The #1 Sign You're Low in Potassium: Symptoms, Causes & How to Fix It
Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast
Dr. Eric Berg
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 April 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Signs of potassium deficiency are often missed. Discover 7 common low potassium symptoms most people overlook, the connection between potassium and heart health, and what may be behind chronic fatigue.
0:00 Introduction: 7 signs of potassium deficiency
1:01 Low potassium symptoms explained
2:18 Water retention and potassium deficiency
4:42 Tingling and numbness
5:05 Muscle weakness causes
5:42 High pulse rate causes
7:06 Heart palpitation causes
7:30 The sodium-potassium pump explained
8:22 The #1 sign of potassium deficiency
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Around 97% of people are low in potassium! You need 4700 mg of potassium every single day.
Most people don’t realize that constipation can be a symptom of potassium deficiency. Potassium helps control the smooth muscles in the colon, so when levels are low, constipation is more likely. A potassium deficiency can also contribute to bloating and water retention.
Low potassium may affect your pulse rate and lead to heart palpitations. Potassium and magnesium are both essential for maintaining a healthy heart. Increasing your potassium intake, especially when paired with a low-carb diet, can have significant benefits for your overall health.
Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.
Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The number one sign that you're low in potassium. But actually, I'm going to give you seven signs |
| 0:04.1 | with the most common one last. But you first need to know this one number right here, 4,700 milligrams. |
| 0:12.9 | This is the amount of potassium that an average person needs every single day. And if you take a look |
| 0:18.0 | at all of the nutrient requirements out there, calcium, magnesium, |
| 0:21.4 | vitamin C, there is nothing that is even close to this high as a requirement. Why do we need so |
| 0:29.1 | much, yet less than 3% of Americans hit this number right here and realize this is only |
| 0:35.8 | the RDA, just the bare bones you need to get by, |
| 0:38.5 | not the therapeutic dose that you need to correct anything. That means that 97 out of 100 people |
| 0:44.1 | are low in potassium and rarely does anyone even know it. And really the great majority of people |
| 0:49.7 | aren't even hitting half of this per day. So the question is not am I deficient. It's how deficient you are. |
| 0:57.6 | And these symptoms I'm going to cover will tell you how deficient you are. Let's just go through |
| 1:02.2 | them right now. Number seven, constipation. And this is surprising for a lot of people because they |
| 1:07.6 | don't connect the dots between potassium and constipation, |
| 1:11.3 | and potassium controls the smooth muscles of the body. Your entire colon is all smooth muscle. |
| 1:17.0 | So if you don't have enough potassium, you can't control the contraction and relaxation of the |
| 1:21.5 | muscle and the colon. And then all of a sudden it starts backing up because you no longer have |
| 1:25.5 | that pumping action. There's even this condition in |
| 1:28.1 | hospitals where someone is very deficient in potassium. They call it paralytic elias, which basically |
| 1:34.4 | means your small intestine is paralyzed. It doesn't work anymore. And that usually happens after |
| 1:39.7 | surgery, which brings up another point. When someone goes through any type of surgical procedure, |
| 1:46.0 | I don't care what procedure, |
| 1:47.9 | when your body goes through surgery, |
... |
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