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Micronutrients
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Potassium plays a role in the maintenance of the balance of the physical fluid system and assisting nerve functions through its role in the transmittance of nerve impulses. It is also related to heart activity muscle contraction (7). However, potassium requirements are also dependent on the physiological or pathological environment. Hypokalemia is low level of blood potassium and this occurs in diarrhea, metabolic alkalosis, and familial periodic paralysis (8). It can be caused by a low dietary intake of K+ or by high salt in the diet, but also by medications like diuretics that increase water excretion. A potassium deficiency may result in fatigue, cramping legs, slow reflexes, muscle weakness, acne, dry skin, mood changes, and irregular heartbeat. Moreover, a reduced level of K+ produces alkalosis, which makes the kidney less able to retain this mineral (7). Other symptoms of potassium deficiency are cardiac arrythmias, impaired carbohydrate tolerance, and altered electrocardiogram in calves (8). Potassium deficiency affects the collecting tubules of the kidney, resulting in the inability to concentrate urine, and also causes alterations of gastric secretions and intestinal motility (8). Hyperkalemia (increased K+ level in blood) occurs in Addison’s disease, advanced chronic renal failure, shock and dehydration. Excessive potassium intake can be toxic systemically and can cause dilatation of the heart, cardiac arrest, cardiac arrhythmias, and oliguria (7–9).
Nutrition
Published in Jagdish M. Gupta, John Beveridge, MCQs in Paediatrics, 2020
Jagdish M. Gupta, John Beveridge
2.17. Biochemical abnormalities in kwashiorkor includehypernatraemia.aminoaciduria.lactase deficiency.low serum albumin.potassium deficiency.
Risks and Adverse Reactions Associated with Hemapheresis
Published in James L. MacPherson, Duke O. Kasprisin, Therapeutic Hemapheresis, 2019
Other electrolyte imbalances may occur or may be aggravated by plasma exchange. Patients receiving diuretics or steroids for example, may be prone to potassium deficiency. Whether or not to add electrolyte supplementation to the replacement medium is best individualized according to the patient’s needs.
The absolute bioavailability and the effect of food on a new magnesium lactate dihydrate extended-release caplet in healthy subjects
Published in Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 2018
Peter Dogterom, ChauHwei Fu, Thomas Legg, Yi-Jin Chiou, Steve Brandon
Correction of magnesium electrolyte imbalance could be addressed with a properly formulated and proven prescription magnesium product, just as potassium chloride therapy is available for prescription use for the treatment of potassium deficiency. Correcting magnesium deficiency caused by salt-depleting diuretics has not been widely achieved in clinical practice. While many current oral magnesium preparations contain appreciable amounts of magnesium, the solubility of the salt may not provide adequate bioavailability to augment the patient’s intracellular and extracellular magnesium stores [1]. Whereas oral magnesium supplements are currently available only in over-the-counter formulations, IV magnesium has been approved for the treatment of hypertension in eclampsia, for the treatment of arrhythmias, notably torsade de pointes, and to replete magnesium deficiency, as well as being widely used for treating migraine headache and hypocalcemia in the hospital setting [1,2,9].
Rising Trend of Hypokalemia Prevalence in the US Population and Possible Food Causes
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2021
Hongbing Sun, Connie M. Weaver
Some have suggested that increasing consumption of processed food, which has some K removed during skin removal, boiling, and cooking, combined with a reduction in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, as a cause for K intake deficiency (1, 6). Varied dietary preferences have also been suggested as causes for higher potassium deficiency in some population groups (18). A common cause for low serum K at individual level might has been attributed to the excessive loss of K in urine from the kidney induced by metabolic alkalosis or from the GI tract in stool induced by diarrhea (21). The uniform decline of serum K level across all age groups from 1999 to 2016 in this study and lower potassium intake reported for year 2003-2008 than that of year 1988-1999 in the US adult population (2) might suggest a possible broad decline of potassium levels in the US food supply. The temporal decline of potassium concentration in the food supply has not been considered in most previous studies (22). There have been declines of crop available soil K in the majority of US agricultural states and a steady reduction in the K fertilizer application in the US over the last 50 years (14,15, 23). K fertilizer application has declined in the US primarily due to its low yield benefit compared to nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers (24). Excess application of K fertilizers can compete with available soil calcium (24). Low crop available K in soil will likely result in an overall reduction of K in crop produce in the US, including both forage and grains (25). Given that most of the US food supply (USDA estimated about 87.3% of food and beverage being domestic in 2016) (11) is domestic, declining K levels in the US agricultural produce is, therefore, suspected to have contributed to the increased hypokalemia prevalence across all age groups of people in the US.
Combating COVID-19 and Building Immune Resilience: A Potential Role for Magnesium Nutrition?
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2020
Hypokalemia has been shown to be largely prevalent among critically ill COVID-19 patients (5). A recent report from China showed that 93% of severe and critically ill patients suffering from COVID-19 had hypokalemia (5); unfortunately magnesium status was not assessed among this population. The major imbalance in the renin-angiotensin system caused by the downregulation of ACE2 is a critical element of unfavorable evolution in patients with COVID-19. Hypokalemia appears to be a biomarker of imbalance, where diminished urinary potassium loss and response to intravenous potassium indicate restored ACE2 functionality (84). Supportive of this notion, severe hypokalemic patients administered 3 g potassium per day of (average 34 g during hospital stay) reported that patients responded well to the when they were inclined to recovery (5). Hypokalemia, defined as a serum potassium concentration of less than 3.5 mEq/L, is one of the most frequent fluid and electrolyte abnormalities documented in the clinical setting. Hypokalemia is a common finding in patients with hypomagnesemia; about half of patients with clinically defined potassium deficiency also have depleted magnesium levels (85), although as previously discussed the serum level used to define deficiency has varied across studies (0.6 to 0.75 mmol/L) with some being more conservative than others. Hypomagnesemia contributes to the development and severity of hypokalemia by reducing intracellular potassium concentrations and promoting renal potassium wasting (86). Intracellular potassium concentrations have been suggested to decrease in the presence of hypomagnesemia since low magnesium impairs the function of the sodium-potassium ATPase pump. The renal outer medullary potassium (ROMK) channel exacerbates potassium wasting during magnesium deficiency through increased distal potassium secretion. It should be noted that low intracellular magnesium (caused by magnesium deficiency) does not necessarily cause hypokalemia alone, as increases in distal sodium delivery and aldosterone levels may also have a prominent role in exacerbating potassium wasting during magnesium deficiency (86). Huang and Kuo (2007) provide an extensive review of the scientific literature (86).