How do you get enough Potassium?

rhettsgreygal

In 2022 I was diagnosed with cancer. There were complications from the surgery that kept me from doing much physical activity until now. I was first able to to Physical Therapy in March of this year, more than 2 years after surgery.

I am trying to get in better shape, eat better, and lose some weight. I have been tracking what I eat and I have not been able to meet the RDA of 3500 mg per day for Potassium. Most days I have been 1000 mg short or more.

How do you get the Potassium without loading up on calories?

Thanks

AnnPT77

Many of the entries in the MFP food database are not complete/accurate with respect to potassium (and some other nutrients). So, first off, if you require an accurate potassium total, it's important to vet an entry before you log it. After the first time you log it, a food you eat semi-regularly will be in your recent/frequent food lists and come up first when you start to log a food, so you won't need to repeat the checking each and every time.

(This happens because the database has been crowd-sourced, i.e., mostly entered by regular MFP users, and the entries come from varied countries, and have accumulated over a period of time. Food labels may not reflect potassium in all places, nor have done so in the past. Also, some users who don't care about potassium may not bother to enter it.)

Another thing you can do is spot-check a couple of routine eating days against a more comprehensive source, such as this one:

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

That may give you a rough reading on whether you're truly short on potassium.

Most of the time, I come pretty close on potassium intake, mostly by eating quite a quantity of varied veggies and fruits daily. Some foods I eat that contribute some potassium are sweet potatoes, prunes, beets, cauliflower, asparagus, nonfat milk and kefir or yogurt, coffee, blackstrap molasses (in my oatmeal) and various other vegetables/fruits in smaller portions.

vanmep

Low sodium V8 juice is a good source of potassium.

MargaretYakoda

vanmep wrote: »

Low sodium V8 juice is a good source of potassium.

Honestly I love that stuff. Especially the half size cans. 30 calories for a snack is very much my favorite thing.