Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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anyone here worried that theyre potassium intake is too high on paleo? is there any way to counteract this? everything good has potassium in it!

flag	asked Dec 19 2011 at 19:51 holly 1,097●3●12

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This is a very backward way to look at evolutionarily-informed eating. – Travis Culp♦ Dec 19 2011 at 19:56

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Increase sodium intake? – April S.♦ Dec 19 2011 at 19:58

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May want to take a gander at this: springerlink.com/content/rwqw5h4yu3arv4v0 (the pdf is free) – Travis Culp♦ Dec 19 2011 at 20:01

fwiw i have tested higher on potassium than what i thought, which is why im bringing this up – holly Dec 19 2011 at 20:38

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A high blood potassium probably has very little to do with the actual potassium you eat, make sure your eating enough sodium and not drinking too much water. – cliff Dec 20 2011 at 14:39

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Matt · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-20 14:31:03Z UTC

I would recommend recording your normal food intake very carefully for a two or three days and carefully entering this into a nutrient tracking software program. Then you would have an idea of how much potassium you are actually consuming.

It seems unlikely that you are consuming too much potassium unless you are really eating a great deal of potassium rich plants.

A potassium level of between 5 and 6 is classed as mild and is unlikely to have any symptoms.

There are a variety of medical issues that can lead to high potassium levels. Any of these are something to talk to a doctor about. Your kidneys usually maintain the level of potassium in the blood over a wide range of intakes.

It is less likely to be directly caused by potassium in your food unless you are also taking potassium supplements.

You can try reducing the amount of potassium in your diet but you can only really do this if you know how much you are currently eating.

AndyM · Answer 2 · 2011-12-19 19:59:31Z UTC

everything good has potassium in it!

This may be a clue. I'm not concerned that potassium intake is too high. I'm certainly not going to try and artificially counteract it. Maybe someone else has more info, but I've not heard that this is an area to be worried about. At best there may be some issues with salt balance.

andrew · Answer 3 · 2011-12-19 23:11:37Z UTC

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How on earth have you got so much potassium??!! According to FitDay, I rarely get 30% of my RDA - and I eat really well. Kidneys, liver, lots of veg, the occasional banana - but so rarely over 30%.

Or is Fit Day just utterly inaccurate?

answered Dec 19 2011 at 23:11

andrew
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	i dont know honestly. i'm just going by my serum labs – holly Dec 19 2011 at 23:58
	Yes, there is a gaping discrepancy in those trackers. If you find a whole food item that is straight from the SR database, it'll likeyly have all nutrients. However, if you add many of the cooked, premade, mixed, or branded foods, entries for nutrients like potassium are simply not entered. Summary: they generally gravely underestimate nutrient intake. – greymouser Jan 17 at 15:32

air_hadoken · Answer 4 · 2011-12-19 20:43:07Z UTC

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Seeing as how increasing your potassium to sodium ratio is one of the ways of lowering your blood pressure, the ideal ratio of K:Na is in the range of 2:1, and the average ratio in the US is 1:2, I don't see this as much of an issue, even if you are VLC and your body is potassium sparing.

answered Dec 19 2011 at 20:43

air_hadoken
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i guess i just need to eat more salt. the hormone which i believe regulates this (aldosterone) i tested low in as well, i have very low bp at times – holly Dec 19 2011 at 20:50

I've seen the ideal ratio put as high as 16:1 – Travis Culp♦ Dec 19 2011 at 20:53

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Evolutionarily speaking, we're just not designed to encounter that much sodium. – Travis Culp♦ Dec 19 2011 at 20:54

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Honestly, there seem to be as many ideal ratios as there are people writing about ideal ratios. 2:1 at least seems to be backed up by studies into CHD risk. – air_hadoken Dec 19 2011 at 20:55

Well, it's rooted in analysis of food we observe HGs actually eating. Some of these ratios are definitely arbitrary, but I remember thinking that it was fairly compelling when I read it. It may have been Eaton as well. – Travis Culp♦ Dec 19 2011 at 22:21

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balor123 · Answer 5 · 2011-12-19 22:24:57Z UTC

Yes, high serum potassium is a real concern. My guess is that you don't need to worry about it as long as you aren't supplementing with it as we've been eating a high potassium diet for a long time. That's not the case with sodium, which is why our kidneys have to actively pump it out.

Eric · Answer 6 · 2011-12-19 21:27:46Z UTC

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I try to have a 4:1 ratio. However I would love to be at 16:1 (The ratio Travis mentions).

answered Dec 19 2011 at 21:27

Eric
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Brie · Answer 7 · 2011-12-19 22:27:34Z UTC

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I have anywhere from 5:1 to 18:1 ratio. I don't restrict my salt intake, there are just simply a lot of food that tastes great without the need of putting salt on it.

answered Dec 19 2011 at 22:27

Brie
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kevin · Answer 8 · 2013-01-17 15:27:00Z UTC

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What was you potassium level.. I have heard that if you clench your fist when they draw the blood you can get a false high reading.

answered Jan 17 at 15:27

kevin
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too much potassium

8 Answers