Potassium is one of those minerals that most people can start supporting without doing any testing and start seeing benefits because of all of the different areas of our health it impacts. Let’s talk about exactly how potassium impacts our hormones, what depletes it, and how you can start supporting potassium levels today.
There are three major ways that potassium impacts our hormones: supporting healthy blood sugar, allowing thyroid hormone to get inside the cell, and supporting daily elimination (AKA pooping). Let’s get into a little more detail on each of these.
Potassium has insulin-like effects, helping get blood sugar into cells. If glucose can’t get into the cells, whether it’s due to insulin resistance or lack of insulin, it hangs out in the serum creating high blood sugar levels. Potassium is also involved in the conversion of glucose (blood sugar) into glycogen (stored blood sugar) in the liver for future energy. Not having enough liver stores of glucose means that our bodies are forced to use alternative fuel sources in between meals, raising the risk of blood sugar dips.
Healthy blood sugar levels mean consistent blood sugar levels throughout the day. The more consistent our blood sugar is, the fewer stress hormones we will have throughout the day. When our blood sugar drops, we release cortisol and kickstart the body’s stress cascade in order to replenish the blood with glucose. While we may not feel stressed, our bodies are experiencing stress. I think it’s safe to say we all have enough stress and don’t need any additional. The more stress we have, the more this can impact progesterone levels and throw our hormones out of balance. This is why eating consistently throughout the day, balancing meals with protein fat, and carb, and including potassium-rich foods is important for hormone health.
Sodium and potassium are important for transporting thyroid hormone. Sodium is important because when levels are deficient we are unable to get nutrients or hormones inside the cell. We can then consider potassium when we think about the sodium/potassium pump.
Every cell has a sodium-potassium pump. It is responsible for pumping three sodium ions out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell. ATP (the energy currency of the human body) is required to perform this exchange. These pumps maintain a higher concentration of sodium extracellularly (outside the cell) and a higher concentration of potassium intracellularly (inside the cell), which is crucial for the physiological processes of all cells in our body. We would die if this high concentration gradient, with sodium outside of the cells and potassium inside of the cells, was not maintained.
Research has shown that thyroid hormone (active T3) helps these pumps function better, but when the pump function is reduced, thyroid hormone transport is also reduced. So we need adequate thyroid hormone to support sodium and potassium and adequate sodium and potassium to support thyroid hormone transport.
Potassium helps pull water into the digestive tract and is important for the contraction of peristalsis or movement of our intestines, which both support regular bowel movements. I have seen some pretty amazing things in practice when clients start increasing potassium even by as little as 1,000-2,000mg per day (from food sources). Constipation resolves and their bowel movements are now easy and consistent.
Low potassium diets have also been linked with intestinal permeability or leaky gut, which can negatively impact the balance of bacteria and over time can impact how our digestive system functions. As bacterial balance moves away from optimal, our digestion can be impacted, and our immune system is activated. Eventually, this leads to dysfunction in the gut and often unwanted gut symptoms, but it can also show up as hormone imbalances, skin issues, acne, histamine symptoms, etc.
Why are so many people deficient in potassium? Only 2% of Americans reach the recommended intake for potassium. This low intake paired with a number of different things that can cause low potassium is likely the root cause behind suboptimal levels of potassium.
So what can we do about this? Start prioritizing potassium-rich foods in our diets on a daily basis. Luckily, many foods contain at least some level of potassium and there are many foods that are very rich sources.
Animal Foods Rich In Potassium
Plant Foods Rich In Potassium
If we are eating a mix of plant and animal foods, it is easy to get 4,000-4,5000mg of potassium daily, which will help support healthy potassium levels. A lot of times it just takes creating a little awareness around what you are eating each day and then prioritizing having potassium-rich foods on hand.
If you want to learn even more about potassium, check out my potassium deep dive podcast episode on the Are You Menstrual? Podcast!
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