My latest health scare was an irregular heart beat. My cardiologist seems unsure of the cause. He said that it can be an electrolyte imbalance, lack of sleep, stress or other causes. In response, he prescribed a higher dose of metroprolol and scheduled my next appointment two months away. He mentioned that my labs were normal in November/December of last year but didn't order new labs.
This was a very frustrating appointment because I don't feel like I left knowing much more than I did going in (more on this later). I will admit that while I was there, I didn't ask the greatest questions because I didn't feel great, I was upset and had a hard time focusing. When I got home, I tried to do research but there are so many different irregular heart beats that I didn't know where to start.
Most of the possible causes are things that I can change or at least try to change. I started to research the causes of an electrolyte imbalance. An electrolyte imbalance is when there isn't the right amount of certain nutrients in the blood such as, calcium, potassium, phosphate, magnesium and bicarbonate. I've already spent some time talking about sodium and I highly doubt I am lacking sodium because even though we rarely cook with salt at home, I still eat out and most of those meals are high in sodium.
I take a prescribed potassium supplement and sometimes, but not often, use salt substitutes that are high in potassium. I doubt my issue is a lack of potassium but since my medication strips potassium, its a possibility. I want to spend some time going through what I learned about potassium. First of all potassium is vital for the function of the heart, kidneys and other organs. It is important to eat foods that contain potassium, especially for those of us with heart issues because potassium can lower your risk of high blood pressure, kidney stones, stroke and remove excess sodium. High potassium is very dangerous, therefore, it is best to get potassium from foods and not from supplements (unless prescribed). An adult should consume 4,700 mg of potassium a day.
I don't know about you but 4,700mg seems like it may be difficult to reach each day so I've made a list of potassium rich foods that can help get you there.
Sweet potatoes - almost 700 mg in one
Tomato paste - 660 mg in 1/4 of a cup
Tomato sauce - 550 m in 1/2 of a cup
White beans - 600 mg
Plain nonfat yogurt - 580 mg
Carrot juice - 500 mg
Tuna - 500 mg
Edamame - 500 mg
Banana- 400 mg
Milk - 380 in a cup
French Fries - 677 mg
Alright you might be thinking what I'm thinking. Do I have to eat these potassium rich foods everyday to reach the recommended daily amount of 4,700 mg or can I eat what I normally eat with 2-3 adjustments that focus on potassium? Well lets see. Here is a daily meal plan with only 2-3 items focused on getting additional potassium (noted with **).
Breakfast
Toast 47 mg
1 grapefruit 166 mg
Orange juice 496 mg**
Lunch
Romaine lettuce 240 mg (2 cups)
Grilled chicken 220 mg
4 grape tomatoes 160 mg
1/2 avocado 485 mg
Ranch dressing 40 mg
Shredded cheese 28 mg
White beans (soup or chili) 600 mg**
Dinner
Spaghetti and meatballs 510 mg
Garlic bread 45 mg
Side salad (half of above without chicken) 475 mg
Snacks
yogurt 290 mg**
almonds 208 mg
The total comes to 4,010 milligrams which is a little lower than the goal but not too far away. Some small adjustments and we can easily get an additional 700 mg. Maybe add a banana, tomato juice, spinach, oranges or some combination.
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