I've seen several posts where people are diagnosed with low potassium post op. After reviewing my own meals, I realized my own consumption is 1/3 the recommended daily amount.

So, I did some research. In the general population, low potassium is almost non existent. Potassium is found in virtually all food groups. The problem in the bariatric population is that all food consumption is cut down dramatically.

The recommended daily consumption is around 4500mg. The minimum daily consumption is thought to be between 1500mg and 2000mg. Consuming less than the minimum will likely result in a deficiency, which could even be lethal (heart rhythm problems).

My own consumption is around 1500-1700mg, which concerns me.

So, where can I boost my potassium? Potatoes have a ton, but I couldn't add one, as I don't have room... and don't want the extra calories/carbs.

To make a long story short.. coconut water. 1 8oz cup has about 500mg of potassium (depending on brand). Yes, each cup has 11g of carbohydrate, but coconut water has HALF the calories/potassium ratio of potatoes.. and coconut water scores a 3 on the glycemic index. That is no typo. A THREE!

I can put a cup of it into my morning spinach/fruit smoothie, boosting my potassium to acceptable levels for only 45 extra calories. Win/win.

I do need to add.. potassium can be dangerous if overdone... especially consuming a lot in a short period of time. Don't drink more than a quart of coconut water a day, and spread it out. Not more than a cup every 3 hours.

Curious if the multivitamins you take have potassium in them?

Mine have 283mg, which isn't really anything. Because it is rare for people to not get enough, and it's possible to get too much, multivitamins typically don't address that nutrient in any substantial way.

Given potassium is likely considered an electrolyte, my guess is people with potassium deficiencies are probably drinking too much water and having too little else. Even worse if this is combined with physical activity where one sweats.

Edited May 18, 20179 yr by PatientEleventyBillion

Potassium is a tough nut to crack for us, as the legal OTC supplement levels are low (about 3% of RDA) and most of the best food sources are carbohydrates (potatoes, bananas, melons, etc.) which are decidedly unfashionable today (and is one of the reasons that I never went in for any of the low carb fad diets that are "in" these days.) But even eating as balance a diet as we reasonably can we are limited by the volume and calories that we can consume while losing. The best I was able to do then was in the 75-80% RDA range while more typically averaging 60-70%, The good news is that my K levels were fine on the labs and continue to be. My wife is chronically low (it's an idiosyncratic thing rather than a WLS thing for her) and uses an Rx supplement in her high K smoothie (made with tangerine juice, banana, strawberries and whatever else fits in there).

Coconut water is good; another good supplement is the low sodium version of V8 juice, which has 900mg per cup, 50 calories and 10g carb, of which 2 are fiber, of it that fits tastewise into your smoothie, that may be worth a try as an alternate. You can also try using the "light" table salts that use KCl rather than NaCl in them, though we typically use so little of it that it probably doesn't make much of a difference., though the ratio of K to Na is as important as the overall level of K in our diet (and typically our diets are the reverse of what they should be - they tend to be closer to 5:1 Na to K rather than the other way around., so anything that pushes things in the right direction is a help.

Thank you for that bit of info! I will be sure to grab some more coconut water. And low sodium V8.

Thanks, Rick. I drank V8 before surgery, but didn't even think of it now

Interesting thing.. I got my sodium down to about equal to my potassium, so there is that