Industrial applications for potassium include soaps, detergents, gold mining, dyes, glass production, gunpowder, and batteries. Potassium also plays a vital role in our bodies. It is used in muscle contraction, fluid and pH balance, bone health, and helps to prevent kidney stones.

Of course the Periodic table has potassium as the first element on the 4th row, so we know it has 4 shells not 3, and that it has one electron in that outer fourth shell because it’s in Group I like Li and Na.

eight electrons

In the helium atom the two electrons occupy only one shell, in the chlorine atom the 17 electrons are arranged in three shells, and in the potassium atom the 19 electrons occupy four shells.

19 electrons

The important ions in the nervous system are sodium and potassium (both have 1 positive charge, +), calcium (has 2 positive charges, ++) and chloride (has a negative charge, -).

Deficiency typically occurs when your body loses a lot of fluid. Common signs and symptoms of potassium deficiency include weakness and fatigue, muscle cramps, muscle aches and stiffness, tingles and numbness, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, digestive symptoms and mood changes.

Although people sometimes confuse them with one another, the two aren’t the same. Potassium is a mineral and not a vitamin, and the two nutrients function differently in the human body. Still, they both contribute to better bone and heart health, among other benefits.

A healthy adult should aim to consume 3,500–4,700 mg daily from foods. To increase your intake, incorporate a few potassium-rich foods into your diet such as spinach, yams, avocados, bananas, and fish, such as salmon.

Vitamin D3 tended to increase retention of both potassium and sodium in the body. A significant interaction occurred between dietary magnesium and vitamin D3 relative to body weight gain.

Vitamin D has been reported to have a wide range of benefits. However, a recent case study indicates that excessive use of vitamin D can cause kidney damage in people who are not deficient in the vitamin.

Vitamin D deficiency can cause hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia, and when progressing to type II, renal tubular acidosis can, in addition, be associated with hypokalemia, all of which contribute to muscle weakness.

The Bottom Line Taking vitamin D with food can enhance its effectiveness, as it’s fat-soluble. While the best timing has not been established, scientific data to confirm anecdotal reports that supplementing at night may interfere with sleep is unavailable.

But, some of the effects of vitamin D deficiency include:

• Fatigue or tiredness.
• Bone pain.
• Joint pain.
• Muscle pain.
• Sour mood.
• Low energy.
• More frequent illness.
• Anxiety.

You can raise your vitamin D levels quickly in three main ways: Getting outside and exposing your skin to sunlight. Taking a vitamin D supplement….Eat foods rich in vitamin D

1. Cod liver oil*
2. Trout*
3. Salmon*
4. Mushrooms*
5. Fortified dairy and non-dairy milks.
6. Fortified cereals.
7. Sardines.
8. Eggs.

Simply adding an over-the-counter vitamin D supplement can make improvements in just three to four months’ time. Vitamin D with a strength of 2000 international units daily is the recommended dose for most adults.

1. Spend time in sunlight. Vitamin D is often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin” because the sun is one of the best sources of this nutrient.
2. Consume fatty fish and seafood.
3. Eat more mushrooms.
4. Include egg yolks in your diet.
5. Eat fortified foods.
6. Take a supplement.
7. Try a UV lamp.

Good sources of vitamin D

• oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel.
• red meat.
• liver.
• egg yolks.
• fortified foods – such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals.

Regular sun exposure is the most natural way to get enough vitamin D. To maintain healthy blood levels, aim to get 10–30 minutes of midday sunlight, several times per week. People with darker skin may need a little more than this.

Vitamin D deficiency can indirectly cause weight gain by increasing depression, instigating bone mass loss, and causing tiredness or fatigue.

Everlywell, Drop, and myLAB Box are other brands that offer at-home vitamin D tests. Each relies on a finger prick blood sample. “Any at-home testing should be done by individuals who know or feel they may be at risk for low levels,” Guandalini says.

The 4s sublevel (which only has one orbital) has a lower energy than the 3d sublevel (consisting of 5 orbitals) so electrons ‘fill’ this lower energy 4s orbital first. And since the 4s sublevel is part of the 4th energy level (n=4) you write the configuration of K as 2,8,8,1.

Potassium, a chemical element with a symbol K, is one of the highly reactive alkali metals of group 1 with atomic number 11 in the periodic table….Potassium-ion (K+)

It helps your nerves to function and muscles to contract. It helps your heartbeat stay regular. It also helps move nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells. A diet rich in potassium helps to offset some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure.

A low potassium level has many causes but usually results from vomiting, diarrhea, adrenal gland disorders, or use of diuretics. A low potassium level can make muscles feel weak, cramp, twitch, or even become paralyzed, and abnormal heart rhythms may develop.

Despite its importance, very few people around the world get enough potassium. A healthy adult should aim to consume 3,500–4,700 mg daily from foods. To increase your intake, incorporate a few potassium-rich foods into your diet such as spinach, yams, avocados, bananas, and fish, such as salmon.

Magnesium administration, concomitant with potassium, assists tissue replenishment of potassium. Therefore, we hypothesized that combinations of these cations would lower blood pressure.