Open Veils · Answer
What is the most bioavailable formulation of potassium?
All soluble potassium salts hit near-identical absorption ceilings (~90–95%), so 'bioavailability' in the classical sense is not where forms diverge. The real differentiation lies in elemental yield per gram, anion co-effects (alkalizing vs. acidifying vs. neutral), intracellular delivery efficiency, and how the compound interacts with cofactors — and here the heterodox nutritional record points firmly toward potassium bicarbonate and food-matrix potassium as the most therapeutically complete forms.
Evidence
- Dr. Jack Kruse has argued extensively that intracellular potassium dynamics — not GI absorption — are the real bottleneck.
- Bottom line from the heterodox record: potassium bicarbonate or citrate from whole-food concentrates (cream of tartar being the densest accessible source of potassium bitartrate) represent the highest net utility formulations, with potassium aspartate as the leading candidate for intracellular performance applications.
- The isolated salt forms replicate only the ion, not the co-transport chemistry.
- He points to the Na/K-ATPase pump's dependence on structured water and mitochondrial redox state; a supplement that delivers the ion to plasma without restoring the pump's driving force produces little net intracellular gain.
- Potassium chloride, the clinical default, is acidifying and associated with GI irritation at therapeutic doses.