5 Ways to Raise Your Potassium Levels (and Why You Might Want To) | Livestrong.com (2023)

FAQs

What could raise your potassium levels? ›

Taking potassium supplements can usually correct the problem. In severe cases, without proper treatment, a severe drop in potassium level can lead to serious heart rhythm problems that can be fatal.

As this case illustrates, rapid administration of potassium can be dangerous, even among patients with severe hypokalemia. Administration of 80 mEq/h, for example, has been associated with electrocardiogram changes and complete heart block.

There are many foods that are rich in electrolytes. For example, bananas, avocados, and lemons are rich in potassium and a variety of nuts and leafy greens are rich in magnesium.

Drinking fruit and vegetable juices is another easy way to increase your potassium intake. Citrus juices seem to provide the most potassium ( 3 ). For example, 1 cup (240 mL) of 100% orange juice offers about 10% of the DV for potassium, while the same serving of grapefruit juice provides 9% of the DV ( 30 , 31 ).

In mild cases of hypokalemia, potassium levels can normalize within a few days after you start increasing potassium intake. Making sure you eat enough potassium-rich foods every day can help boost and maintain healthy potassium levels.

Peanut butter also gives you some fiber, some vitamins and minerals (including 200 milligrams of potassium), and other nutrients. Unsalted peanut butter, with 5 milligrams of sodium, has a terrific potassium-to-sodium ratio. Salted peanut butter still has about twice as much potassium as sodium.

How quickly can you fix potassium deficiency? ›

Usually, 60–80 mmol of supplements per day for a few days to weeks is sufficient for treating mild to moderate hypokalemia. That said, always follow the recommendations of your healthcare professional ( 1 , 19 ). In severe hypokalemia cases, intravenous (IV) treatment may be recommended.

5. What should I include in my diet to help lower potassium? If you have hyperkalemia, doctors will advise you to avoid certain foods that are high in potassium. You can also make sure to drink plenty of water.

What Causes Low Potassium in Elderly Adults? Malnutrition and dehydration. Eating unhealthy foods, or not eating at all, can deplete your body of vitamins and minerals. Lack of hydration can also lead to a loss of potassium in cells.

Eating up to 2 servings of bananas caused marginal increases in plasma potassium concentration. The small increases in plasma potassium concentration occurred 30 to 60 minutes postingestion of bananas.

Drink An Electrolyte Beverage

If you're concerned primarily with replacing potassium lost through physical activity, such as a strenuous workout or a few hours of outdoor work or play on a hot day, one quick way to raise your potassium levels is through a cold beverage.

Potassium Chloride (Klor-Con M, K-Tab, Klor-Con, Micro-K) is a potassium supplement used to prevent and to treat low potassium. Potassium is important for the heart, muscles, and nerves.

Diet or protein drinks and diet bars often have potassium. It is also in sports drinks, such as Gatorade. These are meant to replace potassium you lose during exercise.

Over-drinking can bring down your potassium ions: Over-hydration due to excessive drinking of water can bring down the potassium ions in your body and lead to a condition called hypokalemia.

Excessive water consumption may lead to depletion of potassium, which is an essential nutrient. This may cause symptoms like leg pain, irritation, chest pain, et al. 6.

Conclusions: Acetaminophen appears to cause a concentration-dependent reduction of potassium concentrations and an elevation of creatinine concentrations of short duration (<24 h) after overdose.

Does ibuprofen raise potassium levels? ›

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) are typically taken to relieve fever, pain, and inflammation. They may also raise potassium levels by lowering aldosterone levels.

Accounting for more than 94% of the spice, ​​Potassium makes up the majority of the nutritional content of black pepper. It is also rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium among other essential micronutrients.

Vomiting, diarrhea or both also can result in excessive potassium loss from the digestive tract. Occasionally, low potassium is caused by not getting enough potassium in your diet. In most cases, low potassium is found by a blood test that is done because of an illness, or because you are taking diuretics.

The most common low-potassium juices include apple, grapefruit, cranberry and grape. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, grape juice and grapefruit juice contain no potassium.

Nuts, seeds, and legumes

These foods have more than 200 mg of potassium per serving, and should be avoided or eaten in very small portions if you are limiting potassium.

A common example of this is Cheerios cereal, which includes 250 milligrams of potassium and 10%DV of phosphorus.

Fruits like oranges, apples, and cantaloupe each contain about 5% of the daily potassium requirement per serving. Dairy is one of the most common sources of potassium in our diets. One cup of reduced-fat milk contains 366 milligrams, while yogurt has slightly more for the same serving with 440 milligrams.

Low-potassium fruits:

Apples (plus apple juice and applesauce) Blackberries. Blueberries. Cranberries.

Are apples high or low in potassium? ›

Apples are low in potassium, phosphorus, and sodium so they are a great choice for a kidney friendly diet. They are safe to eat for all of the following kidney conditions and treatments: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)/Transplant.

Chocolate and nuts contain high amounts of phosphorus and potassium.

Hypokalemia may also impair the ability of the kidneys to concentrate urine, resulting in excessive urination (polyuria) and excessive thirst (polydipsia). Other symptoms may include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.

Whole grains, including oats, are considered good potassium sources. One serving of instant or steel-cut oatmeal provides about 130 milligrams of potassium. If you're aiming to increase your potassium intake, you can bring this amount up significantly by adding high-potassium fruit to your oatmeal.

Potassium and sodium are electrolytes that help your body function normally by maintaining fluid and blood volume. However, consuming too little potassium and too much sodium can raise your blood pressure.

A low potassium level can make muscles feel weak, cramp, twitch, or even become paralyzed, and abnormal heart rhythms may develop. The diagnosis is based on blood tests to measure the potassium level. Usually, eating foods rich in potassium or taking potassium supplements by mouth is all that is needed.

Adults should consume about 3,500mg of potassium per day, according to the UK's National Health Service. The average banana, weighing 125g, contains 450mg of potassium, meaning a healthy person can consume at least seven-and-half bananas before reaching the recommended level.

Diet or protein drinks and diet bars often have potassium. It is also in sports drinks, such as Gatorade. These are meant to replace potassium you lose during exercise.

What fruit has the most potassium? ›

Drinking fruit and vegetable juices is another easy way to increase your potassium intake. Citrus juices seem to provide the most potassium ( 3 ). For example, 1 cup (240 mL) of 100% orange juice offers about 10% of the DV for potassium, while the same serving of grapefruit juice provides 9% of the DV ( 30 , 31 ).

The first interpretation of this phenomenon postulated that Coca-Cola contains large amount of caffeine, which enhances the shift of potassium from extracellular space into cells, and increase renal excretion of potassium via renin release, β-adrenergic stimulation and hyperventilation with alkalosis [13-17].