In addition to Calcium, Potassium is Another Essential Element for the Elderly – Adequate Supplementation Reduces Diseases
While potassium-rich foods are recommended for supplementation, such as bananas, taro, and sweet potatoes, it is crucial to maintain a balanced intake and consult with a doctor before considering potassium supplements.
We are all aware that as people age, various bodily functions decline, and essential elements are gradually lost without our awareness. Negligence in daily life can trigger a series of diseases, often attributed to calcium deficiency, leading many to excessively supplement calcium without significant results. However, when the body encounters issues, it may not just be a lack of calcium but could also be due to a deficiency in potassium.
Potassium, as a vital element alongside calcium, holds equal if not more importance. Potassium not only prevents the loss of calcium from the body but also plays a preventive role in certain chronic diseases such as hypertension, contributing to blood pressure regulation. A deficiency in potassium may manifest in various symptoms.
Symptoms of Potassium Deficiency:
- Fatigue:
The most common symptom of potassium deficiency is fatigue. The lack of potassium prevents organs and cells from efficiently maintaining the body’s vitality, resulting in fatigue. - Mental and Cognitive Impairments:
Potassium deficiency may lead to a decline in mental alertness, overall weakness, confusion, and, in severe cases, hallucinations, possibly contributing to the onset of depression. - Muscle Issues:
Potassium deficiency hampers muscle excitability, disrupting normal contraction and relaxation activities. Muscle cramps, particularly in the legs, become common, often mistaken for calcium deficiency. - Digestive Problems:
Inadequate potassium levels hinder intestinal peristalsis, leading to decreased digestive function. Prolonged deficiency can cause constipation, loss of appetite, and vomiting. - Cardiac Impact:
Potassium deficiency can adversely affect the heart, resulting in abnormal heartbeats, dizziness, fainting, and, in severe cases, ventricular fibrillation.
Furthermore, potassium deficiency can impact mental health, causing restlessness, confusion, and other neurological issues.
Groups that Also Require Potassium Supplementation:
- Hypertensive Individuals:
Potassium supplementation is crucial for those with hypertension. Similar to the importance of limiting sodium intake, potassium helps maintain vascular smoothness, reducing blood pressure and preventing cardiovascular diseases. It is essential for hypertensive individuals taking antihypertensive medications to maintain optimal potassium levels between 3.5-5.5mmol/L. - Those Prone to Vomiting or Diarrhea:
Conditions like frequent vomiting or diarrhea result in potassium loss. Timely medical examination is necessary in such cases to avoid low potassium levels below 3.5mmol/L, leading to hypokalemia. - Regular Medication Users:
As people age, the likelihood of diseases increases, and medications become a common means to alleviate symptoms. Patients with conditions like heart disease or diabetes, especially those with diuretic medications, may experience significant potassium loss. It is essential to monitor and maintain potassium levels to prevent complications. - Heavy Sweaters:
Individuals who sweat excessively tend to lose a substantial amount of water and potassium through sweat, potentially causing potassium deficiency.
While potassium-rich foods are recommended for supplementation, such as bananas, taro, and sweet potatoes, it is crucial to maintain a balanced intake and consult with a doctor before considering potassium supplements. Excessive potassium intake can also be harmful, possibly causing symptoms like sensitivity to cold or nausea. Therefore, understanding the importance of potassium and adopting a balanced diet is crucial for overall health, especially for individuals aged 60 and above. Regular health check-ups and targeted supplementation based on individual needs are advisable to mitigate potential health risks effectively.
Original article by admin, if reproduced, please cite the source as: https://www.tcmha.com/tcmhealthcare/in-addition-to-calcium-potassium-is-another-essential-element-for-the-elderly-adequate-supplementation-reduces-diseases.html
相关推荐
-
Chinese medicine warning: sleep can not just sleep! These 3 kinds of sleep easy to hurt the body
During sleep metabolism slows down, each system gradually smooth, each organ gets enough blood, nutrients and oxygen nourishment, conducive to repair of damaged tissues and improve the essence.
-
Should I take Chinese herbs before or after meals?
In daily life, almost everyone has had the experience of using Chinese medicine. In addition to choosing a regular Chinese medicine hospital and choosing the right doctor to prescribe the right medicine, the process of using medicine should also pay attention to the time and method of taking Chinese medicine to improve clinical efficacy.
-
TCM for sleep disorders: how to put out ‘liver fire’ that prevents you getting the nightly rest you need, according to traditional Chinese medicine
The liver regulates qi, the body’s life force, a Hong Kong traditional Chinese medicine practitioner says, and it is most active in the early hours of the day;To prevent the organ overheating – a condition known as ‘liver fire’ – change your lifestyle and consider acupuncture, Samuel To says.
-
Chinese medicine to correct the name of the crotch pants! The wisdom of the old ancestors in parenting is hidden in crotch pants!
Nowadays, with the improvement of people’s living standards, children’s open pants are gradually replaced by diapers, however, do you know what kind of parenting wisdom is contained in open pants?
-
4 factors can cause dizziness,these recipes can often eat
Dizziness is very common, so what can cause dizziness? Which dizziness needs our attention? Let’s take a brief look at the following.
-
Hair loss? Let’s listen to what Chinese doctors say
According to some data, more than 250 million people in China are suffering from hair loss, with an average of 1 in 6 people suffering from hair loss, and many post-90s are also suffering from hair loss. Many people find that they lose a lot of hair every time they wash their hair, and they are very worried about whether they have joined the hair loss army. Hair growth is cyclical, divided into the growth phase, regression phase and resting phase. There are about 100,000 hairs in the human body,…
-
How Acupuncture Can Improve Your Health?
Acupuncture is an age-old remedy from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been practiced for thousands of years. Some studies estimate it is 3,000 years old. Today, acupuncture is used around the world in the 21st-century information age of cross-pollination of cultures and health practices.
-
These habits are hurting your kidneys! Don’t do it again!
The kidney is a very important organ in the human body, which is called the cleaner of the human body.
-
The Complete Book of Chinese Medicine Pain Diagnosis
Pain, is an extremely complex kind of painful experience. All kinds of stimuli will feel pain when they reach the extreme point, but it doesn’t have to be the extreme point, sometimes it hurts when it doesn’t reach the extreme point, there is also the feeling of pain, so the feeling of pain is there for everyone, but there is no way to describe it, anyway, it is pain, you ask him which place hurts? Headache, heartache, how do you really hurt? What is the manifestation of pain? It is…
-
Chinese medicine: stool head dry after thin, may be “stomach strong spleen weak” cause trouble, Chinese medicine teach you a move to regulate well
I don’t know if you have found this situation, when you go to the toilet, sometimes the stool is formed at first, a little dry, but at the back, the stool becomes thin, unformed, and even serious also a little diarrhea, so this stool before dry and then thin is what happened? We all know that people with a deficient spleen are prone to unformed stools, because the spleen is responsible for transportation, absorption and transport, that is, the spleen has to absorb the food in the stomach and intestines,…
