3 ms·
At first look, I agree with the FDA - seems low risk. The LD50 of KCl potassium chloride (like you use for cooking) is approximately 2.5 grams per kilogram (g/
by s1artibartfast 2y ago
At first look, I agree with the FDA - seems low risk.
The LD50 of KCl potassium chloride (like you use for cooking) is approximately 2.5 grams per kilogram (g/kg) when ingested orally. For example, a 165 lb person would have an LD50 of 190 grams. These are 750mg pills. Even if they release all at once, they are still >2 orders of magnitude lower. the daily recommended intake of potassium is 3 grams, or about 6 grams for KCI, or about 8 pills.
When I skip meals, I will often drink 750mg of KCI in water for the electrolytes.
That said, maybe there are populations which are much more sensitive. I suspect the lawsuit would be more informative to learn more.
- Aloisius 2y agoThe prescriptions may be for multiple doses per day, to reduce GI irritation. I found a few cases of oral potassium chloride causing heart attacks, though at levels at least an order of magnitude greater.
- wswope 2y ago> That said, maybe there are populations which are much more sensitive. I suspect the lawsuit would be more informative to learn more. Yeah, the LD50 is misleading for potassium in this context. Most people can tolerate higher doses completely fine, but people with kidney and cardiac issues can die from doses on the order of ~10g (typically due to arrhythmias/fibrillation). Put another way, the theoretical ratio of LD50 to LD1 is way larger for potassium compared to most other common meds.
- lostbutnotforg 2y agoI worked at the salt factory that is the supplier for a lot of these companies. Management is a shit show and their health and safety is trash. We had animals on the property, the staff are poorly trained, and the environment is not conducive to making a good safe product.
- s1artibartfast 2y agoI wouldn't be surprised. I think that is a separate point than the one I was interrogating.