Potassium has become synonymous with bananas since the latter is commonly known as the best source of potassium, which plays a big role in different functions of our body—from muscle strength, heart health to nerve functions.
Potassium deficiency (hypokalemia) can lead to muscle cramps, palpitation, dizzy spell and fatigue.
According to webmd.com, potassium helps your whole body to work right, including your brain, nerves, kidneys, heart, and other muscles. “It’s an electrolyte, like calcium, sodium, and others. They manage how much water is in your body, help keep up your body’s electrical system, and move nutrients into your cells and take waste out. Potassium also puts sodium in check, which can benefit your blood pressure, among other things.”
To understand better how potassium works in our body, the webmd.com shares in its websites some of the important functions of this mineral and the magic it does in our body.
Helps your heart and other muscles
Your muscles need the right balance of potassium inside their cells and sodium outside of them. When that balance gets out of whack, it makes it harder for your muscles to work.
Potassium is involved in the electrical signals sent by muscles. It lets them contract properly. If you’re low on potassium, you can get muscle weakness and cramps.
Your most important muscle, your heart, needs potassium. It helps cells send the right electrical signals so that the heart pumps correctly.
Helps prevent kidney stones
These hard “stones” are often made from calcium in your urine. They can hurt a lot. One form of potassium, potassium citrate, binds up that calcium. This helps prevent crystals from forming that could become kidney stones.
Helps with osteoporosis
With this condition, bones become less dense, making them more likely to break. Foods rich in potassium—mostly fruits and vegetables—can slow it down. Potassium does this by cutting down on how much calcium leaves your body in your urine. And keeping calcium around helps to keep bones strong.
Potassium and your brain and nerves
Here again, potassium is key in your inner electrical system. It helps your nerves fire properly when stimulated. This happens by way of electrical signals that go from cell to cell.
As part of the nervous system, your brain needs potassium. The mineral helps brain cells communicate with each other and with cells farther away in your body.
Source: www.webmd.com
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