The European food safety authority (EFSA) was unable to derive a safe maximum daily intake for potassium based on the available data. Based on more recent data, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has established a safe maximum daily intake for potassium in addition to conventional dietary intake that does not cause any side effects when taken daily for a lifetime.
| The maximum safe daily intake for potassium is 1,000 mg. The maximum safe daily intake for potassium considers only the intake of potassium from dietary supplements and fortified foods in addition to the intake from conventional foods. |
The safe maximum daily intake listed above applies to children 4 years of age and older as well as adults.
There are no known adverse effects for healthy individuals for high potassium intake from the conventional (conventional) diet. The healthy kidney simply excretes excess potassium through the urine.
The permanent intake of 3 g (= 3,000 mg) of potassium chloride daily in the form of dietary supplements in addition to the conventional diet did not lead to any negative effects.
The so-called LOAEL (Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level) – the lowest dose of a substance at which adverse effects were just observed – is 4,200 mg of potassium per day. Based on the LOAEL, a NOAEL (No Observed Adverse Effect Level) – the highest dose of a substance that has no detectable and measurable adverse effects even with continued intake – of 1,400 mg of potassium per day was derived for the additional intake of potassium from dietary supplements.
Adverse effects of excessive potassium intake can manifest in a variety of ways:
- Gastrointestinal discomfort (discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract) has been observed with excessive potassium intake for therapeutic purposes. Ingestion of tablets containing potassium chloride often resulted in gastric discomfort such as heartburn, nausea (nausea), vomiting, mucosal damage, and diarrhea (diarrhea). This is due to a high local concentration of potassium after ingestion.
- Acute potassium poisoning is also possible due to the intentional or unintentional ingestion of large amounts of potassium salts. In amounts up to 94 g, a single ingestion of potassium salts resulted in symptoms of poisoning such as nausea (nausea), vomiting, abdominal pain (abdominal pain) and diarrhea (diarrhea). EFSA has established an upper limit for acute toxicity of potassium of 17.5 g per day. However, in cases of known or unknown renal dysfunction, an intake of as little as 5.9 g of potassium salts per day can lead to adverse side effects. This amount is 6 times greater than the safe daily maximum amount for potassium.
- Furthermore, excessive potassium intake has an effect on potassium homeostasis (self-regulation of potassium levels in the blood). In one study, a dosage of 44 mg per kg bw daily (3,080 mg potassium at 70 kg body weight) resulted in mild hyperkalemia (excess potassium). In contrast, dosages of 22 mg per kg bw daily (1,540 mg at 70 kg body weight) did not result in an increase in blood potassium concentration. In patients with chronic renal insufficiency (underactive kidneys), even significantly lower doses lead to an increase in the blood potassium concentration. Complaints of hyperkalemia (excess potassium) are neuromuscular changes [general muscle weakness such as “heavy legs”, respiratory disorders and especially cardiac arrhythmia (disturbances of the normal heartbeat sequence)].
As mentioned at the outset, these effects are not possible due to excessive intake of potassium from the conventional diet. Due to the dilution effect in the intake of potassium from conventional foods, high local concentrations and therefore no mucosal damage and corresponding side effects are not expected.
