Carbohydrate-Guide

A high-water low-sodium intake coupled with a diet high in potassium-rich foods is a sound strategy for hydrating the trillions of cells in your body -

Of all the alterations that have occurred in the profile of the human diet since the advent of food processing, the change in the sodium/potassium ratio is among the most dramatic. The diet of our ancestors is estimated to have contained 16 times more potassium than sodium. In contrast, most refined carbohydrate-sugar based foods contain substantially more sodium than potassium. Why potassium is so important.

Fluid is constantly moving in and out of the cell across an electrical gradient bisected by the cell membrane. This fluid exchange is controlled by electrolytes.

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

The key to obtaining the anabolic benefits of “cell volumization” and maximizing fat loss 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.

Studies have clearly linked the importance of the sodium/potassium ratio in connection with fat loss.

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

Because potassium levels decline with age, cellular dehydration/shrinkage has been strongly linked to several disease states.

It is evident that sodium/potassium and water is one of your most important daily choices in maintaining healthy cell structure.

A high-water low-sodium intake coupled with a diet high in potassium-rich foods is a sound strategy for hydrating the trillions of cells in your body.

Important points to consider:

Hydration is a continuum. Most people don’t drink enough water, and they are perpetually in a state of sub-optimal hydration - called hypohydration.

• Hypohydration can raise cortisol levels.
• Cortisol is a catabolic, anti-immunity, pro-aging destructive hormone.
• To minimize cortisol levels, you should avoid hypohydration - and that means drinking a lot of water.

Thirst is not an accurate indicator of hydration. You can be seriously hypohydrated without being the least bit thirsty. Conversely, if you wait until you are thirsty before drinking water, you will always be hypohydrated

There is no substitute for water. Without it, life is not possible. Without enough of it, optimal health is not possible.

High Potassium Foods:

Beet greens, chopped, cooked –1 cup, 1300 mg Avocado — 6 ounces, 1080 mg Apricots, dried — 1/2 cup, 895 mg Beans (legumes), cooked — 1 cup 500, 1200 mg Potato, baked, with skin — 6 ounces, 710 mg Clams, cooked — 3 ounces, 535 mg Yogurt, plain, low-fat — 1 cup, 550 mg Fish, most varieties, cooked — 4 ounces, 350-700 mg Orange juice — 1 cup, 500 mg Banana — 1 medium, 470 mg

Counteracting Potassium Agents:

Alcohol, coffee, cortisone, diuretics, laxatives, salt (excessive), sugar (excessive), stress.

All creatures including humans evolved on a high potassium low sodium diet, because that was the proportion of these minerals, naturally occurring in our ancient environment. So the ideal amount of potassium in your diet should reflect the amount in the foods of our ancient environment.

The same foods today, freshly harvested, and unprocessed, are still high in potassium and low in sodium. Even the flesh of sea fish such as salmon and tuna, though they live in an environment with twenty times more sodium than potassium, contain five times more potassium than sodium. Overall, the fresh foods that form a good diet, contain seven times more potassium than sodium. Seven to one is the ratio of Nature’s design upon which your body functions best.

In one of the many crimes against health in the 20th century, food processors reversed this ratio by adding salt to everything. Canned tuna today contains 3-4 times more sodium than potassium. Wholewheat breads contain 5-6 times more sodium than potassium! Overall, the average American diet now contains twice as much sodium as potassium. If you want optimal performance, don’t eat it!

Average daily potassium intake in America is about 2.5 grams, much below the recommended amount of 3.5 grams. And a lot of that deficient amount of potassium is promptly excreted, because high fat levels in the average diet block potassium absorption. Some misguided physicians and dietitians scream bloody murder against potassium supplements which might bring the total intake up another gram or so. They seem unaware that folk who eat large amounts of vegetables and fruits get 8-11 grams of potassium per day - and the US National Academy of Sciences reports they are a lot healthier for it3

Unlike most other minerals, we leak potassium like a sieve. Even with insufficient potassium and no exercise, your body cannot conserve this mineral. So unless you base your diet on a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day, you are likely to be short on both potassium and performance.