Potassium and Testosterone 3

Outline:

• Potassium is an essential micronutrient that is crucial for testosterone production.
• While deficiency is rare, 97% of people consume an inadequate amount of potassium.
• Inadequate levels of potassium can impact our sleep, muscle mass, and erectile function.
• Dried apricot, potatoes, and coconut water are great sources of potassium.
• We need more potassium than any other micronutrient, making it hard to get from food alone.

Background:

There is growing evidence to support the importance of vitamins and minerals, particularly in the generation of testosterone.

Potassium is an essential mineral that contributes toward a range of bodily functions like muscle contraction, bone mineralisation, and heart health.^[1] Potassium isn’t just a mineral, it’s also an electrolyte – meaning it dissolves in water, carries an electrical current, and is crucial for hydration.

It is known as the “intracellular electrolyte” because it pulls water into our cells, reducing water retention and bloating. This is theorised to improve facial aesthetics and is why potassiumaxxing is trending on TikTok at the moment. 

Despite potassium being essential for our health, barely any of us eat enough of it. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans labelled potassium as one of the five “nutrients of public health concern”.^[2] This is because a whopping 97% of people have inadequate potassium intakes.^[3]

Potassium doesn’t have a recommended daily allocation (RDA) like other micronutrients because individual daily requirements vary widely. Instead, the US Food and Drug Administration set the daily value (DV) for potassium at 4700mg. Despite this, the average American man eats just 3016mg per day (Bowman).

Because of this, you’d think that the deficiency rate would be super high, but it’s actually less than 1% (Huang). How does this work, if inadequate intakes cause deficiencies over time? The answer lies in our bodies’ ability to retain potassium. We do this in a variety of ways, like by reducing urinary excretion, reabsorbing potassium in the kidneys, and sapping it from our muscles (Palmer).

So, we’re fine, right? Because we’re not deficient? Well, no. It doesn’t quite work like that. While potassium deficiency is definitely worse than inadequacy, inadequacy is still linked to:

• Dehydration (Maughan).
• Imbalanced sodium-to-potassium ratios (Perez).
• Increased cardiovascular risk (Sica).
• Hormonal dysregulation (Palmer).

I hear hormonal dysregulation, I think testosterone.

Animal Studies:

Let’s first look at how potassium impacts testosterone levels in rats:

• Spanish researchers in 1993 found that rats fed a diet extremely low in potassium (120mg/kg/day) for 15 days had 94% less testosterone than those fed a normal diet (7.5g/kg/day) (Sanchez-Capelo). After these 15 days, the researchers wanted to see what would happen when they replenished potassium levels by replacing drinking water with a solution made of 99% water and 1% potassium chloride. For us, this is like the equivalent of around 10g/day (twice the DV). This helped to bring their circulating potassium levels back to that of the normal diet group and actually caused their testosterone to surpass that of the normal diet group.
• Those same researchers were so surprised by their findings that they did a follow-up study in 1996. They found that rats fed the same low potassium diet experienced a 94% decrease in testosterone after six days, a 97% reduction after 15 days, and an incredible 99% reduction after 30 days (Sanchez-Capelo 1996). Interestingly, the rats didn’t even need much of a drop in their circulating potassium to experience those massive reductions in test. For example, the six-day group that had 94% less testosterone only had 15% less circulating potassium.

Human Studies:

Unfortunately, there aren’t any human studies that have directly investigated the impact of potassium on testosterone. However, potassium has been linked to a number of factors that are closely related to test:

• For example, sleep. Here’s a really interesting study that was done on healthy young American men in 1991 (Drennan). Researchers fed them a diet that included 1564mg of potassium per day, a pretty low intake, for 17 days. The following week, half of them were given a supplement containing 3120mg of potassium on top of their diet, while the other half were given a placebo. The potassium-supplemented group experienced better sleep efficiency and spent approximately half as much time awake during the middle of the night compared to the placebo group.
• There are many studies showing a correlation between potassium and sleep quality, but let’s dissect the largest one – a massive 2025 study on over 4500 Japanese adults (Okamoto). The researchers had participants track their diets through an app and their sleep through a self-report questionnaire. They found that higher potassium intakes, particularly at dinner, were predictive of better sleep outcomes.
• Potassium intake is also associated with erectile function, a known correlate of testosterone (Corona). Research on over 3500 American males found that higher potassium intakes were protective against erectile dysfunction and that men in the high potassium group (more than 3359mg/day) were 35% less likely to experience erectile dysfunction than the low potassium group (less than 2353mg/day).
• One last correlational study, this time on potassium and muscle mass. Korean researchers analysed data from over 6500 men and found that potassium intake was predictive of greater muscle mass (Lee). They also found that men in the high potassium group were 29% less likely to have low muscle mass compared to those in the low potassium group. These findings were valid even when factors like total caloric intake, age, and activity status were considered.
• The final study I’ll reference is one I’ve mentioned on my blog before. It’s a 2008 study on young resistance trained American men that were made to perform six sets of squats at varying states of hydration (Judelson). There were three groups: control (adequately hydrated), dehydrated (2.5% dehydration), and significantly dehydrated (5.0% dehydration). All three groups were dehydrated to the same extent, before being hydrated to varying degrees with water and electrolyte tablets (containing potassium). The dehydrated group produced 10% less testosterone than the control group in response to the session, while the significantly dehydrated group produced 16% less. Additionally, the dehydrated group had 16% more cortisol than the control group, while the significantly dehydrated group had 42% more cortisol.

Mechanisms:

So, does potassium influence our test?

• Regulates luteinising hormone:

• One of the rat studies I mentioned earlier actually identified that the dysregulation of luteinising hormone was a key mechanism by which potassium deficiency suppresses testosterone production (Sanchez-Capelo 1996).

• Without healthy luteinising hormone, you can’t have healthy testosterone, as luteinising hormone is the messenger that signals the Leydig cells in our balls to produce test.

• Improves sleep:

• Potassium has been shown to have both a causal and a correlational relationship with sleep (Drennan; Okamoto).

• Sleep is crucial for testosterone (Leproult).

• Association with muscle mass:

• Higher potassium intakes are associated with having more muscle mass (Lee).

• Muscle mass is correlated with testosterone (Mouser).
• Lifting (with your muscles) increases testosterone, especially when they’re bigger muscles (Hansen).
• Having more muscle means you’ll burn more fat, and body fat is negatively correlated with test (Ma).

• Enhances hydration:

• Potassium is crucial for hydration (Maughan).

• Dehydration reduces our ability to produce testosterone (Judelson).

• Boosts calcium retention:

• Potassium assists with calcium retention (Lemann).        

• Calcium has been shown to boost test (Cinar).

• Balances sodium-to-potassium ratio:

• Imbalanced sodium-to-potassium ratios increase blood pressure (Perez).

• High blood pressure is associated with lower testosterone (Wei).

• Influences cortisol:

• Potassium deficiency can cause increased cortisol (Fan).

• High cortisol levels can reduce testosterone (Ullah).

Dosage:

Potassium has the highest DV of all micronutrients in our diets – coming in at a massive 4700mg. Less than 3% of the population consume this much, meaning it’s also the nutrient with the highest inadequacy rate (Wallace).

So, what foods can we eat to bridge this gap?

• Dried apricots (16% DV per half-cup serve).
• Potatoes (15% DV per medium potato).
• Avocado (14% DV per medium avocado).
• Coconut water (12% DV per one cup serve).
• Bananas (9% DV per medium banana).

These are some of the most potassium-rich foods, but, as you can see, they contain less than 20% of the DV per serve, showing how difficult it is to hit your DV from food alone. To get around this, I personally supplement with potassium, mostly through an electrolyte powder, as this also promotes hydration, acting like a two-in-one for testosterone-boosting.

Well, it’s more of a four or five-in-one. This is because potassium works synergistically with the other four main electrolytes – sodium, chloride, magnesium, and calcium (Perez-Castillo). The five of these are crucial for supporting our hydration, which is important for the maintenance of our testosterone.

Speaking of electrolytes, you need adequate magnesium if you want adequate potassium. Here’s why:

• Potassium requires magnesium for absorption (Palmer).
• Magnesium deficiencies worsen potassium deficiencies and render potassium supplementation ineffective (Huang).
• More than 50% of people who are deficient in potassium are also deficient in magnesium (Huang).

Potassium will also protect you from the health concerns associated with sodium, like cardiovascular disease, especially if you can get your sodium-to-potassium ratio to favour potassium (Levings).

While we’re on the topic – you’ve probably heard the expression “replace the electrolytes lost in sweat”. How necessary is this? Well, estimates vary, but per litre of sweat we appear to lose approximately:

• 1600mg of chloride (Baker).
• 1020mg of sodium (Ranchordas).
• 265mg of potassium (Consolazio 1963).
• 20mg of calcium (Consolazio 1962).
• 12mg of magnesium (Baker 2014).

So, if you sweat two litres a day (a pretty standard amount) you’re losing around 500mg of potassium. If this is you, and you eat an average amount of potassium, you’re now sitting at around 2500mg of potassium, almost half the DV. If that isn’t a good reason to eat a banana (or five) I don’t know what is.

I personally try to get as much as I can from food before supplementing the remainder with potassium citrate until I’m a little over 4700mg. I generally spread out my intake – to maintain hydration throughout the day; and try to not take more than 1000mg from supplements in one go – to avoid side effects. I also try to have a decent amount at night, because of potassium’s association with sleep (Okamoto).

Conclusion:

Look, getting an adequate amount of potassium is really hard. So hard in fact, that there’s a 3% chance you’re currently doing so. While that doesn’t mean you’re deficient (a total test-killer) your inadequate intake is probably not helping your sleep, hydration, and muscle mass – all known correlates of testosterone. To maintain optimal testosterone production, I consume high-potassium foods and supplement with potassium citrate when necessary.

Andregen utilises contemporary scientific research to provide preeminent information and unparalleled supplements that support health and optimise testosterone. 

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