Medical science has known for some time that even modest potassium deficiency causes growth hormone and IGF-1 suppression. Although these findings have not received much attention we are very curious why the medical industry does not pass this information along to us… We have all heard our doctors warn us about lowering our salt (sodium) intake.

Fact: As we get older we lose more and more potassium daily and it hurts us (metabolically), in a big way.

Then why don’t the doctors in the same breath talk to us about the importance of potassium? After all… they are aware of its importance!

A little potassium history.

Of all the alterations that have occurred in the nutritional profile of the human diet since the advent of food processing, the change in the sodium/potassium ratio is among the most dramatic.

Our ancestors diet is estimated to have contained 16 times more potassium than sodium (this makes sense given that unprocessed meat and plant foods contain between 10-20 times as much potassium as sodium).

In contrast, most refined carbohydrate/sugar-based foods, the cornerstone of the American diet, contain substantially more sodium than potassium. The radical reversal of the sodium/potassium ratio is likely a significant factor in the coronary heart problems and growth hormone levels declining.

HGH Product Ratings:

To view our “best hgh” recommendations click here.

Why Potassium is so important.

Your health or more specifically metabolic efficiency is dependent on cell swelling and shrinking. An increase in cellular hydration (swelling) acts as an positive stimulus, whereas a decrease in cellular hydration (shrinkage) acts as a negative stimulus.

Cellular hydration, however, is more complex than simply guzzling water. Fluid is constantly moving in and out of the cell across an electrical gradient bisected by the cell membrane. The key to obtaining the positive benefits of “cell volumization” is to maximize intracellular fluid.

Drinking water will improve your overall hydration status, but it will not significantly alter the ratio of intracellular to extracellular fluid.

Water moves in and out of cells with electrolytes.

The mineral sodium is the chief extracellular electrolyte, whereas the mineral potassium is the chief intracellular electrolyte.

By increasing your potassium intake and reducing your sodium intake, you can shift water from the extracellular compartments of your body into the cells.

Because potassium levels decline with age and cellular dehydration/shrinkage has been strongly linked to several disease states potassium is critical to your health.

What is the best way to improve your sodium/potassium ratio? By limiting the consumption of processed carbohydrate foods (which are high in sodium and low in potassium) and encouraging consumption of unprocessed plant and animal foods (which are high in potassium and low in sodium).

A high water intake and a diet high in potassium-rich foods is a sound strategy hydrating the trillions of cells that comprise your body.

HIGH potassium (more than 225 milligrams per 1/2 c. serving)

All meats, poultry and fish are high in potassium.

Apricots (fresh more so than canned) Avocado Banana Cantaloupe Honeydew Kiwi Lima beans Milk Oranges and orange juice Potatoes (can be reduced to moderate by soaking peeled, sliced potatoes overnight before cooking) Prunes Spinach Tomatoes Vegetable juice Winter squash

MODERATE (125 - 225 mg per serving)

Apple juice Asparagus Beets Blackberries Broccoli Carrots Cherries Corn Eggplant Grapefruit Green peas Loose-leaf lettuce Mushrooms, fresh Onions Peach Pears Pineapple Raisins Raspberries Strawberries Summer squash, including zucchini Tangerines Watermelon

Potassium is water soluble.

So cooking can cause it to leach into water during cooking. A boiled potato, for example, loses at least half its potassium to the water it’s boiled in. To reduce this loss, try steaming, microwaving, sauteing or even frying vegetables instead of boiling them. Keep the cooking water and add it to soups, stews and casseroles to increase their potassium content.

Regardless of which HGH supplement you choose be sure and incorporate high potassium foods into your diet!