Of all the minerals, and of all the electrolytes, potassium, it seems to me, is the one I most easily lose. Up to 3 grams of potassium can be lost just by sweating! Athletes and active people need to watch it as do coffee-drinkers and those who consume a lot of alcohol or any other substance with a diuretic effect. Potassium can be drastically lost in perspiration and diarrhea. You can safely take 2 Grams a day, says Dr. Thierry Hertoghe, but consult your physician if you are using digitalis, potassium-sparing diuretics, and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor class of blood pressure-lowering drugs.

Liquid potassium with BOTH magnesium and potassium and because it's liquid you can COUNT on absorption.

As an electrolyte
Electrolytes maintain water balance and distribution. A balance of sodium and potassium is needed in the cells. Potassium, sodium, and chloride are electrolytes – mineral salts that conduct electricity when dissolved in water. Electrolytes are always found in pairs; a positively charged molecule like sodium or potassium is always accompanied by a negatively charged molecule like chloride. Over 95 percent of the body’s potassium is in cells while most of the body’s sodium is outside the cells in the blood and other fluids. Cells pump sodium out and potassium in via a pump in the membranes of all body cells, in order to, among other things, prevent cellular swelling. If sodium is not pumped out, water accumulates in the cell, causing it to swell and ultimately burst. If you have had trouble with water retention after a high-sodium meal you might try taking potassium to restore the balance of these two minerals.

Electrolytes maintain water balance and distribution, acid-base balance, muscle and nerve cell function, heart function, and kidney and adrenal function . Potassium helps keep your body from becoming too acidic. Because the American diet is full of meat, dairy products, and other foods which cause an acidic reaction, American's bodies are too acidic to heal themselves. Cancer cannot exist in organs or tissues where the pH is above 5.7. Potassium keeps the pH more alkaline.

Potassium plays a key role in many of the body's most important functions, including:

Water balance and distribution
Muscle and nerve cell function
Heart function
Kidney and adrenal function
Conversion of blood sugar into glycogen
Regulation of blood pressure

Liquid potassium - best absorption! stock up.

A high potassium, low sodium diet actually protects against cardiovascular diseases and cancer, while the reverse, a low potassium, high sodium diet actually can induce these diseases. Most Americans ingest twice as much sodium as potassium, a ratio of 2:1. However, the body actually requires the opposite, and a ratio of 1:5 can be found in fruits and vegetables - "nature"al foods. That will tell you something! :-)

Potassium is so effective at regulating blood pressure that it's often given as a supplement to individuals with high blood pressure. Potassium citrate is better than potassium chloride for this purpose, because potassium chloride supplements can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and ulcers.

Deficiency Signs and Symptoms
Potassium is essential for conversion of blood sugar into glycogen, the storage form of blood sugar in the muscles and liver. A potassium shortage results in lower levels of stored glycogen. Because exercising muscles use glycogen for energy, you'll notice a potassium deficiency quickly if you try to exercise. A deficiency will produce great fatigue and muscle weakness.

A potassium deficiency affects muscles and nerves first and is characterized by muscle weakness, fatigue, mental confusion, irritability, weakness, heart disturbances, and problems in nerve conduction and muscle contraction. Some people experience palpitations, others find they are not processing information quickly when potassium levels get very low.

A diet low in fresh fruits and vegetables but high in sodium is the typical cause of dietary potassium deficiency but excessive fluid loss (sweating, diarrhea or urination) or the use of diuretics, laxatives, aspirin, and other drugs are other common causes.

I have personally had a problem with potassium since 1985 when I took a Sudafed (has a diuretic effect) and drank about 10 cups of black tea while writing and found myself in shock and in the hospital because of a "dangerously low" electrolyte drop! I have watched it ever since and now can identify a slight drop - always when drinking coffee - by the mental slowdown and (less often) fatigue that creeps up. Palpitations are a sign to me that my potassium has dropped even lower. I keep potassium gluconate at my DESK! And I take it regularly.

Coffee and tea are natural diuretics,and therefore promote the loss of sodium, potassium, calcium and other essential vitamin elements. Additionally, the tannin content in tea (both green and black), as well as coffee, can cause other problems, too. It prevents iron absorption and people who have a folic acid (necessary to absorb iron) absorption problem can become anemic drinking tea daily, but that's another article. :-)

Potassium Gluconate - this is what I take and you can get it at Walgreens. It's cheap and it works for me.

I have kept a running list of the best sources of potassium in food: