Potassium represents 5% percent of the total mineral content of a human body, even though only about one litre is found in the body at a time. Potassium is found in our bodies both inside and outside cells and is a very important mineral required every day to stay healthy. More than 98% of the body’s potassium is intracellular. The body easily absorbs potassium, but nearly 90% of it is excreted through the kidneys and bowels. Thus, potassium is a natural diuretic and is important for the elimination of body wastes, such as water and sodium.

Potassium is a primary electrolyte, it is a great alkalizer, and important for maintaining pH and water balance.

Benefits of potassium:

1. Along with other minerals such as sodium, chloride and calcium, potassium helps in normal cellular function, such as transmission of nerve impulses, digestion, healthy muscle contractions, proper cardiovascular functioning (heartbeat irregularities are normally a sign of potassium deficiency), and helping the body to convert glucose into glycogen (the body’s stored form of energy).

2. Potassium helps promote healthy cardiovascular health. It is strongly believed that potassium has the ability to pump sodium out of the body’s cells and reduce body fluid.

3. Potassium, along with sodium, helps to regulate blood pressure. Increasing potassium in the diet may protect against hypertension in people who are sensitive to high levels of sodium.

4. Potassium also affects blood vessel tone as well as the way blood vessels react to the flowing hormones, thus affecting pressure within blood vessels.

5. Potassium therapeutically assists in the treatment of alcoholism, acne, alleviating allergies, promoting the early healing of burns.

6. It also helps with problems such as congestive heart failure, chronic fatigue syndrome or kidney stones.

7. Potassium plays a vital role in cellular integrity by regulating the transfer of nutrients into the cell.

8. Potassium also attracts oxygen to tissues, helps correct positioning of vital organs. Potassium deficiency indicates that probably albumin, sugar, sodium, and chlorine are also in short supply or not being properly absorbed.

9. Potassium helps proper functioning of the adrenal glands. It helps support healthy sugar balance in the body.

Deficiency of potassium –

The kidneys excrete excess potassium from the body, and deficiencies are rarely found in people on a normal balanced diet. A deficiency may result in fatigue, cramping legs, muscle weakness, sluggish reflexes, acne, dry skin, mood swings and irregular heartbeat.

A shortage of potassium in body may cause a fatal condition known as hypokalemia, resulting from diarrhea, increased diuresis and vomiting. Hypokalemia can occur in people with a chronic disease or due to aging process. Deficiency symptoms include muscle weakness, ECG abnormalities, decreased reflex response, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia and respiratory paralysis.

If the fluid and electrolyte balance is not restored, the risk of heart failure increases.

Potassium deficiency increases acid levels in the body, lowers the natural pH balance, causes problems with the formation of connective tissue. Kidney diseases (such as acute renal failure), diabetes can also cause fluctuations in the levels of potassium. Many medications such as diuretics, cortisone, prolonged use of aspirin, and laxatives also cause depletion of potassium.

Dietary sources of potassium:

Eating a variety of foods that contain potassium is the best way to get the required amount. Individuals who eat a balanced diet do not need potassium supplements. Foods, which are rich sources of potassium include turnips, whole grains, molasses, fish, citrus fruit, apple cider vinegar, bananas, avocados, yoghurt, tomatoes, poultry, oranges, apricots, potatoes (especially their skins), leafy green vegetables such as spinach, lettuce; and meat. One large orange will supply one with 250 mg of potassium, one-eighth of a person’s daily need. Dried apricots contain more potassium than fresh apricots.

Steaming of foods helps to retain nutrients that are lost through other cooking techniques such as boiling (loss of about 50% of potassium content). Steaming results in only a 6% loss of potassium.

Recommended Daily Allowance of potassium:

There is no recommended daily allowance (RDA) for potassium, but it is advised to get between 2,000-3,000 mg per day. The range of intake for children is 780 to 1,600 mg per day.

This is not difficult, and most people meet this requirement on their own through a normal diet. In general, nutritionists recommend reducing salt intake and ensuring adequate supply by increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet.

If one is into bodybuilding, he must increase the potassium intake, since potassium is needed to maintain muscles in good form, and also because potassium is lost from excessive sweating and urine.

Symptoms of high intake of potassium:

Excessive potassium can be toxic and will affect the heart. This is a problem especially when one is suffering from some problem such as kidney failure. Irregular heart beat and muscle fatigue is sign of toxic potassium levels. In healthy people, the kidneys in the urine excrete excess potassium.

Who requires extra potassium?

People who require potassium supplements include:

# women on oral contraceptives,

# chronic alcoholics or drug abusers,

# smokers

# people undergoing stress

# athletes

# people doing strenuous exertion,

# anyone suffering from any degree of mal-absorption syndrome

# people with eating disorders, especially bulimia and anorexia..

Vitamin B12 has a long history and a solid reputation as an energy booster, and it is among the most important of all the B-complex vitamins. Vitamin B12 deficiency may result negative in hematological, neurological, and gastrointestinal conditions. Gastrointestinal effects of B12 deficiency may include diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, excessive flatulence, and a burning sensation on the tongue. Vitamin B12, a member of the B-vitamin family, is a term used collectively to represent a group of cobalt-containing compounds known as corrinoids. The principal cobalamins are cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, and the two coenzyme forms of vitamin B12, methylcobalamin, and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin (adenosylcobalamin). However, the term vitamin B12 is usually used to refer to only one of these forms, cyanocobalamin, which is used to fortify foods and nutritional supplements. Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin required for normal cell activity, DNA replication, and the synthesis of the mood-influencing substance SAMe. Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, works with folic acid to produce healthy red blood cells. Vitamin B12 also keeps your central nervous system healthy.

Vitamin B12 helps maintain the myelin sheath that insulates nerve fibres from each other. B12 deficiency can cause a type of anemia marked by fewer but larger red blood cells that’s called pernicious anemia. It can also cause walking and balance problems, sore tongue, weakness, confusion and, in advanced cases, dementia. Vegetarians who eliminate all animal sources from their diet (also known as vegans) may benefit from taking a vitamin B12 supplement. Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in food. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach releases B12 from proteins in foods during digestion. Hydroxocobalamin is a man-made form of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12’s main functions are in the formation of red blood cells and the maintenence of a healthy nervous system. Prolonged B12 deficiency can lead to nerve degeneration and irreversible neurological damage. People with vitamin B12 deficiency show irregular destruction of the myelin sheaths, which eventually causes paralysis and death.Vitamin B12 levels decrease with age and various measures of cognitive impairment are associated with reduced B12 status. Vitamin B12 deficiencies occur when the body is unable to properly use the vitamin.

Benefits of Vitamin B12

1. Vitamin B12 are critical to the health of the nervous system and to a process that clears homocysteine from the blood.

2. Vitamin B12 is found naturally in food sources (principally animal products) in protein-bound forms.

3. Vitamin B12 deficiency can be a factor in a variety of different health conditions and disorders.

4. Vitamin B12 may help restrain pre-cancerous lung conditions in smokers.

5. Patients with Alzheimer’s show low levels of Vitamin B12.

6.3 Vitamin B 12 and folate are required for the synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine, a methyl group donor essential for the metabolism of neurotransmitters.

7. Vitamin B12 deficiency can be a factor in a variety of different health conditions and disorders.

8. Vitamin B12 has been suggested to help defend against hypersensitivity to sulfites.

You can’t go to do sport event, an outdoor activity or even to the corner store without advertisements for energy drinks staring you down. Will these handy beverages give you a jolt of vigor or leave you in a slump? The answer is, both. And that’s not all they’ll do.

The active ingredient in energy drinks are varies, as do their side effects. None are superior, they all carry the potential to do awful things to your body.

CAFFEINE – It’s good enough for coffee and tea, but why not for your energy drink? The answer is because it works like amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin, in the way that it stimulates the brain. A typical 12 ounce can of a caffeinated energy drink contains 70-100 mg of caffeine, or the same as two sodas or a 6 ounce cup of coffee. Guarana, a common ingredient in energy drinks, contains caffeine.

Caffeine works by blocking the chemical that makes you naturally drowsy. The chemical, adenosine, is also responsible for dilating the blood vessels. By hiding adenosine, caffeine also causes the brain’s blood vessels to constrict.

Your heart rate increases, muscles tighten, your blood pressure rises, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles. Dopamine in the brain is also increased by caffeine. Dopamine is one of the chemicals responsible for feeling happy. Caffeine is a cardiac stimulant and mild diuretic.

While the short term benefits may seem positive, long term effects can be a real downer. Once the temporary stimulation goes off, your brain suddenly starts to recognize adenosine and a sudden mental sluggishness hits. Your heart racing is unhealthy unless it occurs naturally and is allowed rest periods. Sleep is affected because the internal effects of caffeine aren’t over when the “high” is. It takes up to 12 hours for caffeine to completely vacate your body.

As a diuretic, caffeine speeds along your urination cycle, taking calcium with it. Long term, heavy caffeine use could lead to developing osteoporosis.

SUGAR – Most energy drinks, except those that are labeled “sugar free” and usually those marketed as “light” are high in sugar. The sugar in an 8 ounce can ranges from 5 to 8 teaspoons and usually accounts for 100% of the carbohydrates (80 – 130 calories). The RDA for sugar is no more than 6 – 7 teaspoons of sugar for each 2000 calories consumed. One bottle of energy drink contains all of the sugar you should eat in a day.

Sugar gives you a quick bump of energy because it is absorbed into the human body much faster than other energy sources, like protein. Studies show sugar can take effect within a minute of entering the body. Sugar raises the blood sugar level and gives you quick energy. This is often short lived, though, because the body quickly releases a blast of insulin, quickly lowering your blood sugar. When blood sugar plummets, so does energy and endurance.

While the short term side effects of sugar – crashing hours after consumption, increased appetite and the possibility of cavities – are somewhat mild, long term effects are not. Type 2 diabetes has been linked to sugar misuse. Weight gain due to the consumption of empty calories is becoming a bigger problem in the US and around the globe.

TAURINE, B VITAMINS AND GINSENG – These three ingredients are also commonly found in energy drinks.

Taurine helps move potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium into and out of cells and generates nerve signals.

B Vitamins are important for many functions of the body including reduction of stress and depression, metabolism and digestive system. However, too much vitamin B can cause nausea, gout, hypothyroidism, insomnia or reduced insulin release, among other side effects.

The journey to find the most effective solution to hair loss is one that has the medical and scientific community the world over hard at work. And while there are certainly some very effective pharmaceutical type hair loss treatments available today, for many people looking to avoid the possible side-effects of prescription drugs and hair loss medications, natural vitamins for hair loss can provide an effective and healthy alternative.

Inositol

It also belongs to vitamin B complex group. It is typically found in brain cells, muscles, liver, kidney, and eyes. It is seen that men loss their hair twice as fast as women. It is assumed that men usually lack Inositol, one of the primary vitamins for hair loss problems. Read the rest of this entry »

“Eat more greens” has been a common advice for generations. Rich in antioxidants is a fact about green vegetables. They contain various amounts of many phytochemicals including some really important ones like Vitamin C, flavonoids and carotenoids. The brassica group (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc) also contain sulphur compounds and indoles, which add extra punch.

Vitamins are found in various food groups. It is quite easy to achieve adequate intake by following a balanced diet according to the “Healthy Food Guide Pyramid” recommendations.Good sources of vitamin B complex include grain products, meats and vegetables. Vitamin B12 is responsible for red blood cell metabolism. Read the rest of this entry »