Zinc & Potassium: Both elements share left / right-sided cell receptors and are essential to human health. Potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) values represent - and at the same time affect many aspects of the genitourinary system, whereby normalizing their levels will normalize many common medical problems associated with the urinary and reproductive system.
Potassium is one of the electrolytes that with sodium is involved in the maintenance of normal water balance, osmotic equilibrium, acid-base balance, and it is crucial to cardiovascular and nerve functions.
It is the primary positive cation found within the cells, and along with calcium serves an important role in heart muscle contractions, skeletal muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmissions, and the release of energy from food. Potassium is involved as a cofactor in several enzyme systems which include protein synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, and it affects uptake of amino acids into cells.
In addition to calcium and magnesium, potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure, and next to iron, potassium is one of the most commonly prescribed minerals since some amounts are frequently lost when diuretics (water pills) are prescribed. For the same reason, serum potassium is commonly measured as part of routine lab tests, although White Blood Cell, Red Blood Cell, or intracellular tests (Acu-Cell Analysis) are much better and more accurate indicators of a patient's potassium status.
Potassium supplements in health food stores are frequently sold as gluconate or citrate, and they are usually limited to 100mg (or 99mg) per tablet, while those dispensed in pharmacies are generally the inorganic types (i.e. potassium chloride), which may be measured in milliequivalents (mEq), whereby 1mEq equals about 74.5mg. When high-potency potassium chloride tablets need to be taken, they should only be supplemented in a slow-release form (Slow K), since the high amounts of chloride in the tablets could otherwise trigger gastrointestinal distress or bleeding ulcers.
Similarly to zinc, there is no storage of potassium in the body, and it is easily lost in cooking, canning, and processing of foods, some is lost through perspiration, and the adrenal hormone aldosterone also stimulates the elimination of potassium by the kidneys. The intake of potassium is recommended to be twice that of sodium, however since there are indications that optimal dietary potassium may reduce the risk of stroke, those individuals who are already in a high risk cardiovascular category may want to make sure to meet or exceed that ratio.
All fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts are a good source of potassium, however the potassium / sodium ratio of these foods varies considerably, which can be used to one's advantage - not only for those who require more potassium, but also for people who lack sodium and retain too much potassium.
Sources with the highest potassium / sodium (K/Na) ratio include beans, peas, potatoes, grains, nuts and fruits - where for instance navy beans or bananas contain over 1000x more potassium than sodium, and Brazil nuts or corn contain over 700x more potassium than sodium. In contrast, spinach, celery, or beets contain only about 2.5x to 4x more potassium than sodium, with the same ratio applying to whole milk, chicken and lamb, while eggs, beef and fish contain between 6x to 10x more potassium than sodium. For the same reason, choosing potassium chloride to season one's food instead of sodium chloride (common table salt) may also be a better choice if it benefits someone's particular chemistry.
Problems associated with low potassium levels (hypokalemia) include high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, palpitations, muscle weakness, hyperthyroid, elevated blood sugar, mental apathy, depression, fatigue, and general weakness, while severe potassium loss can cause death. Temporary loss of potassium can result from profuse sweating (heavy exercise, viral infections), or diarrhea and vomiting, which can also be a concern in infants. Long-term potassium loss may result from working in a hot, humid environment, hormonal and kidney disturbances, prescribed medications or over-the-counter (OTC) remedies, including nutritional supplements (licorice), or high intake of sugar.
Serum potassium does not usually go up with high dietary intake of potassium, so toxicity is not much of a problem in healthy individuals, as the kidneys readily excrete any excess of potassium. Only renal failure, heart or liver disease, certain drugs, metabolic acidosis, Addison's disease, major burns or muscle trauma, gastrointestinal bleeding, etc could lead to hyperkalemia (elevated blood potassium).
Supplementing too much potassium may affect the balance of other electrolytes such as magnesium, sodium, chloride, etc, or it may cause irregular heartbeat, vomiting or diarrhea.
In contrast to serum potassium, intracellular potassium levels are much more diet-dependent and increase on a linear scale according to dietary intake, specific medical conditions, and the levels of interactive minerals such as sodium, magnesium, lithium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium, and others, so serum and cellular potassium levels only coincide when both are at a low to normal range.
As a result, if too much potassium is ingested or retained, intracellular measurements readily pick up excessive levels even in otherwise healthy individuals (where there is no change in serum potassium), and they can thus be used for diagnostic, therapeutic, or preventative purposes.
In addition to medical situations that can lead to hyperkalemia, cellular potassium covers aspects of bladder functions, as well as right-sided ovarian and testicular properties. Cellular zinc covers aspects of prostate / uterine functions, and left-sided ovarian and testicular properties. Elevated potassium is invariably found with acute or chronic cystitis (bladder infections) or right-sided ovarian cysts (but not dermoid or chocolate cysts), whereby right-sided ovarian and/or testicular cancer will always result in excessively high potassium levels, which can also serve as a high risk indicator to be suggestive of a pelvic scan. Lowering potassium with any of several antagonists will resolve most bladder infections or (right-sided) ovarian cysts without any other intervention. In contrast, left-sided ovarian and/or testicular ancer is always associated with excessively high zinc levels. (see also Acu-Cell Disorders "Cancer").
Low potassium - particularly in the elderly - frequently results in weak bladder muscles and subsequent ncontinence when coughing or laughing. Under those circumstances, bladder infection-like symptoms can also be experienced (including cloudy, or smelly urine), however they are somewhat different from a conventional bacterial cystitis that goes hand in hand with high potassium levels, in that symptoms readily improve by raising potassium to normal levels, provided there are no structural causes such as bladder prolapse. Interstitial cystitis frequently falls into this same low-potassium category.