High Potassium Diet May be Helpful for Arthritis

Catsfur made a good comment about rheumatoid arthritis patients being low in potassium.  A number of studies have reported that rheumatoid arthritis patients tend to be low in potassium and may benefit from a high potassium diet.   The exact mechanism in which potassium helps rheumatoid arthritis is not well known- but may involve better hormonal function of the hypothalamic- pituitary- adrenal axis.

Fruits and Vegetables are good sources of potassium.  Citrus fruit, tomatoes, potatoes and bananas are especially rich sources of potassium.  Only about 1 US adult in 4 consumes the recommended 5 or more half cup servings of produce (fruits/ vegetables) daily.  Milk is also a good source of potassium.  I urge readers to consume at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.  Those with yeast problems may want to emphasize vegetables over fruits since vegetables are lower in carbohydrates.  Many studies have reported that consuming 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily reduces risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, eye problems and many forms of cancer.

A discussion of the relationships between low potassium and rheumatoid arthritis may be found in Medical Hypothesis 2009;73:564-8