Need more potassium

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IronBatMaiden
IronBatMaiden Posts: 378 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey I'm a 25 year old woman and I'm finding I don't get enough potassium in my diet. But I have plenty of caffeine. I wanna get more sources of potassium but I don't wanna have too much sugar in the process. Got any tips?
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Replies

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    Most labels don't list potassium so keep that in mind that you are probably getting a lot more than you think.

    Avocado, sweet potato, coconut water, spinach, white beans and squash are good sources with out high sugars.
  • owieprone
    owieprone Posts: 217 Member
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    Loads of good sources out there you can eat: Avocados, bananas, spinach, sweet potato, coconut water, white beans, acorn squash, natural yoghurt, to name but a few easy to find/eat ones.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,966 Member
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    Current US food labeling guidelines don't require potassium on labels (which is the source for many MFP entries), and even when the label includes the info, some users don't track potassium and so don't bother to include it when they create an entry. Are you getting that caffeine from coffee? Coffee has over 100 mg of potassium per cup. Do your entries reflect that?

    Short version: You may be getting more potassium than you think.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Most food entries in the database don't contain the potassium information because at this point it is not required on food labels. It's my understanding that when the new food labels start coming in to use they will show potassium amounts. Until then you have to do your own research.

    I track potassium for health reason so I entered my own food entries and did the research. You can find most foods...well I am not sure about that since about 80% of my diet is fresh foods. Processed foods will probably be difficult.

    Google foods high in potassium and just add more of those to your diet.
  • ninpiggy
    ninpiggy Posts: 228 Member
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    Expanding on the comment above re: coffee and potassium, according to the USDA, 8 fl oz. of coffee contains 116 mg of potassium and 8 fl. oz. of decaffeinated coffee contains 128 mg of potassium.
  • annedougherty
    annedougherty Posts: 3 Member
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    I'm allergic to bananas so they aren't a good source of potassium for me but they might be for you. Other sources:
    - Orange juice
    - Avocados
    - Apricots.

    Good luck!
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    NoSalt is a godsend. I've started using a fair amount in my various sludge recipes to balsnce out the ratio with all of the damned sodium that is in everything. Haven't had water retention issues in the month since I started using it, whereas I used to have them regularly.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,966 Member
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    I just took a look in my food diary. I pre-log perishable or opened canned foods -- things I want to finish before they go bad -- and carry them over from day to day, kind of as a reminder to eat them. Right now I'm looking at 610 calories of pre-logged foods, mostly veggies, that total 3,759 mg of potassium (all of the pre-logged entries I'm carrying right now have potassium values, because they're mostly USDA-derived "whole food" entries). This suggests that if you eat 400 to 500 calories of fruits and veggies a day, you probably don't have to worry (because the other foods you eat will also add some potassium). Examples, 616 mg potassium from 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes in puree for a "cost" of 62 calories; 558 mg potassium from 100 g of fresh spinach, which isn't much volume if you cook it, for a "cost" of 23 calories; and 475 mg potassium from 100 g of baked sweet potato, for a "cost" of 90 calories. And the other things you eat after downing all those veggies will add some more potassium, just not quite such an intensive source, e.g., 448 mg potassium from a little less than 4 ounces of baked ham, for a "cost" of 195 calories.
  • bcchast
    bcchast Posts: 26 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Coffee has more potassium than bananas actually, bananas are ranked like not even in the top 1000 sources of potassium, random fact for the day. Gonna edit this now that I saw how many other people posted about coffee. Anyways the below is still relevant

    Not to state the total obvious and ruin the thread but no one mentioned supplements. I don't know if that's a no no or what, but I find that eating the calories I need VS the specific sources ( I.E. like proteins and fats) I supplement. Anyway the daily potassium intake advised is like 4000mg or something close depending on weight, age, sex, hieght. So I use supplements for a lot of those things just like vitamins. Just something to look at I guess.
  • KerrieMac10
    KerrieMac10 Posts: 54 Member
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    Same here!! I eat a banana and take a potassium supplement and I still don't get anywhere near my potassium goal. I stay on the whole 30 meal plan so I pretty much eat veggies all day ... I don't k ow what else to do
  • bcchast
    bcchast Posts: 26 Member
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    dsmack2 wrote: »
    Same here!! I eat a banana and take a potassium supplement and I still don't get anywhere near my potassium goal. I stay on the whole 30 meal plan so I pretty much eat veggies all day ... I don't k ow what else to do

    You would need to eat 10 bananas a day plus 3 supplements. BUT as most everyone else stated, there's potassium in almost everything, so you may be getting way more than you think.
  • bcchast
    bcchast Posts: 26 Member
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    https://youtu.be/H8a9pciB_w4
    Kind of longer, like 9 minutes but it may help somewhat
  • dgkg2003
    dgkg2003 Posts: 6 Member
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    Raisin's. Pumpkin seeds. Potatoes. Cashew. Green beans Tomatoe. Milk. all have potassium sources. I have a potassium deficiency and these are in my diet to try and bump it up
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,966 Member
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    bcchast wrote: »
    Coffee has more potassium than bananas actually, bananas are ranked like not even in the top 1000 sources of potassium, random fact for the day. Gonna edit this now that I saw how many other people posted about coffee. Anyways the below is still relevant

    Not to state the total obvious and ruin the thread but no one mentioned supplements. I don't know if that's a no no or what, but I find that eating the calories I need VS the specific sources ( I.E. like proteins and fats) I supplement. Anyway the daily potassium intake advised is like 4000mg or something close depending on weight, age, sex, hieght. So I use supplements for a lot of those things just like vitamins. Just something to look at I guess.

    My multi only has 80 mg of potassium, and I'm under the impression that in the U.S., you have to have prescription to get a supplement with more than 100 mg of potassium--although something I was just reading on the FDA site suggests to me that that may be due to cautionary tactics of vitamin/supplement makers in response to FDA guidance, rather than an absolute restriction by the FDA.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Also, canned 100% pumpkin puree is amazing. 50 kcals for 350mg potassium. It's not coffee or leafy greens, but man, mix a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon into it, and it's an amazing side dish.
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    bcchast wrote: »
    Coffee has more potassium than bananas actually, bananas are ranked like not even in the top 1000 sources of potassium, random fact for the day. Gonna edit this now that I saw how many other people posted about coffee. Anyways the below is still relevant

    Not to state the total obvious and ruin the thread but no one mentioned supplements. I don't know if that's a no no or what, but I find that eating the calories I need VS the specific sources ( I.E. like proteins and fats) I supplement. Anyway the daily potassium intake advised is like 4000mg or something close depending on weight, age, sex, hieght. So I use supplements for a lot of those things just like vitamins. Just something to look at I guess.

    My multi only has 80 mg of potassium, and I'm under the impression that in the U.S., you have to have prescription to get a supplement with more than 100 mg of potassium--although something I was just reading on the FDA site suggests to me that that may be due to cautionary tactics of vitamin/supplement makers in response to FDA guidance, rather than an absolute restriction by the FDA.

    It's because too much potassium will kill you.


  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
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    Get a blood test done. Unless your potassium is low (below 3.5, or 4 if you're a cardiac patient) or high (above 5) just eat a diet with plenty of fruit and veg and don't stress about supplements or monitoring potassium intake.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    Eat a banana.....
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    Don't depend on MFP to tell you whether you're eating enough potassium. Labels aren't required to have it, so many things in the database that do have potassium aren't listed as having any. Also, being user-entered, people often only put in the macros and nutrients that interest them.

    You're almost certainly getting more than you think.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    I usually drink an 8oz glass of V8 every morning giving me 900mg of potassium.
    100g of avocado has 485g.
    100g of broccoli has 316g.
    100g of sweet potato at 337g.
    100g of white potatoes has 421g.

    Even a chicken breast has potassium...256g of potassium for 100g of chicken.

    The list goes on and on. Do the research and just start including some of these things in your diet.

    I have HBP and one of the ways that I help control it is to make sure that I get enough potassium to help offset the sodium.

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