potassium-draw

What is potassium
Potassium is one of the major intracellular minerals and electrolytes.  It is actively transported in and out of the cell, Increasing levels of aldosterone, an adrenal hormone, cause the excretion of potassium from the body.  Potassium is excreted under the influence of many diuretic drugs
 
Functions of potassium
• One of the major transport systems in the body via the sodium-potassium pump
• Functions to maintain proper cellular fluid levels
• Acid-base balance in the body
• Essential for nerve conduction
• Essential for heart function

Food sources of potassium
• Avocado
• Apricots
• Potatoes
• Cantaloupe
• Lima beans
• Parsnips
• Raisins
• Sardines

Deficiency
• Many people are deficient in potassium; it is often leached out of cooked foods due to its water-soluble nature.
Symptoms:
• Fatigue
• Mental confusion
• Muscle weakness
• Muscle cramping
• Cardiovascular problems

Functions of sodium
• Maintain fluid balance
• Normal muscle and nerve function (including the heart muscle)
• Fluid balance
• Blood volume
• Helps in glucose absorption and for the transportation of other nutrients across cell membranes
• It maintains blood reaction, by acting as buffer and phenomenon of chloride shift.
• It controls reaction of urine, by altering the proportion of acid and alkaline phosphates in the kidneys.
• It regulates reaction of pancreatic juice and bile due to sodium carbonate.
• It maintains osmotic pressure, sodium chloride is the chief regulator of the pressure of the body fluids.
• It helps in the formation of hydrochloric acid of gastric juice, since sodium chloride takes part in various reactions in the stomach.
• It rectifies defective fat absorption.

Food sources of sodium
• Unrefined sea salt
• Pink Himalayan salt
• Avocado
• Apple
• Banana
• Pineapple
• Salmon
• Broccoli
• Sweet potato
• Spinach
• Yogurt

Contrary to what advertisers would have you think, with food labeled as “low sodium”!  We NEED sodium.  We do NOT need table salt that has been stripped of all the cofactors (microminerals and macrominerals) that are needed for balance.  If you need more iodine, eating fish or sea vegetables (tested for heavy metals) is one way to do that, but using table salt for the added iodine is NOT the healthiest way to get your sodium or your iodine.  Table salt is a processed product and referred to as refined, we want non processed foods and unrefined salts.  If your salt is snowy white, it is processed, refined, table salt.

Dr. Elson Haas, author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition states, “Where natural foods are the only sources of sodium, there is almost no hypertension. These foods contain more potassium, which is found in high amounts in plant cells as well as in human cells.” In his section on salt, he talks about the controversy around salt intake and its effect on blood pressure. Dr. Haas suggests that some researchers believe the key to controlling blood pressure and hypertension is controlling the potassium-to-sodium ratios. The processed foods most of us eat are generally higher in sodium, and lower in potassium. Haas suggests we regularly include sea vegetables in our diets. They are “constantly bathed in the mineral-rich ocean water” and are particularly rich in iodine, calcium, potassium, and iron.

In the book Nourishing Traditions, author Sally Fallon points out that “sun dried sea salt contains traces of marine life that provide organic forms of iodine.”  She refers to studies that show that this form of organic iodine remains in the body’s tissues longer than iodide salts. Fallon suggests we all use sea salt that is sun dried in grey colored clay lined vats that is sold as Celtic Salt. Celtic salt is rich in the trace minerals and electrolytes our bodies need.

Deficiency
• Nausea
• Headaches
• Confusion
• Seizures
• Coma
• Death
 
Balancing electrolytes
I personally promote eating foods that are less processed and foods with fewer ingredients. One of those ingredients in our processed foods is the processed and refined salt which can upset our sodium/potassium balance. On a simple diet of healthy fats, organic fruits/vegetables, free-range meats, whole grains, and raw dairy, our bodies will be able to have the correct balance of the important electrolyte’s sodium and potassium. I also add Concentrace Mineral drops to all of the water I drink in a day.  This is tested for contaminants and heavy metals.

Sometimes people need a little kickstart, I like Pure Encapsulations brand Potassium (Citrate).  Each capsule is 200 mg, just be sure to add some unrefined sea salt to your water as well as your meals, 2 teaspoons a day, spread out, is adequate for most people.  Remember, we need balance, so not one without the other!  Stop the potassium supplement about 5-7 days before doing blood labs to see what you are holding on to, skip the added salt the day before and that day you test for the same reason.