Potassium - Benefits to Aging Baby Boomers
Potassium - Benefits to Aging Baby Boomers
As we, meaning aging baby boomers, grow older, the body does not have the ability to self sustain itself as it did when we were younger. The reason is obvious. Body functions slow down due to simple aging and this includes cell replication and cell communication. If I could name one mineral that seems to stand out more than any other and benefits aging baby boomers, it would be potassium.
Potassium, a dietary mineral used in the body, is one of the most vital in that it is used in a number of electrical and cellular functions. These functions include activity within the skeletal, cardiac and muscular systems. Some of the body's individual activities affected include normal heart action, the digestive system and muscular function.
Our bodies contain and use potassium as a dietary mineral. It exist in the form of an electrolyte. Electrolytes allow electrical charges to move back and forth across the cell membranes. They exist as acids, bases and salts in the blood.
How does this work? Potassium should be on the inside of the cell and sodium on the outside of the cell body. Ideally, there needs to be a delicate balance between the two for proper electrical exchange. Sodium will be a lot simpler and easier to intake and maintain than potassium therefore normal body functions rely on a higher absorption of potassium to sustain the proper balance.
Even though there are various other minerals that will perform an essential function in aging baby boomers health, the deficiency or even more significantly, the balance between dietary potassium and sodium possesses an essential aspect in the prevention and treatment of certain disorders and illnesses.
The mineral plays an important part in the prevention of such conditions as stroke and hypertension, osteoporosis and kidney stones and in the treatment of bronchial asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases.
How does it help prevent stroke
Researchers realize that high blood pressure is one of the main elements for stroke. Dietary potassium intake helps to reduce blood pressure partly by enabling the blood vessels to remain pliable which in turn enables them to dilate easily.
Additionally, it improves sodium excretion and reduces the vascular system's reactivity to system chemicals that constrict the blood vessels. A report in the Journal of the American Heart Association, September, 1998 demonstrated that one gram of the mineral daily in somebody that still has high blood pressure decreases the risk of stroke by 60%.
How does it help prevent osteoporosis
Aging baby boomers, particularly females, age 50 and over are at danger for the beginnings of osteoporosis. It impacts approximately 44 million Americans. In a recent research from the Osteoporosis Center at UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, several postmenopausal women were placed on a low salt after which a high salt diet program. A few were provided potassium and some a placebo during which time calcium and NTX, a bone protein, excretion was measured. Individuals using the potassium displayed less loss of both calcium and NTX. The dosage applied in the test was 3.5 grams daily.
How does it help prevent kidney stones
Dietary potassium, specifically in the citrate form, is a natural alkali. Our eating habits are generally too high in acidic foods and this is likely to reduce the body's ph. This in turn causes the body to draw alkaline calcium from our bones in order to off set the higher levels of acid. This results in bone loss. It also results in an increase of calcium excreted in the urine. An increased excretion of calcium may also imply the development of kidney stones. The mineral, then, functions as a ph balance for our body's system.
How does it help in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Excerpts from the research Total body potassium depletion and the need for preoperative nutritional support in Chrohn's disease. K Lehr, O Schober, H Hundeshagen, and R Pichlmayr; Ann Surg. 1982 Dec;196(6):709-14. state the following case for the need in the treatment of IBD. Quote: 'Significant intracellular potassium depletion was documented in 57 patients with Crohn's disease by measurements of total body potassium, body water compartments, and red cell Na,K-ATPase units....Treatment before surgery to improve individual body potassium content resulted in a reduced surgical mortality and complication rate....In conclusion, preoperative nutritional support in Crohn's disease is recommended for patients with a total body potassium level less than 70% of normal.'
Additional areas of interest which include potassium intake and proper levels, are
atherosclerosis, diabetes, cataracts, dehydration and hepatitis. The most effective means to maintain correct levels of the mineral to combat these disorders is to include a diet of foods high in potassium. Dietary supplements of proper type and quantity are also a great source but are usually considered secondary and typically under a professionals advice.
Two disorders which illustrate elevated or low levels of the mineral is hyperkalemia and hypokalemia. Hyperkalemia is the condition that exhibits raised blood levels of the mineral. The more common of the two is hypokalemia. It pertains to the condition in which the blood levels of the mineral is reduced. Typical causes include not getting enough potassium from your diet, digestive problems, hormonal disorders and some drugs.
Medicines associated with hypokalemia are decongestants, diuretics, high-dose antibiotics and other agents such as caffeine. Sufficient quantities of other minerals such as sodium and magnesium are also required to sustain normal levels. The typical percentage observed in the bloodstream is generally about two percent.
The richest sources are fruits and vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, broccoli, banana and cantaloupe. Of course the list for foods high in potassium is much larger and may include potatoes, tomatoes and orange juice as well as several others.
The Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences has issued the Adequate Intake level as being 4.7 grams/day for adults. Many agree that the normal potassium intake for the majority of adults, particularly aging baby boomers, falls below that recommendation and averages at about 1,500 to 2,100 milligrams per day.
Specific to the Baby Boomers
Stroke - Stroke may be prevented by lowering blood pressure, enhancing sodium excretion and lowering the vascular systems reactivity to body chemicals that constrict the blood vessels.
High Blood Pressure - High blood pressure may be lowered by it actions on the vascular system.
Osteoporosis - Osteoporosis is lessened by allowing less excretion of calcium and NTX, a bone protein.
Kidney Stones - Kidney stones may be prevented by the mineral acting as an alkali agent, neutralizing the body causing less calcium excretion through the kidneys.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Inflammatory Bowel Disease may be treated with potassium nutritional support to strengthen cellular activity.
Other - Other areas of studies in prevention and treatment concerning atherosclerosis, diabetes, cataracts, dehydration and hepatitis have shown promise.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER REGARDING THIS ARTICLE: Information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional consultation. Please consult an appropriate health care provider about the applicability of any opinions or suggestions with respect to your own symptoms or medical conditions.
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