Potassium is crucial for life. Your body must regulate its levels. Too much, your heart can stop, and too little could cause paralysis. A healthy diet that includes potassium reduces blood pressure and strokes. Beyond that it has many industrial uses: it's in gun powder, it's the main ingredient in potash, and one of the experts in this episode used it to make GOLD! This Element of Surprise segment features the following experts: Swapnil Hiremath, Nephrologist, Ottawa Hospital / Associate Professor, Medicine, University of Ottawa, and Richard Oleschuk, Professor, Chemistry, Queen's University.

From the Curio.ca streaming audio-visual collection.