Did good on the potassium yesterday. Over 3000 mg. 1000, dried apricots. 1000 tomato paste with lemon juice and water, 1000 vegetable juice. More in the fish sticks etc. The vegetable juice tastes and looks very similar to the tomato paste mixture, but is better. Contains some spinach, carrot and celery juice, but has to be mostly tomatoes. Going to toss a pound of the dried apricots in my little crockpot today & see what happens. So thanks for that idea, Bear. Also thanks to Happy for the apricot chicken thigh recipe. I have chicken thighs in the freezer. Air fried some a few days ago.
Got a few bags of pitted prunes yesterday. Haven't had any in longer than I can remember. Not bad, but high in calories and low In potassium compared to the vegetable juice and apricots, so,won't purchase again. Will stick with V juice, apricots and soybeans with tomato paste for my big potassium foods.
The Walmart vegetable jiuice is another potassium winner. 900 mg in 8 oz & 50 calories.
This is 1000 mg K, dried apricots. Most are very good. Some like chewing leather. Going to follow Bear's suggestion & stew some. Will cook in water in microwave
BEAR! I'm setting up a Sea Monkey Farm to feed my fishies. The cysts (eggs) & monkey food should arrive soon. I have ~$50 in this, so those fish better appreciate it.
Send me $2.25 and a self addressed stamped envelope & I'll hook you up! You'll have all kinds of fun training them & dressing up the gals. I'm leaving mine naked & untrained, considering their destiny.
Progress as of today: 12.4 lbs lost so far, only 3.6 lbs to go!
I plan to watch the fish enjoy their meal! Read they live ~30 minutes in fresh water. Not a problem. The fish will devour them in minutes. You can feed the baby hatched brine shrimp or let them grow up to 1/4 inch & feed then.
300 mg K in pizza. 2600 so far. Need to force myself to finish protein drink leftover from morning coffee to add another 450. Been thinking for ages drinking that in the evenings would tamp down bedtime appetite. Couldn't do it. Maybe this K quest will be incentive enough. Would boost me over 3,000 mg K
K
ABOVE is soybeans with 2 T Tom paste. 1300 mg K
Very good! Added hot sauce.
So 2300 mg K so far.
so far: 1000 mg from tom paste. Initial calculations off. Needed .41 cup tp = 1000 mg. Added 1 C water & 1/4 C lemon juice. Not bad!
K
Found a great source of K! (K is the periodic table symbol for element 19, potassium. comes from a Latin word) There's 305 mg K in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Found a large can lurking in a cabinet. 30 calories per 2 T serving. So 10 teaspoons = >1000 mg = ~100 calories. Plan is to add lemon juice & swill. May add hot sauce. Possibly vodka. LOL Just kidding.
Thinking I'll do at least 3000 mg K daily & retest in 3 weeks.
Progress as of today: 13.2 lbs lost so far, only 2.8 lbs to go!
Checked the concentrated lemon juice bottle & was shocked to see no K. Understand OJ and orange citrus have some K. Lemon juice does have some vit C
That’s a great idea soaking them if they’re too chewy & maybe tossing in the blender
This paste mixture has twice the K as tomato juice and has to be a lot cheaper
POTASSIUM 8/11/21
80 mg, multi vit
160 pizza
450 protein drink
1000 1 cup + soybeans
About the best I can do today with food around the house
This is more like it! weird how other sources having higher levels. This is from NIH
| Age | Male | Female | Pregnancy | Lactation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth to 6 months | 400 mg | 400 mg | ||
| 7–12 months | 860 mg | 860 mg | ||
| 1–3 years | 2,000 mg | 2,000 mg | ||
| 4–8 years | 2,300 mg | 2,300 mg | ||
| 9–13 years | 2,500 mg | 2,300 mg | ||
| 14–18 years | 3,000 mg | 2,300 mg | 2,600 mg | 2,500 mg |
| 19–50 years | 3,400 mg | 2,600t mg | 2,900 mg | 2,800 mg |
| 51+ years | 3,400 mg | 2,600 mg |
Finding all the potassium info very interesting. Puzzling. normal range is 3.4-4.8. assuming I am remembering correctly. I am at 3.2. Quest allows one to view numbers over time on graphs. I have steadily declined since 2017. But this is the first year below normal range. Matt is at 4. He was at 4.8 until this year.
I calculate his potassium intake to be ~1500 mg daily: one banana, one small citrus, 4 oz OJ and whatever low amounts are in his other food. Since I got tired of soybeans & spinach, mine is well under 1000 mg. I plan to get it to 3000 with the dried apricots, soybeans & spinach. Right now only soybeans in the house. Turns out Walmart has best dried apricot prices. $5 a pound for some imported from Turkey. $10 pd for their generic. Have 3 pds Turkish ones on the pickup list for Friday.
Progress as of today: 13.2 lbs lost so far, only 2.8 lbs to go!
Well, I'm all about the dried apricots - YUMMY!!!! I was quite pleased to see that your on your list yesterday (and today). If you are tired of soybeans and spinach, perhaps you can find different ways to season them. Spinach, of course, can be eaten raw or cooked. When I was younger, I didn't care so much for raw spinach, but I like it now... well, I like it better. I can't say it would be my first choice, if I'm honest.
So 2-3 weeks and then retest, correct? You got this!
Not sure if decreased potassium is age related. Could be he’d be higher if the test were retaken.
Will be interesting to see what mine is in 3 weeks or so.
Glad a friend found the NIH article that listed apricots. Always liked them & low cal.
better potassium might help you poop...
No, the multi vit contains only 2% of the daily rec amount of potassium, 80 mg The potassium supplements are 99 mg. This daily rec of 4500 is crazy. Reading it’s 3500 in other countries
Good if I get more poopies! Yay!
Two fawns & mom outside the window!
So my blood work was all good except a little low on potassium. Surprisingly the PCP office calls. Told her I got emails from the lab Saturday, same day tests done. She says ok & then reads them. lol. said doc wants me to up potassium & repeat tests in 2-3 weeks. hate blood draws! then she says to drink OJ etc. said I don't do juice & no fruits other than bananas & I'll figure it out myself & do the draw in 4 weeks or so.
the recommended dose of potassium is 4500 mg. I'd like to know who does that. bananas are ~450. avacadoes & yams similar. best I'm seeing are soybeans at 1000 mg a cooked cup. did this for a long time & slacked off. boiling up some now in the crockpot. multiple vit only has 2% of rec. dose. The protein drink has 10% with 450. spinach is similar & I do that off & on. had some 50 mg pills but tossed them. see it's more common now to sell 99 gm ones. sure I can improve, but don't know about 4500 mg.
Progress as of today: 12.8 lbs lost so far, only 3.2 lbs to go!
But how strange everywhere says 4500 mg rec dose. I will eat more soybeans & spinach. Did that for a longtime but got sick of it.
This nurse from the PCP office said to bring the level up because it could affect my muscles.
That nurse didn’t say anything about a RX. Think I’ll go with hi potassium foods.
I love that fish tank!!!!
Maybe they want me to try it first with food. I actually saw the results before they called & meant to boost my dietary potassium
Does anyone else see this error message? I do occasionally & can't login to DD
Only get it for DD
Progress as of today: 12.8 lbs lost so far, only 3.2 lbs to go!
Looks like a hassle to grow them. I’m reading you need an air pump to oxygenate the water & ~ 84 degrees. Wonder how long they live in freshwater. Need to google more.
We start school here on August 18th. Lots of local resistance to mask-wearing -- not our school board, but parents. I expect to see our numbers in Illinois skyrocket after school starts. I'd be happy to be wrong about this.
Yes, terrible situation re vaccines. And so many places like Walmart, CVS etc have them available on walk-in basis. They set 9 seats up for the 15 minutes observation period & rarely do I see any occupied. Good that 80% of senior citizens are vaccinated, but many kids getting sick now.
Looking at hatching videos. Some are not so difficult. They used a desk lamp to heat the water in a cut off 2 liter soda bottle. Have to buy sea salt too. Will price the air pump.
If all goes well I can dress them up & train them.
Looks like the ppl on YouTube are breeders & have shops.
That would be fun! And I could train them to dance & dress themselves.
Maria!
Progress as of today: 11.6 lbs lost so far, only 4.4 lbs to go!
I’m getting the booster as soon as I can. Think it will go first to immunocompromised first, then elderly .
Is anyone here on DD friends with her on Facebook? Well, not that that would be any more enlightening.... Grasping at straws.
Been extremely busy with my three new fish tanks and the stock market. The Robinhood IPO has been exciting. I'll comment and post more later. Had awful experience this AM with a large, over one inch, insect sitting on a pan on an open kitchen rack. Never saw anything like it before. Picked it up with a tissue. Thing really clung to the pan! Plan was to toss it outside. Then it stung me! Intense pain. Dropped it and stepped on it as my little dog was sniffing about. Flushed it down the toilet. unable to ID. Closest thing was a female carpenter bee. Wish I had saved it to make a good ID.
Progress as of today: 11.6 lbs lost so far, only 4.4 lbs to go!
Or murder hornets ;) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-new-asian-giant-hornet-sightings-pacific-northwest-180975008/
Very strange how it made no effort to fly when I grabbed it and clung so tightly to the pan. Maybe it already had one foot in the toilet. LOL
Next AM found a nickel sized very dark black & blue spot. Flat. But changed to elevated central lump & the tell tale red target. gross to think I sat there & let him bite away. Reading it takes hours of attachment to chomp away.
This recent nip by the unknown invader is ok now, he didn’t have sufficient time, I’m thinking.
waiting on your bigger update!
Only one tick bite in my life, a bee sting long ago & that mystery monster the other day. A few more mosquitoes though. Spray the rim of a hat with DEET when I’m in the yard.
The betta tank cleaned up nicely. I am fairly convinced the other betta got trapped in an elaborate ceramic decoration she had in there. My readings say it happens & to only use rounded river stones if one must decorate. I am liking the fake plants, which are ok too. Ordered more for the 40 gallon tank.
Ordered a beautiful betta online from Texas. Hoping he doesn't disappoint from the pics. Guys says colors may fade due to shipping stress, but brighten in a few days. Also have 5 fancy guppies coming In tomorrow from Staten Island.
This new fish tank project and my delving into books on Mary & Abraham Lincoln have gone far to alleviate my depression. Abe had the same diagnosis! Dysthymia with some epidisodes of clinical depression. Had a great sense of humor, forever telling funny stories & risqué jokes for his time. The wife was nuts. Poor Abe.
In the past, I've bought fish just from the local store. I never thought about ordering fish. When our last betta died, I put away the tank, with the hope that some day, we'll try again. Maybe just a goldfish... not sure.
I have 5 goldfish in the 40 gallon tank. Online ordering increasingly common for everything. The betta cost over 2X the local big box ones, but he’s prettier IMO. Fingers crossed! The seller has 100% positive feedback. Do does the fancy guppy guy in NY
Let tell you something weird. Occasionally I wish I could binge & purge, but never tried it. Hate puke so much that it would have the added benefit of keeping me from those goodies for a while! I know b&p’ing is very unhealthy, but I only ever meant to do it once in a great while & never could.
Once I got sick from Chinese takeout & couldn’t do Chinese for years.
Noticed the powdered PB tastes sour after a few days. The directions call for 2 T powder & 1-1.5 T water. I've been making more. Clueless as to why it sours in a few days. The powder itself keeps for ages,
Progress as of today: 13 lbs lost so far, only 3 lbs to go!
A little dab of PB a day is enough for me.
I just did a Google search, and results say it's a sign that the powder is starting to turn bad. The fats are turning rancid. Do you keep it refrigerated? It says that's not necessary but can help prolong the shelf life.
also, that cartoon is hilarious! :) def my approach at present! haha
Sounds like you got a lot of good potassium going yesterday.....I would not throw out any leftover apricot juice if you soak or cook them...potentially potassium in that too. I'm sure you are raising those numbers well. You might even find fresh apricots in your store now too for a change. I love solving health issues with food....very satisfying.......my youngest son eats primarily organic food....not 100%...but about 80%....and he is feeling really good since he started that. He has added hiking...and he is adding more and more weight to a backpack to up his strength...since they live on a hillside...he is hiking on their land up and down hills....he has lost some weight and gained a lot of muscle......and is just a lot healthier.
Will drink the apricot crockpot juice! Great suggestion. I saw one preserves recipe that added sugar. Crockpot. Was thinking of fake brown sugar. Do you think it would be too sweet?
Sounds like your son’s doing terrific.
bearcountrygg on 08/14/2021:
If adding a tiny bit of sugar makes you eat more of them I would do it......I have dried apricots too...and notice that some are sweet and others are not...but I haven't added any sugar....or fake sugar....if making jam from them and using it regularly keeps your numbers up then that might be a good way to do that and sweeten to taste to make them palatable for you.
Thanks. Will try some fake brown sugar.
Interesting how the Walmart generic brand & whatever Amazon had were $10 a pound and the Mariani brand at Walmart is $5 pd.
Donkey on 08/14/2021:
Well done! I agree with Bear, that I too love to solve health problems with food. I hope to do the same with my iron situation some day. (Note to self: make that doctor's appointment soon!)
Apricot chicken thighs - oh that sounds SO good.
Yeah, that's too bad about prunes. I love 'em. I'm not sure there's a dried fruit that I don't love... but then again, I love stewed prunes too.
Thanks! Your idea to add tomato paste to the soybeans was great! Actually improved the taste. Added my usual hot sauce.
Is it difficult to find high iron sources? What about supplements? Are they ok? I did not like the potassium supplements. Only 99 mg. The ones I discarded were 50. Read they use an IV for potassium in really deficient sick ppl. & it corrects in 2-24 hours depending on who you read. Also have prescribed pills. But I’m liking the food sources over pills. The nurse who called suggested all these low sources relative to what I’ve found. I’m not up to half a dozen (each) bananas and oranges a day.
bearcountrygg on 08/14/2021:
I have Fage 0% yogurt here that says it has 260mgs in 3/4ths of a cup...some chopped apricots mixed in that would be good...I also saw where quinoa is high...and a medium baked potato is 940 mgs.
That’s good. I use the Walmart nonfat Greek yogurt. Cheaper! Just checked. 180 mg in 3/4 cup. 17 gms protein. 90 calories.
Didn’t know potatoes were that high. Think yams/sweet potatoes higher in potassium than white. Will check this out! Thanks.
Donkey on 08/14/2021:
Iron sources that I know of are spinach, red meat, seafood, beans --- I don't eat much of any of that except spinach. IDK, I take 2 OTC pills per my doctor's recommendation. It causes constipation so I take a fiber supplement just to keep things semi-moving. Taking the supplement HAS helped with my fatigue, and my iron levels were up at the last blood test (pre-COVID) but the iron reserves just aren't there. After some deduction, I believe the conclusion is that I'll need to be on iron supplements until menopause.
As long as you can maintain the levels by any means is good.
I don’t eat much red meat, but occasional seafood is ok. Never checked the soybeans for iron. Great on protein & potassium. Like spinach. Had a fresh spinach salad lunch with a sliced hard boiled egg & fat free dressing for years until I got sick of the monotony.
bearcountrygg on 08/14/2021:
Fage 0% is 90 cals and 18 protein
Walmart nonfat Greek yogurt $3.47 per quart Fage is $5.37 per quart. I see no advantage to fage & a disadvantage to nearly $2 more. Always been frugal
bearcountrygg on 08/14/2021:
I'm just guessing but i suspect that your numbers will be up quickly...that is why they want to check your blood counts again so soon.......and then incorporate these new foods into your diet on a bit of a smaller scale....( LOL...according to Dr. Linda who does not have a medical degree...LOL).....
LOL! For some reason I thought your name was JoAnne. Must be someone else here.
I think the numbers will fly off the charts soon. Tried unsuccessfully to google & never got a decent idea. Mostly they discussed hospital IVs & RX supplements. PCP office said retest in 2-3 weeks. Would be very simple for me to get 3000 K plus with three 9 oz servings of V8, but really do like apricots & was eating soybeans. Slacked off on them, but back on track.
Horn_of_plenty on 08/14/2021:
nice job on LEARNING about how to increase your potassium and experimenting with it to see what will work long-term, etc.
Joanne is Innerp.
Thanks. The V8 juice (Walmart or brandname) is the easiest way. 9 oz is >1000 mg. Didn’t see it on any list I found. Was at Walmart checking out tomato juice & the V8 was next to it. I’m thinking of adding a dash of lemon juice. Will omit the hot sauce because I’m sipping fast.
bearcountrygg on 08/14/2021:
I'm Linda and JoAnn is Innerpeace
Hi, Linda! I’m a fake Jacky. LOL My parrot is named Jack. IRL