Friday, October 7, 2011

How Potassium Affects the health of the Elderly

How Potassium Affects the health of the Elderly


We know for a fact that nutrients are one of the greatest necessities for every human body. It can be achieved by staying healthy by following proper diet that gives your body the vitamins and minerals you need.

It is that easy and it does not have to be hard and complicated. But growing older may cause scantness in vitamins and minerals. It is prominent then for the elderly to eat food rich in potassium and everybody who takes care of them should be knowledgeable about it.

With the help of sodium and calcium, potassium helps keep your heart healthy as it maintains the normal heartbeat, aids in maintaining the normal balance of water in the body, and as a result, it helps show the way nerve impulses and muscle contraction. An average-sized body may include about 5 ounces (140 g) of potassium. Kidneys are responsible in controlling the blood levels of the minerals and help the body get rid of excess urine.

Potassium scantness is easy to forestall because this mineral is present in practically all foods. Potassium rich foods include whole grains, lean meat, beans, green leafy vegetables and fruits such as bananas and oranges. Eating these foods will help the body gain the needed number of potassium.

For some people, potassium scantness is not well terrifying since there are abundance of sources of this mineral and it is easy to obtain. But for the elderly, potassium intake is of great point because as the body grows old, the kidneys and other body organs have the tendency to deteriorate thereby development it hard for the body to suck up potassium.

For high blood pressure, medications that are prescribed by doctors as a rehabilitation may not be that efficient for the elderly. High blood pressure leads to serious a health health and illnesses such as heart problems and diabetes. This is base to the elderly so on top of the medications for reducing high blood pressure, there is a need to have potassium supplement and it is best to discuss it with their doctor.

If you happen to witness an aged person having muscle weakness, gastrointestinal problems, irregular heart rate, and abnormal skin conditions such as numbness, it is best then to growth the potassium intake because these are symptoms of potassium deficiency.

One way for doctors to detect if the inpatient is potassium deficient is by taking a blood sample and checking for the potassium content. A person is declared potassium deficient if the potassium present in the blood is below 5.6 grams.

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