How To Supplement Potassium In A Pure Meat Diet?
The pure meat diet is an advanced version of the ketogenic diet, a stricter low-carb diet with little to no carbohydrates. Many people feel better than ketogenic after a pure meat diet. However, some of you have been trying it for a while and are experiencing some discomfort, such as weakness or even inexplicable cramps.
Cause of Weakness and Cramps after Pure Meat
In general, a diet with fewer carbohydrates has a higher salt requirement, and experts recommend an intake of 10-15 grams of salt. Because it is important to consume enough salt. For example, carnivores such as lions, after killing other animals, will be the first to go for the animal’s blood and entrails because these parts are richer in salt, minerals, and nutrients.
The body needs these minerals and nutrients very much, so those on a pure meat diet need to consume enough salt. Also, when you don’t consume enough sodium, the kidneys try to retain as much sodium as possible while excreting more potassium to maintain balance. To retain sodium, you have to waste potassium.
However, in general, a meat-only diet will eat a lot of meat and with salt, you will generally get enough sodium. So, what is more likely to be missing in general is other minerals, especially potassium.
Potassium is primarily involved in the contraction and growth of bones and smooth muscles to build muscle, promote protein, and carbohydrate metabolism, and other important functions. Potassium is also important when it comes to blood pressure and heart health; it is known as a vasodilator. As an electrolyte, potassium plays a vital role in the water balance of all cells in the body and in controlling the acid-base balance.
→ Low insulin levels lead to mineral loss
A low-carb diet lowers insulin levels, especially initially, draining the kidneys and losing many minerals. Meat-only diets keep insulin even lower, and when insulin levels are low, the body flushes out more minerals. If you don’t replenish your potassium promptly, your body will become potassium deficient in the long run.
Symptoms of Low and High Potassium
Too much potassium can lead to hyperkalemia, although this is commonly seen in patients with chronic kidney failure and can lead to serious problems after eating large amounts of fruit, which can lead to severe and life-threatening cardiac arrest. Other conditions, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, major infections, or rapid protein breakdown, can also increase blood potassium levels. Too much potassium in the blood is known as hyperkalemia (normal serum potassium levels are about 3.5-5 mEq / L). It can cause nausea, fainting, irregular or weak pulse, and even death.
Too little potassium can also lead to many problems and common symptoms include:
→ Muscle cramps
Potassium is vital for muscle contraction and growth. When your potassium levels are too low, you may experience cramps, spasms, and pain, which can happen especially during exercise.
→ Weakness, weakness, dizziness
Low potassium levels can slow down your heartbeat and make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or lightheaded.
→ Gastrointestinal discomfort
Low potassium levels can slow down bowel function, which can lead to constipation, cramps, and bloating.
→ Drowsiness
If you’re tired from work and have too much stress, this could be your body’s way of telling you that it needs more potassium. Low potassium levels can leave you with low energy, exhaustion, and chronic sleepiness.
→ Arrhythmia
When potassium levels are low, the blood vessels in your body narrow, which can lead to high blood pressure. When the potassium-sodium balance is out of whack, the muscles of the heart can struggle to pump and this can lead to arrhythmia.
In addition to these, certain medications (e.g. diuretics) as well as malabsorption, malnutrition, vomiting, diarrhea, and excessive sweating can also lead to lower potassium levels. Tobacco and caffeine can also reduce the body’s absorption of potassium, leading to a potassium deficiency.
So what is the right amount of potassium you should be getting each day? The U.S. Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Center recommends:
Adults 19 years and older, men and women: 4700 mg/day
The RDA for potassium is about 5,000 mg per day, which means that meat-only diet peeps need about 3 pounds (that’s 2.72155422 pounds) of fresh meat per day. If you can’t eat that much, you may need to take extra or ingest some supplements.
How Do You Get Potassium on a Meat-Only Diet?
We all know that vegetables and fruits are rich in potassium, and how can you supplement potassium when a meat-only diet doesn’t recommend consuming these foods? Many meat foods also contain potassium, such as beef liver, pork liver, tripe, pig heart, sheep liver, and other animal offal.
You can also eat a little more of the following foods:
→ Seafood such as salmon
Every 3 ounces (about 85 grams) of halibut or yellowfin tuna provides nearly 500 milligrams of potassium. The same weight of Pacific cod and Pacific rockfish contains about 450 milligrams of potassium, and sockeye salmon contains 375 milligrams of potassium.
→ Meat also contains potassium
Meat and poultry contain almost no carbohydrates, but they do have some potassium, such as about 370 mg of potassium per 3 ounces (about 85 g) of pork tenderloin. 85 grams of beef yields more than 310 mg of potassium. Chicken is also another option for increasing your potassium intake; an 85-gram serving of skinless grilled chicken pieces provides 350 milligrams of potassium.
However, it takes a lot of meat to get enough potassium, and some of you can’t eat much meat and want to supplement your potassium.
→ Potassium supplements
You can add some extra potassium through supplements, such as potassium chloride, potassium citrate, and potassium gluconate. Be aware that if you have a lot of phosphorus in your body (osteoporosis, calcium deficiency), stay away from potassium chloride.
→ Bone broth also contains potassium
While 100 grams of beef contains only 350 milligrams of potassium, a cup of bone broth contains almost 500 milligrams of potassium. A couple of steaks and 1-2 cups of bone broth will give you enough potassium.
→ Eat both protein and fat
Keep a balance between fatty and lean meats, for example, you may choose to eat more chicken thigh meat and more fatty steaks compared to chicken breasts.
→ Drink some salt water
Because a pure meat diet doesn’t take in carbohydrates, it’s diuretic and you’ll lose a lot of electrolytes when you urinate. You can drink some with Himalayan pink salt to replenish your electrolytes because as long as you keep your electrolytes balanced, most of your body’s discomfort will go away.
→ Canned food containing water
Potassium flows out into the water when food is soaked, and for many people with severe kidney disease, it is often recommended to soak some vegetables in warm water before eating them in order to prevent hyperkalemia. Along the same lines, if you want to replenish your potassium, you can just drink this water and replenish your potassium, however, the risk is that you may be ingesting some antinutrients such as oxalic acid.
The water in some cans is also rich in potassium because they soak it for a long time, which allows potassium to get into the canned liquid. So, you can eat some of the liquids in canned foods that will give you a quick potassium boost, such as water-soaked canned salmon.