I tried a supplementation of potassium lately and I was immediately
convinced I need it.
It allowed me to work more every day and have deeper thoughts.
I no more was carving for tomato juice in the evening.
I began eating less, even shift some meals with no hunger at all.
I can drink far more coffee with no side effects.
I can eat more raw vegetables without digestion problems.
Usually, I can see remote objects sharply only in the early
morning. In the evening, my sight is still good but a little fuzzy. Now
I see things very sharply all day long. A friend who is a photographer
tried potassium citrate and was delighted by this effect.
According to Wikipedia, most Westerners take each day less potassium
than the recommended quantity. Wikipedia is not a highly reliable
scientific reference but neither is this text.
It seems that a moderate deficiency in potassium cannot be monitored by
a
blood test. Indeed the blood always will contain the adequate quantity
of potassium. But the tissues, and especially the nerves and the
brains, can get depleted. It is also quite difficult to get a serious
deficiency of potassium.
Except in acute circumstances, the body always manages to keep some
potassium aloft. You will stay alive. But not
necessarily enjoying life.
Too much potassium is bad too, of course. That would be the case of two
friends of mine. They get nervous problems. One of them was prescribed
a low-potassium diet. The other one takes a supplementation of
magnesium. It seems that magnesium counterbalances potassium. Maybe
those two friends lack potassium
anyway. Maybe they need to take both potassium and magnesium. One of
them tried potassium citrate and got very good results. But he felt a
need to increase his magnesium intake... I once took a fair
supplementation of magnesium for a few
days and I got a little sick. I had to stop it. On the other hand, I
enjoy my supplementation
of potassium since a few weeks. I added some magnesium to the potassium
and experienced no problem...
I take potassium citrate. It cost me €17 for 250 grams. At first I used
to take some with each meal but a friend obviously found the best way;
now I take it far away from the meals, which is most often some while
before a meal. Or, simply, when I feel thirsty and I know the previous
meal was more than a few hours ago, I'll drink a glass of water with
some potassium citrate added. My friend takes about 0.5 milliliters
powder each time. I take usually 1 or 2 milliliters. This tastes like
some sort of lettuce juice. And we always add roughly 10% of some
magnesium salt. I'm currently magnesium chloride.
A clearly exaggerated dose will be one tablespoon of potassium citrate
after a meal. I feel I took too much of it but it doesn't make me
sick. The only consequence is I will sweat a lot. Not the sticky kind
of sweat like when I used to eat too much bread and cheese but simply a
watery sweat that evaporates without leaving any trace.
Some vegetables and fruit contain a lot of potassium. But fruit also
contain a lot of sugar... And, I don't know why, but I never managed to
eat huge quantities of vegetables. Maybe because it hampers my
digestion.
If you'd like to give it a try, ask you pharmacist for some. Don't take
too much of it. Start with little doses. Ask your doctor for advice,
especially if you have a health condition.
If you have difficulties to sleep in, take some calcium with the
evening meal (no link with the potassium, just could not withhold this
information). Too much calcium is dangerous but here too, magnesium
seems to be the antidote.