# dietary potassium **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745 "2014-07-10T05:36:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/61 "2014-07-12T11:35:03Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > The rat LD50 for potassium chloride taken orally is 2,600 mg/kg ([http://avogadro.chem.iastate.edu/MSDS/KCl.htm](http://avogadro.chem.iastate.edu/MSDS/KCl.htm)). For a 150 lb (68 kg) human this would be 177,000 mg (6.24 oz) worth. Even if supplements contained 100% of the USRDA you’d need to consume almost 40 pills a day to reach that. Well, I suppose you can take this up with the regulatory agencies and dissect the nuances. I’m just trying to inform the OP why potassium is not sold over the counter in high concentrations. The reason is that it is a direct irritant to the GI lining and is dangerous in high doses. (Dangerous relative to vitamin C, say) As a clinician I’ve seen patients get into near-lethal (and maybe even a death or two, as I think about it) trouble with hyperkalemia, usually in a setting of impaired renal function, other medications or occasionally deliberate self harm. But I’m not in the business of personally deciding what the parameters should be for what is sold to whom. As a matter of fact, I’m on record here as supporting the public sale of any drugs, recreational or pharmaceutical. 😉 (Well, sort of. Cocaine, yes. Antibiotics no. Another debate, perhaps.) ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/62 "2014-07-12T11:37:09Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Is it possible to get too much of _any_ vitamin or mineral through food sources? Obviously one can eat too much food, but can you get too much potassium through food? > > (Sorry if this is too stupid.) Not if your renal function (more precisely, your physiology in general) is normal and you are adequately hydrated, unless there are some sort of insanely high-concentration foods I don’t know about. But overdosing on a bottle of potassium pills is another story… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/63 "2014-07-12T11:45:58Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Am i the only person able to read what this OP is posting?! Am I just not privy to a prior discussion/thread or something? Wtf is all this talk about barking dogs/getting arrested/moving to no avail? **HUH?** No, you’re not the only person, but I was rendered speechless (yes, it can happen even to me). I’m not sure what to say - the OP was asking about dietary potassium then all that other stuff came out and I, too, am going WTF? But, really, that’s a hell of a tangent to his actual question and would probably be better talked about in another thread. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/64 "2014-07-12T11:59:51Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Is it possible to get too much of _any_ vitamin or mineral through food sources? Obviously one can eat too much food, but can you get too much potassium through food? My admittedly limited understanding is that if you have kidney problems you certainly can, and those with kidney failure have to be careful about consuming potassium-rich foods. Among about a bajillion other worries. It _might_ be possible for a healthy person to get too much potassium from diet alone but you’d really have to work at it. Lots of juicing made from high-potassium foods, maybe. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/65 "2014-07-12T16:01:19Z")
Thanks for the responses. My kidneys seem to be working fine. And my hot flashes are sufficiently hot so I’ll skip the niacin supplements. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/66 "2014-07-12T17:54:36Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Thanks for the responses. My kidneys seem to be working fine. And my hot flashes are sufficiently hot so I’ll skip the niacin supplements. Oh, but it’s a nice \*dry \*flush. 😃 Seriously, you’re probably fine on the niacin, unless your doctor says otherwise. Like potassium, it’s in a lot of foods, and very few people who eat “normally” are deficient in it. Most of the time when niacin supplements are prescribed, they’re not for deficiencies, but as medicine. My doctor just put me on some seriously therapeutic doses as an alternative for cholesterol stuff because I can’t take statins. Got my first flush two days ago, four days into the starting dose. Not fun. Not fun at all. I’m glad I was prepared for it, because otherwise I would have been very confused and scared, because it’s a “Seriously, something is WRONG” feeling. Yesterday’s was less severe but still pretty unpleasant. I’m switching to taking it at bedtime tonight to see if I can sleep through it, and hopefully it will go away in a week or so. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/67 "2014-07-12T20:02:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Wtf is this? And what does it have to do with potassium?? Maybe he wants to know if dogs are high in potassium? ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/68 "2014-07-12T21:40:33Z")
I have some leftover 20 meq KCl tablets. That’s 1500 mg, and yes, the pills are the largest I’ve ever taken. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/69 "2014-07-12T22:19:58Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Is it possible to get too much of _any_ vitamin or mineral through food sources? Obviously one can eat too much food, but can you get too much potassium through food? [Polar bear liver](http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/eat-polar-bear-liver.htm) (it is food if you are an Eskimo). I don’t think a person with normal kidney function could get too much potassium from food though (or, indeed, too little, except with an extremely odd diet). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/70 "2014-07-13T02:44:02Z")
> [@needtoknow](#): > > Ambivalid is protesting furiously. Damnit, Ambi. You and your furious protesting. THAT’S WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS. ETA: sorry for blowing my top like that, but Christ, Ambi. You _know_ you protest furiously. Come on. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/71 "2014-07-13T03:17:49Z")
> [@needtoknow](#): > > …harrass the gods and make them bark, because they barked the other day. Yeah, I know how it is. The gods bark at me all the time and I try my best not to harass them. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/72 "2014-07-13T06:15:17Z")
I **need to know** what the op is smoking. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/73 "2014-07-13T08:15:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yeah, I know how it is. The gods bark at me all the time and I try my best not to harass them. I think perhaps “gods” is correct, and it was “dogs” that was the typo. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/74 "2014-07-13T17:01:14Z")
[Cocoa Puffs cereal has 60 mg potassium per serving.](http://www.sparkpeople.com/calories-in.asp?food=coco+puffs+cereal) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/75 "2014-07-13T17:16:32Z")
I just had fried plantain (499 mg) with my breakfast of a fried egg (70), about a cup of cherry tomatoes (149), and a large shallot (20). With my coffee (474) and half-and-half (40), that’s 1252 mg. That’s without aiming for potassium as a goal of the meal. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/76 "2014-07-13T19:05:59Z")
> [@needtoknow](#): > > Neither the PB, jelly, or ramen list potassium as a nutrient, or as an ingredient. I find that odd. This bread, a new version of bread to me, does list potassium as 60mg per slice, as you stated. I accept your numbers on the potassium, which total 395mg per day, or ~9% of USRDA. I don’t know why i thought the PB&J was higher in calories. The fact remains: i need more potassium, especially in summer, and now i know how to safely get it. I wanted to address your confusion here, and it’s one many people have. Most people assume they get very little potassium because of the listed values on food nutrition labels. Potassium is a wholly optional listing, companies can decide whether to list it on their product or not, and the overwhelming majority of products it is not listed as an ingredient. Now, as **DSeid** has mentioned, most Americans don’t get the RDA of potassium, but most people get a decent amount more than they’d assume if they just look at nutrition facts. Sources of potassium that frequently don’t occur to people are meat, all meat contains potassium in varying amounts and it’s almost never listed on the nutrition facts. Most processed foods have some amount of potassium as well due to being made from things that contain potassium, but again, it isn’t listed. I believe the newly proposed changes to the nutrition facts labeling requirements will mandate potassium in the next few years, though, if it gets approved. And there’s obviously certain fruits/vegetables that are high in potassium and advertised as such. Lots of sports drinks and similar will make sure to list potassium as they probably believe it contributes to its image as a healthy thing. To be honest if you’re only eating ~600-800 calories of food per day, relative to your caloric intake I’m not sure why potassium deficiency concerns you. It should instead probably be concerning that unless you’re an obese person on a VLCD overseen by a physician you’re actually starving yourself and will eventually die from it based on various factors I can’t know based on information given. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/77 "2014-07-13T20:28:58Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I just had fried plantain (499 mg) with my breakfast of a fried egg (70), about a cup of cherry tomatoes (149), and a large shallot (20). With my coffee (474) and half-and-half (40), that’s 1252 mg. That’s without aiming for potassium as a goal of the meal. That must be a heckuva cuppa joe! Brewed coffee is generally listed at [116](http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3898/2) in an 8 oz cup. Of some interest is that _excess_ caffeine (in the report cited over 10 cups a day, but hey some days that’s me) might even cause [low](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046007/) potassium possibly by way of increased urine losses. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/78 "2014-07-13T21:14:39Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > [Polar bear liver](http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/eat-polar-bear-liver.htm) (it is food if you are an Eskimo). Or a [16th century Arctic explorer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrit_de_Veer). ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/79 "2014-07-13T21:14:46Z")
Yeah, I mean 232. I’m not sure what the online calculator I was using though I was drinking! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745/80 "2014-07-13T23:50:59Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [Cocoa Puffs cereal has 60 mg potassium per serving.](http://www.sparkpeople.com/calories-in.asp?food=coco+puffs+cereal) So, you’re saying the OP should go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dietary-potassium/692745.md?page=5)