Anabolic Laboratories Koratate™ - 100 ct.

Potassium Gluconate Supplement

Price: $14.00

Each tablet provides 99 mg (2.8% RDI) of ionic potassium. Potassium is loosely bound to highly water soluble gluconate, for maximum delivery through the digestive tract into blood plasma.

Brief Product Description

Koratate delivers potassium as the fully reacted potassium gluconate salt and in the amount necessary for those on diets that are not delivering optimal potassium for bone, muscle, nerve and circulatory health.

Koratate™ - How it Works

Background

Potassium is a metal, absolutely required for life and of paramount importance for transport proteins and nerve signal conduction. Most potassium is found inside living cells rather than in plasma, where sodium is the predominant metal ion. Potassium is only weakly bound by many mammalian enzymes, contrasting with metals such as iron or calcium which are often quite tightly controlled. Perhaps the most famous critical function requiring potassium is neurotransmission - potassium is released along with acetylcholine and sodium during the neurotransmission which signals muscle contraction. Potassium is also required by subcellular organelles, mitochondria, and damage to the potassium transport pores of mitochondria results in irreversible damage to this important energy synthesizing system⁶. Several enzymes throughout the body absolutely require potassium for activity including: an entire family of α-ketoacid dehydrogenases, central to amino acid catabolism and energy production; several sodium-potassium exchange enzymes, these are located in cell walls and are required to maintain the correct internal ionic strength in cells; several enzymes utilizing folic acid; and a recently discovered potassium activated pathway in neutrophils and eosinophils, where potassium is required by the bacteria and virus killing processes within these protective cells.

It is thought that the daily intake of potassium in western society has gradually decreased as a rural-based diet of fruits and vegetables has been replaced by sodium-salted, convenient, fast-foods (pizza dough and burger buns often contains a large dose of sodium). The concern is that diets high in sodium and low in potassium have contributed to increased blood pressure, followed in a few years by strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure. While recent, studies following the diets and health of large populations suggest the association between high sodium intake and morbidity is moderate, other long-term studies support the notion that diets high in potassium can lower the risk for circulatory failure irrespective of other risk factors such as obesity, blood cholesterol and age⁷. The inverse correlation between potassium intake and prevalence of stroke (the leading cause of long-term disability in the US) is quite strong and the protection afforded by potassium increases noticeably with age⁸.

Hypertension is an important risk factor for many diseases including stroke, cardiac disease, heart and renal failure. Studies following the blood pressures of several hundred Australians, who willingly replaced high sodium diets with low sodium-high potassium intake, reported a significant reduction of both systolic and diastolic pressures over time. Since all subjects were free-living the investigators hypothesized that these results were applicable to the general populace⁹. Some researchers go so far as to suggest that mortality and morbidity can be significantly reduced by encouraging people to increase potassium in the diet.

It also seems that healthy potassium levels raise the ability of the body to retain calcium and reduce bone density loss in both the elderly and children¹⁰. One of the ways this seems to occur is through better retention of calcium by the kidneys – less calcium loss through urine - in the presence of increased potassium levels. Another important role for potassium in bone metabolism is the requirement of this metal for the proper activity of osteoblast cell types, which are integral components of the never ending bone repair process.

Because potassium is ubiquitous in living cells the minimum daily and recommended daily allowances are quite high (about 3500 mg/day) in comparison to other metallic nutrients such as iron (about 18 mg/day) or zinc (about 15 mg/day).

References

Tucker, KL, Hannan, MT, Chen, H, Cupples, LA, Potassium, magnesium and fruit and vegetable intakes are associated with greater bone mineral density in elderly men and women.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 69: 727-736
Sebastian, A, Harris, ST, Ottaway, JH, Todd, KM and Morris, RC Jr. (1994). “Improved mineral balance and skeletal metabolism in postmenopausal women treated with potassium bicarbonate.” New England Journal of Medicine 330: 1776-1781.
Fossel, ET and Solomon, AK (1977). “Membrane mediated link between ion transport and metabolism in human red cells.” Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 464: 82-92.
Ko, GT, Chow, CC, Yeung, VT, Chan, HH, Li, JK and Cockram, CS (1996). “Thyrorotoxic periodic paralysis in a Chinese population.” QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians, 89: 463-468.
Webster, A, Brady, W and Morris, F (2002). “Recognising signs of danger: ECG changes resulting from an abnormal serum potassium concentration.” Emergency Medicine Journal 19: 74-77.
Ardehali, H and O’Rouke, B (2005). “Mitochondrial K(ATP) channels in cell survival and death.” Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology 39: 7-16.
Khaw, KT and Barrett-Conner E (1987). “Dietary potassium and stroke-associated mortality: a 12-year prospective population study.” New England Journal of Medicine 316: 235-240. Spence, JD (2003). “Nutritional and metabolic aspects of stroke prevention.” Advances in Neurology 92: 173-178.
Bazzano, LA, Jiang, H, Ogden, LG, Loria, C, Vupputuri, S, Myers, L and Whelton PK (2001). “Dietary potassium intake and risk for stroke in US men and women, (NHANES I).” Stroke 32: 1473-1480.
Nowson, CA, Morgan, TO and Gibbons, C (2003). “Decreasing dietary sodium while following a self-selected potassium–rich diet reduces blood pressure.” Journal of Nutrition 133: 4118-4123.
Jones, G., Riley, MD and Whiting S (2001). “Association between urinary potassium, urinary sodium, current diet and bone density in prepubertal children.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 73: 839-844.

Product Reviews - Coming Soon!

Suggested Usage - Koratate™

Suggested Usage: As a dietary supplement, take 1 - 2 tablets daily with meals, or as directed by a physician.

Warnings

KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN

Indications

A generous, daily intake of potassium is required for life, proper growth and adult health. A diet insufficient in potassium has become a general health problem in the US, partly due to the modern diet rich in sodium salts. Some typical indications of potassium deficiencies are:*

• Low bone density – potassium is an absolute requirement for strong, dense bones. Healthy potassium intake encourages denser bones for people of all ages.*

• Inability to retain calcium – low potassium intake discourages calcium retention and vital calcium is excreted in the urine via the kidneys*

• Fatigue – this may be the first sign of potassium deficiency. Potassium is a metal ion required within living cells, much more than sodium, and low levels of potassium inhibit cell function, especially those enzymatic processes requiring transport across membranes and neurotransmissions.*

• Muscle weakness – acute potassium deficiency, hypokalemia, may result in skeletal muscle weakness. Low levels of potassium are often observed in people suffering digestive ailments and those recovering from illness.*

• Circulatory problems including high blood pressure – again, hypokalemia often manifests as arrhythmia and muscle cramping in extremities. This is a rather common condition arising immediately from severe diarrhea, vomiting, diuretic drugs and bulimia, or as a chronic condition*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food And Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Supplement Facts - Koratate™

Supplement Facts

Serving Size 1 Tablet

Servings Per Container 100

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Potassium

(from potassium gluconate)

99 mg

*Daily Value not established

Quality Assurance Statement - Anabolic Laboratories

Founded in 1924, Anabolic Laboratories formulates and manufactures clinical nutrition products. Our expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing, patient programs, and clinician training sets the standard for health care professionals.

At Biossential Nutrition, we pride ourselves in offering the best products available to our customers. Offering the highest quality products & individual ingredients, as well as ensuring our products are effective & work as advertised, are the mains goals we strive to achieve with our product offerings.

Why We Recommend Anabolic Laboratories Nutritional Supplements

History

Anabolic Laboratories was founded as a nutritional products company in 1924 and became a pharmaceutical manufacturer in 1940. Anabolic Laboratories is one of the oldest manufacturers of nutritional products in the world.

Standards

As a pharmaceutical manufacturing operation, the standards used for raw materials, production and finished product testing exceed the new requirements for nutritional product manufacturing.

Quality

Pharmaceutical standards of manufacturing provide nutritional products with label accuracy, potency and purity as dictated by the USFDA (United States Food & Drug Administration).

Formulas

A nutritional program and clinical formulas that are based on the specifications used in the scientific research.

The Need To Consider Quality:

Of the magnesium supplements tested by ConsumerLab.com, 25% failed to meet quality standards. One magnesium supplement contained only 45.4% of labeled amount, despite boasting a "GMP" (Good Manufacturing Practices) seal on its label, and another supplement provided only 28.8% of the labeled amount.
Reference: ConsumerLab.com, Magnesium Supplement Reviews and Quality Ratings, Posted 5/19/09

Tests by ConsumerLab.com have found multivitamins that were short on ingredients, failed to dissolve properly, or were contaminated with heavy metals.
ConsumerLab.com, New Product Review: Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements, Posted 4/1/09

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found that manufacturing problems have been associated with dietary supplements. Products been recalled because of microbiological, pesticide, and heavy metal contamination, and because they do not contain the dietary ingredients they are represented to contain, or they contain more or less than the amount of dietary ingredient claimed on the label.
Reference: June 22, 2007, FDA @ http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dscgmps7.html