Potassium diet: description, features

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

He althy for both children and adults, the Heart Potassium Diet is a nutritional program that focuses on potassium-rich foods. Such a diet is not suitable for everyone, and before switching to restrictions on the choice of products, you should first consult with your doctor. The potassium nutrition program allows you to improve the body, stabilize the functioning of the heart system, expel extra pounds, but a good effect will be observed only if you eat sensibly and balanced.

Who's supposed to?

To understand whether a potassium diet can harm the body, you need to figure out who it is recommended for. Nutritionists have specially created such a nutrition program for people suffering from problems with blood vessels. This system should be used in case of high blood pressure, insufficiency of blood flow, in the presence of pathologies of blood vessels, heart. If there are no such pathologies, but there is a high probability of their occurrence due to genetics or lifestyle, it is also reasonable to resort to therapeutic nutrition. In other cases, such a diet will be useless.

Risk factors

As studies show, vascular disease, heart disease in an impressive percentage of cases are provoked by excess cholesterol in the body. The products recommended as part of the potassium diet contain relatively little of this compound and fats harmful to the body, while simultaneously providing a person with the necessary amount of trace elements. Under the influence of cholesterol, the internal lumen of blood vessels decreases, thereby increasing pressure. As a result, a person is disturbed by migraines, his head hurts and is spinning, heart attacks and cerebral hemorrhages are possible.

The second extremely dangerous factor for the body, the influence of which can be corrected by a potassium-magnesium diet, is s alt. It leads to the accumulation of fluid in the body, followed by an increase in pressure.

Nutrition: how to level the danger?

If a doctor recommends a potassium diet for a child's heart, improving the he alth of an adult, then you will have to follow a limited program in which there is practically no s alt in food. In addition, the share of animal products is significantly reduced. Persons suffering from high blood pressure are recommended no more than 5 g of s alt per day.

The place of prohibited products is occupied by fish, vegetables, cereals enriched with potassium compounds. Such nutrition allows you to get rid of excess fluid in organic tissues, as a result, pressure indicators are stabilized. True, you should not expect that dietary restrictions will allow you to completely abandon medications. A strict diet allows you to improve the condition of the body and increase the effectiveness of the drug program, but does not exclude it.

A lot or a little?

A heart-he althy potassium diet should last at least six, but no more than ten days. The specific duration must be chosen, focusing on the person's well-being, the tolerance of the dietary program by the body.

As doctors say, such a diet for weight loss is well known to doctors, it is often recommended to their patients by nutritionists, cardiologists. If you study special dietary manuals, you will find many references to the benefits if a person reasonably uses this diet, uses it to treat and prevent diseases, but not for too long a course. For a long time, such a diet is contraindicated, since it practically does not contain protein sources, without which hepatic functionality is greatly impaired, the generation of albumin, which is capable of retaining fluid in the vascular bed, is inhibited. Thanks to albumin, effusion of fluid into neighboring tissues is prevented.

Safety and prudence

According to experts, the potassium diet is most effective for hypertension and vascular disease, the heart. It is designed specifically for the category of people who are concerned about these phenomena. At the same time, it must be remembered that weight loss for this class of patients is recommended strictly under the supervision of the attending physician. Switching between different nutrition programs can cause deterioration even inif the new one is much better than the old one. This is due to the fact that the human body is able to adapt to the conditions of existence, including nutrition. Dietary changes are stressful conditions and can provoke undesirable, not always predictable consequences.

Dramatic weight loss is accompanied by the selection of amino acids and numerous lipid compounds into the bloodstream, due to which the parameter of fluid clotting increases. The likelihood of thrombosis increases. To minimize such risks, before starting a diet program, you need to contact your doctor, who will prescribe a comprehensive examination, assess possible dangers and select preventive measures based on the characteristics of the case.

But in practice?

Consider the example of a heart-he althy potassium diet. A few small portions are required per day. Due to their abundance, losing weight can avoid the feeling of hunger. Portions should be of a reasonable size in order to avoid overeating.

For the first meal, 200 g of baked potatoes are recommended. From drinks - decaffeinated coffee diluted with milk. For the second dose, you should drink half a glass of freshly squeezed cabbage juice or squeezed from fresh carrots. For the lunch break, mashed potato soup is prepared, 100 g of boiled carrots are kneaded to a vaporous state for the second, and half as much fruit jelly is recommended for dessert. For an afternoon snack, a glass of rosehip drink is boiled. For dinner, it is recommended supplemented with freshmashed potatoes with bell peppers, and shortly before bedtime, a glass of fresh smoothie made from fruit rich in vitamins.

Another meal option involves eating the same breakfast as described above, and for the second meal they prepare fresh cabbage or carrot juice (half a glass) and boil millet, which can be supplemented with fresh avocado slices. Portion - 150 g. For dinner, they make mashed potatoes and cabbage soup, a couple of potato pancakes and a portion of jelly with fruits (100 g). Rosehip broth is also recommended for the second afternoon tea, and pilaf with fruit for dinner, and rosehip broth again as a drink. Before going to bed, they drink a glass of fresh juice from their favorite fruits.

Meal Options

Sometimes you have to make a diet not only for an adult, but also for a child. What foods in the potassium diet are the main ones mentioned above - fruits, vegetables, and other foods containing a minimum of fat sources, animal protein, but rich in minerals. The main difficulty of eating according to this scheme for children is that it is not easy to persuade a child to eat dishes that he does not like. Among the options for what parents can cook are milk millet with dried apricots and raisins. The recommended serving size is 200 g. The drink is decaffeinated coffee with milk. For the second breakfast, you can make mashed potatoes (also 200 g), a glass of fresh cabbage or carrots. For lunch, they boil oatmeal soup, make a couple of carrot cutlets and compote with dried fruits. Rosehip broth is prepared for an afternoon snack, and for dinner, nutritionists advise making 200 g of mashed potatoes with boiled fish (four times less in weight), washing down everythingtea diluted with milk. Before going to bed, they drink a glass of fruit juice.

Another daily diet option starts with a salad for breakfast. It is made from fresh vegetables. For satiety, the first meal is supplemented with buckwheat milk porridge (200 g), washed down with decaffeinated coffee, diluted milk. For the second breakfast, make half a glass of juice from carrots or cabbage, 100 g of dried apricots or grapes. For lunch, nutritionists recommend cooking soup with vegetables and potatoes, pilaf, to which you can add boiled meat. From drinks, compote with dried fruits is suitable. For an afternoon snack, you can eat a few baked apples, boil meat (50 g) for dinner, cook a couple of potato pancakes and drink tea diluted with milk. Before going to bed, they drink half a glass of fruit juice.

Do I need it?

Designed for a number of days from 6 to 10 days, the potassium diet, as noted by many people who adhere to this nutrition program at the insistence of the attending doctor, allows you to get rid of excess weight. At the same time, the work of the heart and blood vessels is stabilized, cholesterol content is reduced. Doctors explain this effect by minimizing harmful products, reducing the amount of table s alt consumed, which stimulates the accumulation of fluid in the body.

Among those who adhered to the potassium diet at their own discretion, without the recommendations of a doctor and a preliminary examination by a nutritionist and cardiologist, there were many dissatisfied with the results of losing weight. Others failed to lose weight, others faced problems in the liver. Similar difficulties are also notedthose who adhere to the described diet for too long a period of time. This leads to an imbalance of beneficial compounds in the body. To ensure that the nutrition program does not become a source of harm, it is necessary to coordinate it with a professional and carefully follow his recommendations.

Biochemistry and nutrition

Beneficial for both an adult with hypertension and a child, the potassium diet is a nutritional program in which the body is saturated with potassium. With high blood pressure, sodium is retained, which leads to the accumulation of fluid at the cellular level. This corrects the volume of cardiac output, causing hypertension. Sodium retention is accompanied by an imbalance of this trace element and potassium compounds in the body. S alts accumulate in the cells, as a result, puffiness develops. In order to improve the condition in general, it is necessary to revise the diet in such a way that sodium is excreted naturally.

To get the best results from the potassium diet for both adults and children, fluid intake must be strictly limited. The entire period of nutrition under this program you need to drink minimally. Of course, at the same time it is important to adhere to the diet described above, without giving yourself any indulgences, even for a day or part of a day. At least one "failure" is guaranteed to spoil the effect of the entire program. Do not use s alt when cooking.

Food for your benefit

As part of a potassium diet, you will have to cook he althy and fresh food for yourself daily inin accordance with the diet described above (it is recommended by reference books on clinical nutrition). It is impossible to purchase finished products in the store, order food from restaurants. Although you can find a large selection of soups, mashed potatoes, boiled products in cafes and confectionery departments of supermarkets, they are all prepared using s alt, sugars, additives harmful to the body, which are strictly prohibited for people who limit their diet. Eating purchased mashed potatoes and soups, a person will not bring any benefit to himself, but you can easily do harm. If you cook at home and on your own, you can carefully control which ingredients are used and in what proportions.

It is possible that during the period of the potassium diet, a person will begin to feel worse. Some vomit and feel sick, there is a possibility of a general weak state and loss of working capacity. If such signs are observed, it hurts and the head is spinning, it is necessary to abandon the described nutrition program. Symptoms clearly indicate that such dietary restrictions are completely unsuitable for a person. If the diet is recommended by a doctor, you need to come to the appointment and report any problems. Your doctor will recommend an alternative he althy eating program.

Nuances of food selection

Due to the characteristics of the potassium diet described above, this nutrition program is applicable to both vegetarians and those who consume animal products. If a person fundamentally does not eat meat, fish and dairy, for each new day you will have to choose one of those diets that are based entirely on plant foods.food. Everyone else can combine and combine, build sequences of diets as the stomach and mood require. You can eat one program for several days in a row, then switch to another, you can change the menu every day, from time to time returning to what it was before.

The patient is shown natural freshly squeezed juices during the entire period of dietary nutrition. They are made from apples and pears. Carrot and cabbage, beet and orange juices are recommended. Pressed from tomatoes and apricots will benefit. Juices should not be subjected to heat treatment, during which beneficial vitamins are broken down. You need to eat six times a day. It is advisable to observe equal time intervals between meals.

General nutrition rules

There should not be more than three hours between meals. The exception is a pause between drinking juice before bedtime and breakfast. The potassium diet allows the consumption of bread, but strictly such, the preparation of which did not involve the inclusion of s alt. Since store-bought products are always prepared with some of this product, if you want to include bread in your menu, you must cook it yourself. Bread without s alt can be eaten with the meal with which a person wants it.

From drinks you can drink green coffee. It is believed that it helps to lose weight. One cup of any drink should be no more than 200 ml in volume. As a main mealdishes you can cook rice soups with the addition of vegetables. It is better to drink different juices every day, alternate to your taste, focusing on the season. Preference is given to products that grow in the area of residence. So, if the period of ripening of apples comes, it is apple juice that should be the main one.