Low potassium = low HGH, low IGF-1, low testosterone, slow digestion, slow bowel movements, lack of appetite, no pump in the gym, and over all weakness. And why just focusing on macros is bad.
How important is potassium? Well not getting enough potassium is linked to low testosterone which is fixed by eating adequate potassium. And also linked to low HGH and IGF-1 levels. Along with slow body weight growth, due to obvious reasons.
Low potassium is also directly tied to adrenal hormone function namely cortisol. People with adrenal issues are under this huge misconception to avoid potassium and load just the salt/sodium. Considering the fact most adrenal issues are low cortisol not high, avoiding potassium is the worst thing you can do.
Potassium is needed if your stomach is bloating/distending, and you feel your digestion is just pure sluggish. Potassium controls the water content in the bowels to keep you from getting backed up.
Sluggish digestion, low appetite all issues of lacking potassium. Feeling weak and not getting a pump in the gym, all related to low potassium.
Signs of low potassium is muscle weakness, what is a sign of high potassium levels noted in medical? Excessive strength. Which is funny because there has not been a person yet where I told them to up the potassium and did not see a huge increase in strength. Basically a huge issue in lacking potassium is not getting the most out of your real muscular strength.
There has not really been a single person I have not met that had adequate potassium levels. Most get about HALF of the RDA amounts. Which is just a recommendation. While you see other cultures eating a good double the RDA even.
If you are having trouble eating and think force feeding is the way to go. It is not. It is however a great way to leading to feeling sluggish and backed up. Increase your appetite to what it should be, which ends up surprising most people how high there appetite really is once they focus on some key nutrient issues.
This is a huge reason I hate when people focus on just macros. And a term I read recently, you don’t get extra points for shooting over your micro-nutrient needs…
Well first we don’t know what really is the best micro-nutrient amounts we should be getting via the diet. But I can guarantee it is not what the RDA has put out compared to many other much much more healthier cultures.
And when people just focus on macros you always see them taking a decent portion of there diet from healthy foods to nutrient void carbs namely. Sorry but any breads or rice is not going to compare to squash’s and other root tubers by a long shot. And for the fact studies have shown diets compared of the average folk to professional and amateur athletes, all groups lacked nearly half of the RDA amounts in half of the micro nutrients. Says enough there that maybe giving up calories from a nutrient dense tuber to a piece of cake or pasta isn’t the most optimal thing for health and athletic performance or muscular gains.