12 weird signs that your body needs more potassium this video is for educational purposes only so do speak with your doctor if you suspect a potassium deficiency one cramps in the hands one of the most common signs of a potassium deficiency is cramping in the hands and the fingers potassium controls the flow of electrical signals to your muscles so when you don't have enough the hands can be become very tight and cramped typing texting writing or gripping objects for too long can often trigger this problem and pottassium can help relieve it two tiredness after eating
if you often feel tired after eating a meal it's likely that the food is causing you to have high blood sugars which then crashes causing tiredness getting more potassium into your body helps to regulate blood sugar and insulin production so that your nerves can make more energy keeping you awake and alert sign number three puffy eyes waking up with puffy eyes or swelling around your face is also a common sign of low potassium potassium helps your kidneys to flush excess fluid out of your body but when you're not getting enough fluid can begin accumulating under
your skin especially around the face number four is constipation if you often suffer from constipation you may simply need more potassium and magnesium in your diet from leafy greens these minerals are important because they help to control the smooth muscles in your colon allowing food waste to be pumped through your intestines which is called peristalsis both pottassium citrate and magnesium citrate can help to move your bowels making it e easier for stools to pass through when you're using the toilet five craving salty foods frequent cravings for salty snacks like potato chips salted nuts or pretzels
could be a sign of a potassium deficiency especially if you crave them when you're feeling stressed or anxious you see emotional stress triggers the release of cortisol this is a hormone that depletes potassium and increases cravings for salty foods boosting your intake of potassium rich foods like avocados leafy greens and salmon can help to reduce these Cravings by naturally relaxing your body and your nervous system sign number six is muscle weakness if your muscles feel tired and weak after walking up a flight of stairs or a hill or you become extremely fatigued when you've just
started to exercise it's likely that your muscles aren't making enough ATP energy because of the deficiency in potassium or magnesium you also lose these minerals when you're sweating and working out the best way to overcome this problem is by using a good quality electrolyte powder mixed with water but I'll talk more about this later leading me on to number seven hearing your pulse potassium keeps your blood vessels very soft and elastic allowing blood to flow freely through the body but if you're deficient you may start to hear a swishing or a throbbing sound of your
heartbeat in your ears especially at night this is very common after eating meals that are high in salt MSG or sugar as these all cause your blood vessels to tighten making you hear your own heartbeat potassium on the other hand helps to improve blood flow and stop this from happening and this ties in to number eight high blood pressure high blood pressure is often caused by not having enough potassium because this mineral keeps the smooth muscles in the artery soft allowing the blood to flow freely when you're stressed out you eat junk Foods or smoke
your arteries can become more narrow causing higher blood pressure pottassium magnesium and antioxidant rich foods can all help to lower lower your blood pressure naturally sign nine urination at night waking up often to urinate at night could also sometimes be caused by low potassium levels when you're deficient in pottassium your body stores excess water and sugar during the day at nighttime your body tries to break down this stored sugar and this causes a release of water which leads to more frequent urination getting enough potassium can help to balance fluid and sugar balance reducing those nighttime
trips to the bathroom 10 fainting or dizziness when pottassium or sodium levels are low it's harder for your body to circulate blood and oxygen properly to your brain this can cause you to feel faint or feel dizzy especially when standing up it's a very common problem that I've suffered with during flights due to the pressurized cabin in the aircraft or it can also happen after drinking too much caffeine or alcohol which deete your potassium reserves 11 mood swings another sign that you may be low in potassium is feeling very easily irritated or experiencing mood swings
pottassium helps to control the flow of electrical energy through your body and nervous system but when you're low your nerves may become OV excited causing you to overreact and have less tolerance for stress potassium magnesium and B vitamins can all help to reduce mood swings and number 12 is loud stomach growling when your potassium levels are low the muscles in your intestines may not contract properly causing trapped air and fluids to move more noisily through the digestive tract this can cause a loud St growling or a gurgling noise even when you're not feeling hungry and
one final symptom that I'd like to add to this list is diabetes people who suffer from diabetes should also consider boosting their potassium intake to at least 5,000 mg a day potassium is essential for reducing insulin resistance and helping to control your blood sugar levels I'd suggest consuming at least 2,000 mg of potassium citrate powder in a glass of water per day to help prevent diabetes complications along with cutting out all sugar and refined carbohydrates testing for pottassium what you need to know is only 2% of the potassium that's in your body is stored in
your blood so you can't really tell if you have enough of it from a simple blood test this is why potassium deficient gencies are often overlooked and ignored by doctors why am I low in potassium pottassium is absolutely essential for something called the sodium potassium pump which helps the cells in your body act like batteries and generate energy this pump moves potassium into your cells whilst moving sodium from Salt out allowing your muscles nerves and heart to function properly for for this reason you really do need a lot of potassium in your diet at least
4700 mg per day unfortunately it is estimated that 98% of people in Western countries are now deficient in potassium mostly because we don't eat enough leafy green vegetables or we consume too many processed foods which are low in potassium but high in sodium you see the more sodium you consume from Salt the more more potassium your body needs as these two minerals or electrolytes work together to maintain balance some other reasons that you may be deficient include using medications like penicillin diuretics and steroids which reduce your body's potassium stores high levels of emotional stress and
cortisol cause blood sugars to rise which uses up your potassium reserves following a low carbohydrate diet like keto can also cause potassium loss particularly during weight loss pottassium is also lost when you're vomiting or have diarrhea drinking too much caffeine or alcohol or you can also lose potassium through your sweat when you're exercising or it's very warm a lack of vitamin D from not getting enough Sunshine can prevent your kidneys from storing enough potassium as well so as you can see there are a range of different reasons that you may become deficient in potassium so
let's take a look at how to boost your potassium levels naturally firstly eat a large salad every day containing high potassium vegetables like Swiss chard kale and avocado you can also get a good amount of potassium by eating beef liver mushrooms salmon broccoli pork tenderloin and Brazil nuts if you're picky and you don't like eating vegetables you may want to try my homemade electrolyte drink recipe in a blender add one large avocado pulp with two cups of water one whole unwaxed lemon including the peel with a cup of blueberries and a/4 of a teaspoon of
Celtic Sea salt process the mixture until it's smooth and drink it on a daily basis to boost your potassium levels you can also add Stevia to sweeten it if you like this drink is very good to use before or after your workout or on a hot day to replenish your minerals avoid depleters cut back on caffeine alcohol sugar grains and processed foods these Foods add more workload to your cells which depletes potassium fast soak your beans and legumes if you enjoy eating beans or legumes consider soaking them before cooking them to reduce their antinutrients like
phytic acid this will help boost your body's ability to absorb potassium from your food switch to sea salt instead of using processed table salt which contains bulking ingredients I suggest switching to Celtic Sea salt when you're cooking Celtic Sea salt contains other minerals that complement the potassium and it's less likely to cause pottassium deficiency symptoms like high blood pressure stay hydrated it's very important that let you drink enough water to keep hydrated and transport the potassium around your body especially in hot weather or after exercise vitamin D3 taking a daily supplement of vitamin D3 can
help your kidneys store and retain potassium and you can also add potassium rich herbs to your meals like parsley cilantro basil dill and oregano you might consider making a fresh Blended veg vegetable soup with some of these herbs capsule supplements unfortunately most capsules on the market only contain around 99 mg of potassium which means that you'd need to take 47 pills every day to meet your daily requirements of 4700 mg which is absolutely ridiculous instead of doing this you can take a half a teaspoon of pottassium citrate powder in a glass of water or add
it to your smoothie every time you do this you'll Supply an additional 1,000 mg of potassium into your body now it's very important to remember that potassium Works in tandem with other minerals like magnesium and sodium so getting a balanced intake is the key if you have kidney damage speak with your doctor before using potassium as overc consumption may cause problems the requirement for potassium goes up so much when you're eating too many refined carbohydrates and sugars if you think that this could be your problem you may want to watch the video that I put
on the screen now for more information I'd like to thank you so much for watching my video today and as always I wish you great health wealth and happiness
