What could the "mystery" element to our health be?

Okay . . . so for the past few days, we've been talking about the "heart".

And in the past . . . we've spoken about "heart attacks", "stroke" and even the connection with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar . . .

But yesterday . . . we spoke about another facet to "heart disease" . . . and that was "Pericardial effusion" which is when the layers of tissue surrounding the heart . . . fill up with "too much" fluid putting the heart at risk.

So today, let's talk about "potassium" and what the connection is to our health.

Okay . . . first up . . . what is "potassium"???

Well . . . "potassium" is an essential mineral that the body's cells, nerves and muscles need to function properly. It's needed by all tissues in the body and is sometimes called an "electrolyte" due to carrying small "electrical charges" that activate our cells and nerves.

It helps to "regulate" blood pressure by removing extra "sodium" from the body through urination for elimination . . . remember we've spoken of this before . . . it also helps the walls of blood vessels to relax and loosen up, which can aid in "reducing" high blood pressure.

Now . . . "potassium" can aid in heart rhythm, digestion and the water content in cells.

So the next question we need to ask is this . . . do we as Americans with our Western diet we love so much . . . get enough "potassium"???

Well . . . the CDC says . . . NOPE!!!

Fewer than 2% of U.S. adults "meet" the daily requirement for "potassium" intake.