Potassium

rshatfieldjr

The daily and weekly potassium guidelines do not seem realistic. In order for me to reach the daily/weekly recommendation, I would have to eat nearly 10 bananas each day, or God knows how many potatoes. Can that be right; and are there any foods that can easily make up the deficit?

HappyElizabeth

Beans, raisins, cherry tomatoes, avocados, baby spinach, baby carrots, and red bell pepper seem to have a lot of potassium. I'm sure there are other high potassium foods, but these are the things I eat and I always manage to get the recommended minimum (Of course, I'm always over on carbs!!). Also some protein powders have a lot of potassium.

chadraeder3

Don't quote me on this but I do not think that potassium is a required on food lables unless there is a health claim about the potassium for that food. I take a medication where my Dr told me that it can cause me to have low potassium and that if that starts that I should drink some OJ or eat a banana I am sure there are more sources of potassium out there but I never had a problem. I rarely reach my potassium goal using the MFP app but I believe that I am getting enough because many foods do not have all the vitamins and minerals broken out in the database or anywhere on the web. I can also tell when my potassium is low my calf muscles will cramp up and that is my notice that I need more potassium but since I have started with MFP and eating better I have not had the issue come up.


The goals on the MFP are just guidelines you do not need to reach/exceed or be under for some unless you have a medical condition. Many people on here (at least once a week if not once a day) ask about the sugar goal on the MFP (i.e. how can I stay below on my sugar goal and still eat healthy like fruits and vegetables) and that is the answer the goals are only guidelines they are not set in stone.

clothespinref

Have a Glass of Low sodium V8 juice in the Morning. It has about 900 mg. It's the best thing I found to combat that enormous potassium requirement.

haymancm

Lots of foods have potassium in it, but is not listed on the labels, like meat, fish, veggies, & fruits. Stay whole, eating clean, and there's lots of potassium. Avocados & watermelon also have high potassium.

cwolfman13

The daily and weekly potassium guidelines do not seem realistic. In order for me to reach the daily/weekly recommendation, I would have to eat nearly 10 bananas each day, or God knows how many potatoes. Can that be right; and are there any foods that can easily make up the deficit?

My diary is open...I generally get between 4000 and 5000 mg of potassium daily...probably more considering it's not required on nutrition labels and what not. Lots of fruit and veg.

Peachy1962

I was surprised to see how much potassium was in all kinds of foods til I started reading labels and using the food database to tell me the info I needed on the food I was eating!! I am working on lowering my sodium and that should help me get rid of this water weight I keep losing and gaining back!! Is like a Lil Evil Monkey on my back!! Going Eek Eek Eek!!!! :grumble:

monstercakes

potassium is IMPORTANT! your body expels soo much potassium without being absorbed, while retaining sodium in it's place. as another poster mentioned, there are many other foods with potassium.. not just bananas!

chadraeder3

You might want to look at this page

http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5b.html

It shows potassium levels for many foods also another source people usually do not think about is herbs you may not use a lot of them but they can be packed with huge amounts of vitamins and minerals they also bring flavors that can take a dish from ok to wow with almost no calories. Herbs can normally be grown at your doorstep too. A couple pots with herbs in a sunny window can brighten up your day think about a cold winter day you making chicken soup and just throwing in some fresh parsley or grabbing some chives for your eggs or baked potato. Dried herbs are expensive to buy and loose flavor quickly but fresh can be grown almost everywhere you have some sun and in pots they can be brought in before the cold kills them. If you don't have a sunny window you can get florescent lights to grow them.

FredDoyle

Beef! Chicken! Turkey! Pork! Some fish...
Dates, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, raisins, apricots, apples, oranges, nuts and seeds, cocoa...so dark chocolate, milk, almond milk...
Most foods have K in them. Not fats of course. Meats, poultry, veggies and fruits.
The granddaddy of potassium is coconut water.

Look here if you're wondering:
http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list