{"id":6398,"date":"2020-06-08T19:57:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T11:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/mens-health-understanding-testosterone-and-boosting-libido-2\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T10:11:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T02:11:07","slug":"potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo\/","title":{"rendered":"Potassium and Sodium: The Dynamic Duo!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p>The electrolytes potassium and sodium are two of the most misunderstood minerals in the body. We are told to \u2018cut you salt intake\u2019 and \u2018eat more vegetables\u2019 to get a balance of sodium and potassium, but all too often we are getting these minerals way out of balance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>People are thought to be getting too much salt, aka sodium, from processed foods, from dining out, and from adding salt to dishes for flavor. The conventional wisdom says \u2018this contributes to rising blood pressure\u2019 but is this actually correct?<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div  class=\"wpb_single_image wpb_content_element vc_align_left wpb_content_element\">\n\t\t\n\t\t<figure class=\"wpb_wrapper vc_figure\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"vc_single_image-wrapper   vc_box_border_grey\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-scaled.jpeg\" class=\"vc_single_image-img attachment-full\" alt=\"\" title=\"379179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/379179-18x12.jpeg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo\/#What_are_electrolytes\" >What are electrolytes?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo\/#Ancestral_Diets_were_Potassium_Rich\" >Ancestral Diets were Potassium Rich<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo\/#Be_aware_of_modern_life_stressors_%E2%80%93_it_lowers_potassium\" >Be aware of modern life stressors \u2013 it lowers potassium<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_electrolytes\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><u>What are electrolytes?<\/u><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Sodium and potassium are classed as electrolytes, which are substances that dissociates into ions Na<sup>+ <\/sup>and K<sup>+ <\/sup>in solution, making them capable of conducting electricity. Normal body function depends on the tight regulation of potassium concentrations inside and outside cells.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We are inherently electrical beings, conducting micro-electric currents across and through all our cells. This helps to create the correct heartbeat, impulse transmission in the nerves, and muscle contraction throughout the body.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These micro-currents are provided by the potassium\/sodium pumps and they\u2019re based within the cell membranes. Up to 40% of the body\u2019s energy expenditure is used up by the sodium-potassium pumps, so it&#8217;s critical to get their balance right<sub>1,2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n<p>Potassium is the most important positively charged ion inside cells, whereas sodium is the main ion in the fluid outside cells. Potassium is higher inside the cell with sodium higher outside the cells. This difference in concentration creates what is called a \u2018membrane potential\u2019 and this potential is maintained by Na<sup>+<\/sup>\/K<sup>+ <\/sup>pump which use energy (ATP) to pump sodium out of the cell in exchange for potassium.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The most relevant role of the membrane potential is to keep the central nervous system and electrical firing of nervous impulses correctly balanced. This is vital for life and controlling a myriad of functions in the body. In terms of amounts we need about 1.5g\/day of sodium and 4.5g\/day of potassium. Why do we need more potassium than sodium I hear you ask?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ancestral_Diets_were_Potassium_Rich\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><u>Ancestral Diets were Potassium Rich<\/u><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Many years ago, when humans roamed the earth gathering and hunting, potassium was abundant, while sodium was scarce. The so-called Paleolithic diet delivered about 11,000 milligrams (mg) of potassium a day, much of it from fruits, vegetables, leaves, flowers, roots, and other plant sources, but well under 700 mg of sodium. The scarcity of sodium is reflected in the human body&#8217;s marvelous ability to hold onto this substance.<\/p>\n<p>Today, sodium is easy to come by, inexpensive, and abundant in our diets. This has been largely driven by the food processing industry adding salt to processed and tinned foods for flavour and preserving the life of the food. The average American consumes between one and three teaspoons of salt a day, or somewhere between 2,500 and 7,500 mg of sodium. That&#8217;s far more than the scant 200 mg a day the body needs. It&#8217;s a different story for potassium. We average 2,500 mg a day, about half of the 4,700 mg minimum recommended for adults.<\/p>\n<p>This imbalance is actually creating a variety of symptoms and disease states which can go un-noticed. The symptoms include: muscle cramps, kidney stone formation, poor sleeping, fatigue, high blood pressure, bloating\/gas issues (due to low stomach acidity), anxiety, high cholesterol, and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Be_aware_of_modern_life_stressors_%E2%80%93_it_lowers_potassium\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><u>Be aware of modern life stressors \u2013 it lowers potassium<\/u><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In our modern lifestyles today, there\u2019s an increasing array of stressors that affect our bodies, primarily with the increased production of adrenalin and cortisol, which lowers potassium, combine that addictive coffee consumption, acting like a diuretic and you further deplete your potassium. Add in a croissant, a bagel or a chicken fried rice (high carb meals), and your potassium goes way down. This generally goes unnoticed until you see the symptoms discussed or on a more serious level the sympathetic (stress) load on the heart goes high increasing the risk of heart attacks.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s add here, that your body is happy to lose the potassium, because genetically that\u2019s what it used to do many thousands of years ago, with all that abundant potassium around in food it was not a problem. So the sodium:potassium ratio becomes 5:1 or 20:1 in some cases, instead of the ancestral 1:4 ratio.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In my next article I\u2019ll describe the actual diseases you can prevent with potassium, how to replete it, the proper way to test it, and why salt has got such a bad rap \u2013 see you in <a href=\"http:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/potassium-the-top-electrolyte-everyone-needs\/\">part 2<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p>For more information regarding electrolyte imbalance, please contact Miles Price, Functional Medicine Specialist (IFM, FMU) at 2881 8131 or <a class=\"c-link\" href=\"mailto:miles@lifeclinic.com.hk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" aria-describedby=\"sk-tooltip-5367\">miles@lifeclinic.com.hk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p>References:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sheng H-W. Sodium, chloride and potassium. In: Stipanuk M, ed. Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of Human Nutrition. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co.; 2000:686\u2013710<\/li>\n<li>Brody T. Nutritional Biochemistry. 2nd ed. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 1999<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p><em>Written by:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-6\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t<div  class=\"wpb_single_image wpb_content_element vc_align_left wpb_content_element\">\n\t\t\n\t\t<figure class=\"wpb_wrapper vc_figure\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"vc_single_image-wrapper   vc_box_border_grey\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Miles_02_small.jpg\" class=\"vc_single_image-img attachment-full\" alt=\"\" title=\"Miles_02_small\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Miles_02_small.jpg 800w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Miles_02_small-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Miles_02_small-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Miles_02_small-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Miles_02_small-8x12.jpg 8w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-6\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"vc_empty_space\"   style=\"height: 32px\"><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<h4>Miles Price<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Functional Medicine Practitioner &amp; Clinical Nutritionist<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>M.Sc Nutritional Therapy, Post-Grad Diploma Functional Medicine\u00a0Institute of functional medicine &amp; functional medicine University<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The electrolytes potassium and sodium are two of the most misunderstood minerals in the body. We are told to \u2018cut you salt intake\u2019 and \u2018eat more vegetables\u2019 to get a balance of sodium and potassium, but all too often we are getting these minerals way out of balance. &nbsp; People are thought to be getting [...]","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[204,176],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-functional-medicine","category-nutrition"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/salt-720x405-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6398"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8859,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6398\/revisions\/8859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeclinic.com.hk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}