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MorePotassium is one of the key minerals the body requires to function. Potassium deficiencies make people feel weak and cause headaches, stomach pains and abnormal heartbeat. A serious lack of potassium could even lead to the development of diabetes. A range of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains provide good amounts of potassium. For example, avocado, and bananas are especially rich sources of this mineral. You also find potassium in fish and chicken. With such a variety of foods containing potassium, it should be easy to arrange meal plans that provide a sufficient intake.
Important to diabetic health
Make sure the body has enough potassium to reduce the risk of diabetics. A lack of potassium causes blood sugar levels to go down. Side effects include weakness, headaches, and shaking. A dose of potassium chloride and sodium provides an instant remedy. People with diabetes need to be extremely careful to avoid fluctuations in potassium levels. In this way, they lessen the possibility of dangerous changes in glucose and hormone levels.
Helps to keep blood pressure at normal levels
Control of blood pressure is one of the most important ways potassium helps people to stay healthy. It counterbalances the impact of sodium on blood pressure to keep it at its optimum level. Properties found in this mineral also relieve the tension in blood vessels; this is one of the prime causes of high blood pressure. The importance doctors attach to checking blood pressure as a measure of the patient’s well-being shows how essential it is to avoid fluctuations to either extreme.
Essential for heart and kidney health
Nobody needs to be convinced that they need to take very good care of heart and kidney health. If these two vital organs no longer function immediate medical attention is a priority. The heart requires potassium to work smoothly, and this mineral also helps the kidneys perform their all-important waste removal function. However, the traditional saying that you can get too much of a good thing also applies in this context. Too much of the mineral in the body interferes with the operation of the kidneys rather than helping.
Aids the digestive process
Biologists draw attention to how the body requires potassium to digest and put to work the carbohydrates it absorbs through the food supply. Muscle development is another of the key areas where potassium very important. Potassium is therefore very significant for the child’s normal physical development, and it retains its importance in adult years. As long as a person is growing their body must have sufficient potassium to ensure their development proceeds in a normal and healthy way.
Keeps the body well-moisturized
The smooth functioning of bodily organs depends on the body remaining well hydrated. This is one of the main reasons why it is so important for people to drink sufficiently, especially in hot climates. Potassium also plays a major role in ensuring that the body maintains an optimum fluid balance. Scientists describe how it stabilizes this balance so that every cell receives the amount of fluid it needs. This is why there is a recommendation for athletes to eat a banana or avocado to boost their potassium level after a period of intense physical activity.
Reduces the possibility of bone structure problems
Most are well aware of how calcium is crucial to bone health, but the significance of potassium is less well known. Recent research focuses on how this mineral helps to stabilize various acids in the body, and this improves the retention of calcium. Furthermore, researchers have discovered a clear link between eating foods with high potassium content and bone strength. They recommend including these foods in meals plans to extend bone longevity.
Boosts energy levels
Eating healthy foods is obviously very important, but in addition to the nutrient, mineral and vitamin intake, the body has to be able to convert food efficiently into energy. The body’s metabolism cannot operate properly without sufficient potassium, so even if this person eats all the right food, they do not benefit from its energy-giving potential. The synthesis of protein is another biological process in which potassium plays an important part, and so a lack of the mineral has a negative effect on the body’s ability to regenerate tissue.
Good for brain functioning
If someone starts to feel that memory and learning abilities have declined, it is possible that a lack of potassium is the source of this deterioration. The brain’s electrical signals travel along what the medical world describes as potassium channels. If these channels are not working at full capacity, the brain is unable to function at its normal capacity. Difficulties absorbing information in classes and a tendency to forget material learned are examples of symptoms that appear in such a case.
Important to the smooth working of the nervous system
Muscle movements proceed seamlessly for someone who enjoys a healthy nervous system. As people walk, sit down, stretch out to take something or perform any of the other myriad actions they perform all the time, their muscles need to expand and contract. The nervous system transmits messages in connection with all these movements. The presence of sufficient potassium in the bloodstream enhances nerve reflexes in a way that ensures all these muscle movements will not quickly drain the body of energy.
Contribution to mental wellbeing
Some people might be surprised to discover that there is a clear connection between potassium levels and mental health, but this is a medical fact. Potassium helps to stabilize hormones. High levels of stress or anxiety could develop from a deficiency of this mineral. An appreciation of how potassium influences mental health prompts doctors to recommend boosting its level to relieve chronic stress symptoms. Certainly, many other factors contribute to stress and anxiety, but it is worth investigating if the cause is something as easy to resolve as a lack of potassium.
