Potassium

chelllsea124
chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
edited November 19 in Food and Nutrition
I track my food everyday on MFP. I take a one a day vitamin. At the end of the day, I am noticing that I don't have enough potassium. Other than eating the obvious, bananas, would it be worthwhile to take a supplement? How important is potassium to your daily nutrition?

Thanks in advance! :)

Replies

  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Most foods don't list their potassium content, so it's likely you're getting more than you think. As long as you're eating plenty of fruits and veggies you're probably getting enough potassium.
  • chelllsea124
    chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
    I mainly eat apples and broccoli. I guess I'm not very diverse. Lol.
  • chelllsea124
    chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
    I also eat a lot of spinach
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    ahamm002 wrote: »
    Most foods don't list their potassium content, so it's likely you're getting more than you think. As long as you're eating plenty of fruits and veggies you're probably getting enough potassium.

    Good to know! I've been slightly worried that I never seem to hit the RDA target, but I've been focusing mainly on protein and iron. This is reassuring...
  • nykole56
    nykole56 Posts: 21 Member
    I can't seem to reach my potassium or iron either and I eat a lot of fruits and veggies
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    nykole56 wrote: »
    I can't seem to reach my potassium or iron either and I eat a lot of fruits and veggies

    I track my iron on the diary page now. It keeps me aware. Two food items that help are Yves veggie dogs (15% iron RDA) and Quaker Corn Squares cereal (30g=30% iron RDA). Not sure about other brands of veggie dogs, but many cereals are iron-fortified.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    nykole56 wrote: »
    I can't seem to reach my potassium or iron either and I eat a lot of fruits and veggies

    Iron is another that isn't required on food labels so it often is not in the database. Want to know how you are doing with iron? Go donate blood. They will tell you what your hemoglobin is.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited June 2017
    I had my blood-work done in March and it's borderline-low (115 hemeglobin). The pharmacist told me it's not dangerous and gave me the lowest iron supplement, suggesting I take it every other day. I'm holding off, trying to see if consistently hitting my iron RDA will increase my hemeglobin levels by September when I have my next checkup.
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