But the heart specialists always say the same thing: "There's nothing wrong with your heart." One of my sisters was given medication to help regulate her heartbeat, but the drug made her depressed. So she does what so many doctors suggest: Cough hard. This "resets" the heartbeat.
But last year, I discovered an actual cure for my irregular heartbeat, via my naturopath: Potassium. This was fascinating to me because the women in my family also tend to have low potassium levels.
Turns out, potassium is "crucial to heart function" and, despite the fact that no MD or heart specialist ever mentioned this to any of the women in my family, low levels of potassium (known as hypokalemia) are recognized as causing an irregular heartbeat.
The thing is, I found it tough to get enough potassium through my diet. (Click here for a list of foods with high levels of potassium.) But as soon as I started taking a quality potassium supplement? My irregular heartbeat went away almost immediately.
Such a simple fix!
Now, a couple of caveats:
1. Heart palpitations can be a sign of a serious health problem, so if you experience them, you should definitely see a physician.
And 2: Not all supplements are created equal. You may have read in the news that some common supplements are complete frauds. So I always ask my naturopath to recommend a brand of supplement that's high quality and trustworthy. She recommended Designs for Health K+2 Potassium supplements.
How much do you need to take? Adults need 4,700 mg of potassium daily. I usually take a 300 mg tablet daily, and try to eat lots of potassium rich foods. But if I notice I'm experiencing muscle cramps or twitches, I take two capsules a day for a couple of days.
Do be smart about taking potassium, though. You should discuss it with your doctor because too much potassium (hyperkalemia) can lead to heart palpitations - and in severe cases may even make the heart stop beating.
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