hegel,

Be very careful when taking potassium supplements. They are potassium salt and they can cause very bad afib if your body does NOT need potassium. The best way to get potassium is from food (fruits, veggies, and beans).

Unless you know that you are low in potassium (from a blood test) and your doctor has instructed you to take a potassium supplement, you should not take potassium supplements. Also, please note that the majority of multivitamins already have 99 mg of potassium and you should not take any more. However, the potassium in food is safe and you should get your daily potassium from the food.

The reason for saying the above is that, I go to a bad afib if I take more than 30 mg of potassium salt (supplement). So, I even make sure my multivitamin does NOT have more than 30 mg of potassium in each pill or capsule.

Potassium is an electrolyte which makes the heart to beat hard and forceful. So, the afib caused by a potassium supplement overdose, is very violent. I have first hand experience with that. That is the reason for my warning regarding taking potassium supplements.

On the other hand, Magnessium is a very different electrolyte and opposite to potassium. It makes the heart relaxed. So, even if you take too much magnesium, the worst can happen is, you feel relaxed and it might give you the runs the next day.

To answer your question, please do NOT exceed one potassium gluconate pill per day. If low in potassium, get the rest from foods and NOT from potassium salt (supplement) unless your doctor has said so.

Scott

I agree with Scot on this, too much potassium is not good for you. Getting it from your foods is the way to go. I eat some kind of berries everyday and my blood work on the potassium comes out great with no ill effects.

Thank you both very much. Since posting my question I did a little searching on this site and found references to potassium causing hard heart beats, which I sometimes have. Yikes! I take magnesium at night but I misunderstood somewhere along the way and thought that potassium was also a supplement recommended for afib. I do eat foods high in potassium so that's it for me from now on unless I hear otherwise. Again, big thanks. And I'll choose my multivitamins with this in mind as well.

Scott and Daisey are correct....mag is good though.....hope fruits work well for you fot potas. Intake. Good luck. Tony

What about salt substitutes that contain potassium in place of sodium? When I was diagnosed (a few months ago) I cut back on salt and am also trying to loose weight. Like others here I thought potassium was basically helpful. Anyhow - I've been using a salt substitute that is potassium chloride. Each gram (1/6th teaspoon) is 530mg of potassium. I don't use much - but maybe I shouldn't be using it at all.

Thanks folks for all the great info on vitamins!!!!

hayenlaw,

If you are low in potassium, you might benefit from taking your salt substitute which potassium chloride. But, you have to be careful with that since it can cause irregular heart beat (fish flop).

As far as the salt, please remember that salt is also a very important electrolyte. So, you need to take salt. But, you should take a good sea salt and NOT Morton table salt which is all sodium chloride (man made chemical).

A good sea salt has other minerals like magnesium and it is good for the body. According to doctor David Brownstein, if you don't take enough salt, you will have elevated blood pressure. In his book for salt, he explains the reason for it. I take 3 to 5 grams of sea salt everyday. I do NOT eat any processed food which contains table salt. I make most things from scratch so I control my salt intake very closely. I have normal blood pressure (115/72).

On the other hand, my mother used to eat very little salt with her food. She used to exercise every day for an hour or so. Her t-shirt would get soaked with sweat, which meant she was losing a lot of salt from her body. But, she was not replacing the lost salt by taking salt with her food. She had high blood pressure even with taking 2 or 3 different drugs for her blood pressure.

So, please be very careful avoiding the salt all together. Your body needs salt, specially if you exercise and sweat.

Good sea salts are: Himalayan, Celtic, and Redmond Real Salt (from Utah). I use Real Salt. It is like Himalayan salt. It comes from an ancient dried sea in Utah. Celtic salt comes from the sea south of France. With all the pollution around the world, personally, I prefer to eat salt from an ancient dried sea. So, my choice is either Himalayan sea salt or the Real Salt from Utah.

Scott