Potassium deficiency while eating low carb is quite common. This often results in muscle spasms and leg and foot cramps. I found that my appetite decreased so much that I just was not eating enough foods and wanting to skip meals.  I am doing weight bearing resistant exercises and the muscles cells need the potassium. It is very important to get adequate potassium because the heart that keeps us alive is a contracting muscle.  We don’t want to cause damage to the heart or irregular heartbeats.

I was looking for a potassium supplement at the health food store and was quite disappointed that they only carried doses of 99mg.  That is a pitiful amount since we should be consuming about 4700mg of potassium everyday. A cup of brewed tea contains 88 mg so it is not worth buying a potassium supplement.

So since the best source of vitamins and minerals come from our foods I did a little research on www.nutritiondata.com to find the best sources of potassium on a low carbohydrate diet.

So here they are… 

(all foods measurements are for 1 cup unless otherwise noted)

Spices
Parsley 332 mg, Cilantro 83 mg, Basil 70 mg
Paprika (1 tblsp – 158mg)

Vegetables
Sweet red peppers – 314mg  , Tomatoes  – 427mg,  Beet Greens  290mg, Spinach – 167mg, Swiss Chard – 136mg , Portabella Mushrooms – 416mg, 1 Avocado 975mg – , Winter Squash –  1 cup 896mg, Zucchini – 325mg, Kale -299mg

Dairy
Whole Milk 349mg , Yogurt 380 mg

Nuts and Seeds
Sunflower Seeds 903mg, Flax Seeds 1366mg, Peanuts 1029mg , Almonds 1008mg, Coconut Meat 730 mg and water, Cashews 888mg

Fish
1 fillet of
Cod 954mg, Salmon 1434 mg, mackerel 352mg, tuna 408mg (1 can)

Meat 
Pork (chop 773 mg) and Beef (blade steak 471 mg)

Low Carb Fruit
Cantalope 427mg

Sticking to a wide range of *whole foods* on a low carb diet will decrease the risk of potassium deficiency. Bananas and potatoes are not the only high potassium foods. Eating and rotating the foods on this list will provide all the potassium needed on a low carb diet without having to supplement.

What has your experience been? I would love your feedback.

To your health and wellness,
Catherine Osthaus

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It has been six months since I made a life altering decision to eat a low carbohydrate lifestyle.  It was Candida yeast issues that brought me to removing all sugars and grains out of my diet. Although it has been half a year since starting on this journey my Candida issues have not been solved by it and still remain. The symptoms have been minimal but nevertheless they are still there.  I have not started any particular anti-Candida cleansing program other than the diet, eating garlic and taking oil of oregano during cold and flu season.  I also eat plain full fat yogurt every day for the probiotics and have just started making sauerkraut.  I need to look into removing my mercury amalgams ( in December) and then get serious about healing and get rid of Candida. Mercury poisoning and toxicity and Candida are related.  Mercury inhibits the immune system and it is unable to get rid of the Candida infection.  This is the reason why I have not addressed Candida until I am able to remove and cleanse the mercury.

So it has been six months since going on a low carbohydrate diet and for me this is a long time to stick to a diet. Normally I would restrict total calorie intake, but would not be able to sustain it for long. When I am hungry I want to eat. I never really understood portion control. If I am hungry, isn’t my body telling me that I need to feed it? I am still losing weight even though I eat fats at every meal.  I don’t count my carbohydrates and don’t have to count calories. I know which foods cause my eating to get out of control (grains, sugars and processed foods). I just stay away from those.

Would you say this is long term success? I think so. I am not gaining the weight back. In fact I am still losing (lost another pound today- yay!). There is only one drawback that I have encountered just recently and that is leg muscle spasms. But I was able to get some magnesium supplements, make bone broths and eat high potassium foods like avocados, spinach, and yogurt. And that stopped them.  I am not taking a multivitamin or mineral supplement because I like to get my nutrients from whole foods.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, successes or concerns?

To your health and wellness,

Catherine Osthaus

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