Stupid Guest Tricks

Ms. Matterhorn wrote:Who wants to lay odds she was using DRUGS?

That's been my guess. A heart attack at her age? That usually only happens when someone either has a preexisting heart condition or is abusing drugs.

Shorty82 wrote:That's been my guess. A heart attack at her age? That usually only happens when someone either has a preexisting heart condition or is abusing drugs.

I don't know. I'm 35 and I came very close to one about a month ago, according to the doctors. I had a sudden and precipitous drop in my electrolyte levels, most worryingly the potassium, which put me well out of the normal range and "at serious risk of a cardiac event" if I hadn't come into the emergency room when I did. there had been no warning before this, and overall I'm a very healthy individual. So, yes, it could have been drugs, but it could just as easily have been a preexisting condition heart or something that can affect the heart) that had been undiagnosed up to this point.

You gotta eat bananas to keep your potassium level up.

According to The Vitamin Book, our estimated need for potassium is 2000-6000 mg. a day. Nine ounces of raisins will meet that, compared to 36 ounces of bananas. Others are potatoes (26 1/2 ounces),fresh ground beef (30 oz.), the aforementioned bananas, white bread (49 oz.), and tomatoes (54.6 oz.).They also mention clams, sardines and lima beans as being rich in potassium, but didn't give amounts; they also have lots of sodium as well.

Sodium and potassium tend to go hand in hand. Chances are, if she was anorexic, her avoiding food, especially since dieters cut back on salt to keep from gaining water weight, her death could've been due to the effects of not drinking enough water along with not eating enough food. According to the book, potassium deficiencies are caused by use of diuretics--another hallmark of anorexia--as well as prolonged nausea or diarrhea--anorexics can also be bulimic, where they eat huge meals then throw them up again. And one symptom of potassium deficiency are abnormal heartbeats. That's what happened to Karen Carpenter. Even though she was recovering from anorexia, she still got an arryhthmia and died.

How much potassium is in beer?............What? Better safe than sorry.

felinefan wrote:According to The Vitamin Book, our estimated need for potassium is 2000-6000 mg. a day. Nine ounces of raisins will meet that, compared to 36 ounces of bananas. Others are potatoes (26 1/2 ounces),fresh ground beef (30 oz.), the aforementioned bananas, white bread (49 oz.), and tomatoes (54.6 oz.).They also mention clams, sardines and lima beans as being rich in potassium, but didn't give amounts; they also have lots of sodium as well.

Sodium and potassium tend to go hand in hand. Chances are, if she was anorexic, her avoiding food, especially since dieters cut back on salt to keep from gaining water weight, her death could've been due to the effects of not drinking enough water along with not eating enough food. According to the book, potassium deficiencies are caused by use of diuretics--another hallmark of anorexia--as well as prolonged nausea or diarrhea--anorexics can also be bulimic, where they eat huge meals then throw them up again. And one symptom of potassium deficiency are abnormal heartbeats. That's what happened to Karen Carpenter. Even though she was recovering from anorexia, she still got an arryhthmia and died.

That's all very good information, felinefan. Of course, in my case I am neither anorexic, nor trying to diet/avoid salt, and I drink a lot of water. All tests have been normal for me until this sudden event that I had, and with how low my potassium suddenly dropped, I'd have had to east a case of bananas. Brittany could have been anorexic, on diet pills, whatever. But she could have been none of those things (hence me giving my example--not to be narcissistic but to provide a counterbalancing perspective).

darph nader wrote:How much potassium is in beer?............What? Better safe than sorry.

Too be safe, have a double burger made with banana bread!!!

and of course, a couple of beers!!

darph nader wrote:How much potassium is in beer?

Beer has about 95mg. of potassium per can. U R welcome. ;) According to feline's posted diet... I should be dead.

(127)

And how much is in Hobie's banana beer?

And of course there are those cases where the reason just cannot be found. I remember an acquaintance from 'way back telling me one of her co-workers, a young man who didn't drink, or at least not much, had pancreatitis. The main reason that occurs in humans is due to overconsumption of alcoholic beverages. But there are less common reasons, like a gallstone blocking the pancreatic duct on its way out of the gallbladder. But there are quite a few cases where neither of these scenarios apply. Same for other conditions, like these apparently healthy kids dropping dead on the field suddenly for no obvious reason.

My cat Tripod had pancreatitis once, but that was, for her, due to my giving her my ice cream bowl to lick after I'd finished my ice cream. I don't think she got more than a teaspoon, but the high fat content was enough for her to get it. It took awhile, but now she's off ice cream. She has, however, begged tastes of yogurt or pudding (Trader Joe's instant--vanilla only, she doesn't get the chocolate) at times.