The FastDay Forum

Do our lovely experts feel we should take extra potassium and, if so, at what dose please?

Is there perhaps one that combines magnesium and calcium and vitamin D too, or am I trying to cover too many things at once?

Many thanks as ever :0)

[carorees]

Funnily enough, I've just been looking at this! There is a brand on Amazon that combines all three. I can't remember the brand though!

I was looking at potassium as it may help reduce blood pressure. I'm not sure how necessary calcium is though. The dose is fairly low in the tablets because too much potassium is not good. I don't know what dose we should be aiming for (I need to do some more research). For magnesium I think around 300mg of elemental is recommended if you are trying to improve sleep/lower blood pressure etc.

I'm not keen on having loads of supplements as we should be able to get what we need from our diet. There seems, however, to be evidence for vitamin D in the winter and magnesium for people who have symptoms that might indicate low magnesium and potassium possibly off you have hypertension.

Well, I don't know if I'm having a 'summer moult' or it's an after affect of that awful spring flu, but my hair is coming out rather more than seems necessary, hence the calcium and magnesium boost.. Potassium seems to be flavour of the month for wonder supplement and is not present in my current multi-vitamin and mineral tablet. It might turn me into a slim twenty something overnight ...
Maybe not.
A bit too optimistic possibly.
:0)

I've been taking a combined supplement of Calcium, magnesium and Zinc, for so long I've forgotten why I started taking it in the first place

I found that potassium helped me with leg cramps (I was suffering with during my first weeks of fasting), Magnesium did not help with my cramps.

Potassium should not be taken by some people as it can interfere with some medications so check with your physician before taking potassium.

I was using a "Gastrolyte" fluid replacement drink and I only needed a few doses to help. I do not take potassium everyday only on the odd occasion that I get cramps. If you google for potassium sources you will find that a lot of fruit and vege contain potassium and as much as possible I prefer to get my nutrients from the food I eat.

The magnesium provides almost instant relief for my leg cramps. Don't know if cramps are from the fasting or all the walking but definitely having to ward them off.