Cream of tartar and cortisol

[Danielj1]

I am really intrigued now over the role of potassium in immune health and have been testing the outcomes of different ways of dosing via cream of tartar supplements.

In IT sterns today was a real stress test to see how much potassium can mitigate excess cortisol

I had no breakfast and simply sprinkled a large helping of COT in the OJ along with salt and headed to the gym for 60 minute very high intensity treadmill run

This knowingly breaks all my usual rules to not run for extended periods at high rate heart zones due to excess cortisol and stress on liver etc

Wierd thing was I felt no aerobic stress, no fatigue and very little if any cortisol as my heart felt really relaxed and calm all the way through

All this serves to spike my interest even more -

This has all the feelings like when I got first into magnesium daily dosing and the excitement of feeling so much better for it

One huge downside of COT is the burning throat sensation which I have only ever felt before with cider vinegar supplementation (hence stopped that too for this reason) - so may need to find another potassium source that is not COT - just a bought an enormous bag of the stuff though !

[RedApple]

Danielj1, Personally I'd rather take straightforward potassium supplements than cream of tartar! No doubt you've researched and are fully aware of the dangers of high potassium i.e. hyperkalemia kidney.org/atoz/content/wha...

[Buddy195 Administrator]

I always have a banana before a high intensity spin class, but have never taken cream of tartar. It doesn’t sound very appetising to me, but glad it works for you.

[RedApple]

Interesting article about potassium here drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/...

[Danielj1]

thanks and what a helpful article - there may be better ways to take potassium than COT and I will do some more digging

Given how effusive this article is , do you think potassium needs more publicity in the world of hypothyroid in the way magnesium now has near cult status

[tattybogle in reply to Danielj1]

personally , i think you have a tendency to get a bit carried away with evangelising the latest thing ...(in this case adrenal cocktails with cream of tartar ) ....i'm pleased it seems to have helped you so much .... but honestly mate , have you heard of caution and moderation ?

you seem intent on 'testing it to destruction'.... before you even have an idea of how sustainable your improvement will turn out to be. .. i know you are exited by the idea of running the marathon , but please be careful with yourself .

Remember the Lorax .. "biggering and biggering" leads to .... a big mess.

[Danielj1]

tattybogle,

I have been experimenting now for over 40 years and like to share the journey - I have been so cautious since this hypo started 12 years that I have not run a single competitive race in that period.

And I used to run a ton of highly competitive races - if it was not for discovering yoga 6 months ago I would not have done a single serious training run ever again

So I am leaping around like a teenager the fact that some form of normality has returned - if you can find the right inputs - the results are near miraculous in terms of improving quality of life

Bear with me as they say …. we all have our unique journeys with this illness

[Jumbelina]

Thank you for sharing your journey Danielji. I'm interested in your experiments and I'm also interested in RedApple 's link to Dr Malcolm Kendrick's blog on the subject. I'm all for learning what we can do to help ourselves and I'd love to have as much energy as you. I have occasionally been (and known many others) on extreme diets in my time so I understand the advice for caution. Here's a link to the potassium content of some common foods: myfooddata.com/articles/foo...

[Danielj1 in reply to Jumbelina]

I do agree with taking a note of caution for example COT comes from wine and can include quantities of sulfites that are no help to those with asthma etc

The absolute vast majority of everything that is marketed is either a waste of time or sets you back - I shudder now that I got so interested in things like coriander seed oil and aloe vera to name but two…but hopefully others can now be more aware

[humanbean]

I use potassium bicarbonate (food grade) in powder form. It is easily sourced from both Ebay and Amazon and is usually quite affordable. That's where I bought mine from - it cost me less than a tenner for 1 kg a couple of years ago, and I still have loads left. I usually take roughly a level quarter teaspoon in orange juice, combined with the same dose of magnesium citrate powder (also food grade) I use which also goes in the orange juice. The taste of this combination is not particularly nice but it is drinkable.

I use the potassium and magnesium powders in OJ approx 3 or 4 times a week.

An alternative to food grade is pharmaceutical grade which costs far more than food grade.

Note that excessive magnesium supplements in any form are excreted via the kidneys. If kidneys don't function then magnesium can build up and cause problems.

Potassium and magnesium are electrolytes and they have serious effects if they are at deficient OR toxic levels.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elect...

Edit : Potassium bicarbonate is used in baking and winemaking.

[Serendipitious]

Why not take an electrolyte drink which contains sodium, potassium, calcium etc in balanced ratios like Dr Berg’s Electrolyte Powder? I quite like this one.

Dr. Berg's Electrolyte Powder - Keto Electrolytes Energy Drink Powder Supplements - Vegan NO Maltodextrin or Sugar, No Ingredients from China, Amazing Raspberry Lemon Flavor 50 Servings amzn.eu/d/1Do8pNv

[Danielj1]

Serendipitious, thanks for the link and I will have a look at both this product and the products on Amazon - have not taken magnesium in citrate form but maybe this is a sensible alternative cost wise

Did my best ever 5k training run time for the past7 years today so some combination of the recent diet/supplement changes are having some positive effects it seems - the thought of rejoining the M55 park run races on a Saturday will now be a real adventure again...