Hypokalemia

Hi Gary,

Hypomagnesemia can cause hypokalemia. Magnesium is required for adequate processing of potassium. It is hard to assess whether you are deficient in magnesium as only about 1% is in the blood- most magnesium is held in cell and bone. It also depends on how low your potassium level is-
According to Wikipedia:

Mild hypokalemia (>3.0 mEq/L) may be treated with oral potassium chloride supplements (Klor-Con, Sando-K, Slow-K). As this is often part of a poor nutritional intake, potassium-containing foods may be recommended, such as leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, coconut water, citrus fruits, oranges or bananas. Both dietary and pharmaceutical supplements are used for people taking diuretic medications.

also...

Pseudohypokalemia is a decrease in the amount of potassium that occurs due to excessive uptake of potassium by metabolically active cells in a blood sample after it has been drawn. It is a laboratory artifact that may occur when blood samples remain in warm conditions for several hours before processing.

see more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypokalemia

Hope this helps... eat bananas ;o)

Sandy