quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:

quote:

Originally posted by wreckdiver:
I have heart patients that use potassium chloride in their water softeners instead of sodium chloride in an effort to reduce their salt intake.

Some water systems plumb unsoftened water to the kitchen sink so you can drink unsoftened water if you want. Also helps to rinse dishes when hand washing.

Yeah, who the hell drinks water from their water softener? That's not what the water softener is there for. Bypass that sucker and send a line to the kitchen for drinking. Problem solved.
One of our kitchen sink faucets connects to the hot water heater for hot water. I don't want hot-water-heater-water that's in the same line sitting there for drinking water either.
Separate line.

I quit salting food about 25 years ago. I was having lunch with a supervisor and he noticed I salted my food rather heavily.

He told me he had quit using salt cold turkey. For about a week or so he wanted to reach for the salt shaker, but after a while longer, he noticed that the urge was gone and he no longer missed salt at all. I tried it and had the same results.

quote:

Originally posted by henryarnaud:

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

From link.

Potassium chloride - ..."used to cause cardiac arrest as the third drug in the "three drug cocktail" for executions by lethal injection."

Hmmm, yeah, no, I can't be the only one thinking, that can't be a good thing.

Big difference between ingesting KCl and injecting it. Maybe if you had continued reading the Wikipedia page you would have seen that.

I had fun calculating out the lethal doses of each for Oral ingestion. My wife would need about 6 ounces of Potassium Chloride alone to be lethal. I'd need nearly 13 ounces. That's orally, of course. not the injection. But I doubt I could pound a cup and a half of salt and keep it down long enough to kill me.

A neophyte question: Could this stuff, the half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride mix in the photo in the OP, help prevent cramps?

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:
A neophyte question: Could this stuff, the half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride mix in the photo in the OP, help prevent cramps?

I ask because I get leg cramps after a hard, sweaty work session, which in ranching happens almost every day. The cramps sometimes also manifest in the muscles that power my fingers, and they're annoying. Really annoying.

I eat bananas occasionally, and I take a Potassium Gluconate pill every day to help prevent the cramps. So I am wondering if the potassium chloride salt substitute might also have a salutary effect on the cramps.

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:
A neophyte question: Could this stuff, the half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride mix in the photo in the OP, help prevent cramps?

I ask because I get leg cramps after a hard, sweaty work session, which in ranching happens almost every day. The cramps sometimes also manifest in the muscles that power my fingers, and they're annoying. Really annoying.

I eat bananas occasionally, and I take a Potassium Gluconate pill every day to help prevent the cramps. So I am wondering if the potassium chloride salt substitute might also have a salutary effect on the cramps.

Not a Dr, but yes, KCl can help cramps. Potassium Glutonate (that I've seen) is about 3% RDA of potassium. KCl in 'salt' form will supply more than that - and it's in a pretty usable form.
Disclaimer: Moderation, may or may not work for you, etc. I wouldn't ADD KCl to your diet, but replacing some/all regular salt won't hurt.

I've also found that sometimes just increasing potassium doesn't stop the cramps. Magnesium helps in that case(I do take a medicine that can cause magnesium deficiency, but it's not normally an issue for me after ~15 years on the med)

I take a Magnesium supplement, as recommended by my doctor, both to avoid leg cramps and for some other obscure medical issue he wants to treat. I also take a lot of Potassium supplements (prescription) because I take Lasix (furosemide) for water retention. My blood levels are monitored frequently to insure I don't overdose on anything.

flashguy