by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: August 27, 2010   Last Updated: October 05, 2010

Potassium is less of a problem in young healthy people than it is in the elderly.. A lack of it will cause fatigue, weakness, and may offset the natural rhythm of the heart. This will have an an overall systemic effect,  putting  an extra strain on the kidneys. And since older people often have less functioning kidneys, they need extra attention.  A balance of just enough, but not too much potassium, is what is needed for the elderly. How is this brought about?

Eating a diet rich in potassium is the best way to ensure an adequate supply of this mineral. And that means eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, a small amount of meat, and following the food pyramid as to guidelines on proper nutrition. It means  potassium supplements are never to be taken by older people, the danger of hyperkalemia - too much potassium in the blood - is too great a risk.

What are the advantages of potassium in the human diet, and what are its functions in the body? It is needed for proper functioning of the nervous system, without it, all cellular activity is lessened. Although most foods contains a fair amount of potassium, and most people get enough from the food they eat, anything that depletes their body of fluids, medicating with diuretics, vomiting, diarrhea, will quickly diminish the body of an adequate supply.  

Good sources of potassium are bananas. It is often seen that patients on diuretics will be directed by their physicians to eat a banana a day. Other ample suppliers of this important mineral are potatoes, bananas, figs and most other vegetables. How to know when there are deficiencies? Muscle cramps, sleep disturbances, skin rashes, moodiness, heart beat irregularities, and other signs of inadequate nutrition will point to potassium deficiencies.  

How to know if there are is much potassium in the diet? This rarely occurs with a normal diet. It is when one  overeats that this can put a burden on the kidneys, and in the older group kidneys often don't function as well as they do in the young. For this reason, hyperkilemia, too much potassium in the blood, is suspected if there is a hyperpigmentaton of the skin - bronzing - and if there are known illnesses such as Addison's disease, or other kidney or metabolic disturbances.  

Reasons why potassium is poorly eliminated from the body vary. Among the most probable reasons are pain medicines of the non-steroidal type, ibuprofen, antibiotics, immunosuppresssants, and of course, any medicine that interferes with the normal functioning of the body, and that applies to most medicines. An abnormal build-up in the body of potassium in the elderly is possible, and for that reason, they are to be carefully monitored periodically. This is so because it is this group that takes more prescription drugs, making them vulnerable for potassium overload.

Overall, potassium is as necessary for a healthy body as it is for a healthy garden loam. The way it works in regulating and controlling acidity in the garden is the way it works in the body. A balance is what is needed and still, both systems become unbalanced most often when medicine, or fertilizers are overused. Natural means of control such as eating an adequate diet, and where gardens are concerned, composting and organic gardening methods.
In this world, everything is somehow related, when one thing is out of order and not functioning properly, the rest  is also affected.

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