Why is Potassium SO hard to find?

GardeningZombie

I just created a hypothetical meal plan in here. 3,697 mg of potassium, 667 calories. It goes as follows:


Breakfast:
1 medium banana
1 8 oz serving dannon lite and fit yogurt

Lunch:
2 5.5 oz servings low sodium v-8 juice

Dinner
I baked sweet potato, with skin. 180 g

Snacks
Dried apricot pieces, 10

I did notice that people may not always fill these things out correctly for potassium so be vigilant.

Good luck!

That's a meal plan? Holy crap. No wonder I'm fat!

Hahaha! That is not the WHOLE meal for a day, silly! What I was showing is that one could meet the entire daily potassium requirements and still have 1,100 calories (I believe the goal was 1,700) for twinkies!

**Excessive Twinkie consumption not recommended. Please consult your physician before starting any Twinkie heavy regimen. Not applicable in South Dakota**

Mokey41

It's not recommended that you take potassium supplements without a doctors order and it can cause stomach upset in supplement form. You're far better to get your potassium from foods but few people are potassium deficient unless you have been vomiting excessively or are an athlete who has sweat excessively for a long period of time.

nena49659

I just created a hypothetical meal plan in here. 3,697 mg of potassium, 667 calories. It goes as follows:


Breakfast:
1 medium banana
1 8 oz serving dannon lite and fit yogurt

Lunch:
2 5.5 oz servings low sodium v-8 juice

Dinner
I baked sweet potato, with skin. 180 g

Snacks
Dried apricot pieces, 10

I did notice that people may not always fill these things out correctly for potassium so be vigilant.

Good luck!

That's a meal plan? Holy crap. No wonder I'm fat!

Hahaha! That is not the WHOLE meal for a day, silly! What I was showing is that one could meet the entire daily potassium requirements and still have 1,100 calories (I believe the goal was 1,700) for twinkies!

**Excessive Twinkie consumption not recommended. Please consult your physician before starting any Twinkie heavy regimen. Not applicable in South Dakota**

Oh. :blushing: I pictured eating like that 3 days in a row and fainting. LOL

MaiLinna

http://www.health.com/health/m/gallery/0,,20721159_2,00.html

This source indicates chili is your friend! With tomatoes, white beans, and topped with a bit of avocado like previously suggested, you will have a fantastic source of potassium.

Though as far as vegetable trends go, it seems the flesh of a vegetable, rather than the leaves are the best source.

ty

Jenifer_Duron

White Beans, Dark Leavy Greens, Baked Potatoes (with skin), Dried Apricots, Baked Acorn Squash, Yogurt (Plain, Skim/Non-Fat), Fish (Salmon), Avocados, Mushrooms (white) and Bananas are enriched with Potassium.

neandermagnon

But the daily need is 3500, and even one whole avocado is only around 750! How are we supposed to get all that potassium and stay under 1300 calories! Holy hell...that's ridic.

How did Homo erectus (our evolutionary ancestors) get enough potassium? They ate food, which also contains calories. It's not that hard to get enough potassium, and you're probably getting a lot more of it than you think (see the next paragraph about the MFP database).

If you have a medical issue that means you need more potassium than the average person (e.g. due to deficiency) then take supplements. If what you're quoting is the daily recommended amount of potassium (you didn't include units* so I have no idea exactly how much potassium you're talking about), then you'll be able to get enough while meeting your calorie goal. If you're logging potassium on here, then bear in mind that most user entries won't have a value for potassium listed, so you're probably getting a lot more potassium than MFP says. The database here is great for tracking fat, carbs and protein, but all the other nutrients are missing from a lot of entries. That doesn't mean those foods don't contain them though, so you're probably already getting a lot more than you think.

(*sorry for being the science equivalent of a grammar nazi, but numbers don't mean anything without units and the wrong units can change the quantity by several decimal places)

Fresh fruit and veg contain potassium. Get plenty of that, and you'll get plenty of potassium. Eat fresh or frozen, the canning process results in loss of potassium and gaining a lot of sodium. Fresh and frozen fruit and veg contain potassium and sodium in the balance required by the body. And don't add salt while cooking (that increases the amount of sodium.... what your body needs is sodium and potassium in the right balance).

AccioFitness

Bless this post. I've been feeling frustrated and trying to "fix" the way I ate so I'd finally get the amount of potassium my body needed. Go figure that it may not be me who is the problem! I'll start double checking the nutritional facts and if necessary entering my food manually (I already do 25% of the time so it's not a huge sacrifice on my part lol). Thanks everyone for your help!

GardeningZombie

(*sorry for being the science equivalent of a grammar nazi, but numbers don't mean anything without units and the wrong units can change the quantity by several decimal places)

While the OP may have left out the measurement, this number is not exactly left in a vacuum. In fact there are only three measurements of required nutrients: g, mg, ug. g of course are for the big three: protein, carbohydrates, fats (one could include fiber, depending on syntax). mg measure the more common minerals: calcium, magnesium, zinc, and a few vitamins: vitamin C, E, B6. ug measure heavier metals, selenium, copper, as well as vitamin A and D. This is not an exhaustive list, but a pretty good generality.

All I'm saying is that message board don't always convey what we want them to, so it is best to understand the context.

Now, if you will excuse me, my dinner is 30 away, and I need to get there before it gets cold!

JUDDDing

Never mind, potassium is hard to find because it will kill you. kk problem solved.

It's not really so much that too much potassium will kill you - healthy kidneys actually manage potassium levels pretty well (there is actually no established upper limit on how much healthy adults can consume).

Although, this is commonly why people think it comes in small dosage pills (100mg max).

The (kind of weird) problem with potassium pills is that too much potassium in one spot in your stomach can be bad on your stomach (ulcers, bleeding, etc). You can buy liquid supplements that are > 100mg since they don't have the pill problem.

neandermagnon

(*sorry for being the science equivalent of a grammar nazi, but numbers don't mean anything without units and the wrong units can change the quantity by several decimal places)

While the OP may have left out the measurement, this number is not exactly left in a vacuum. In fact there are only three measurements of required nutrients: g, mg, ug. g of course are for the big three: protein, carbohydrates, fats (one could include fiber, depending on syntax). mg measure the more common minerals: calcium, magnesium, zinc, and a few vitamins: vitamin C, E, B6. ug measure heavier metals, selenium, copper, as well as vitamin A and D. This is not an exhaustive list, but a pretty good generality.

All I'm saying is that message board don't always convey what we want them to, so it is best to understand the context.

Now, if you will excuse me, my dinner is 30 away, and I need to get there before it gets cold!

my advice was different depending on whether what she's trying to get is the usual amount of potassium that everyone needs, or if she needs to get a significantly greater amount than the general population. The difference between g and mg, and between mg and micrograms, is three decimal places, and three decimal places is a big difference in that context. Normal amount of potassium required = eat lots of fresh fruit and veg. Needing significantly more due to medical issues = take supplements and a lot of my other advice on the post would be irrelevant. I couldn't tell which of those would be applicable from the info she gave.

And my apology above, which was lighthearted, was apologising for asking for the units - which I did because I didn't know if she was trying to get a typical amount of potassium or much more than usual. It's probably the first time I've ever pointed out someone's lack of units, because in this case, it actually mattered in terms of the advice to take. In other words, I wasn't being pedantic.

ujjz

13 grape tomatoes is 1000 mg

bokchoybaby

Unless your soup has only three or four lonely beans floating in it, even it is bound to be a decent source of potassium. Beans have tons.

tedrickp

White Potatoes, Spinach and Mushrooms are packed with potassium and all relatively low calorie.

chivalryder

Those cans of beans/soup you eat are actually also relatively high in potassium, it's just never listed on the label. Sure,it's high in salt, but any raw food item (fruit, veggies, legumes, meat, etc.) all contain a relatively high amount of potassium. I'd say don't worry about it, you're probably getting enough unless you eat exclusively "processed" food (i.e. frozen food in a box).

nicholjenny

I have a very difficult time getting enough potassium. I take Lasix for medical reasons. I found that V8 juice has a huge amount of potassium. Strangely too, Chef Boyardee pastas, which I know you have to watch for calorie purposes. I did see my doctor who prescribed a supplement that delivers 1500 mg!!! Hope this helps.

BringingSherriBack

potatoes, bananas, V8 juice (low sodium), orange juice

Gkfrkv

From my Magical Nutrient List, from way back when I tried to be vegan:

bananas, potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, winter squash, raw cauliflower, avocados, kiwifruit, strawberries, honeydew melon, cantaloupe

lar4290

Glad I found this thread because I've been wondering the same thing.

The federal guidelines recommend 4,700 mg/day for adults (higher than the amount listed on MFP), and I've been using the gov't site to calculate the amount in foods: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/appendixB.htm#AppB1 (this is also a good site: http://www.krispin.com/potassm.html#Formula). According to that, you'd have to eat 10 bananas daily to get that amount! And that's a LOT of bananas (or cups of spinach or dried apricots or whatever other food has around 350-500 mg/serving). I just don't see how anyone gets enough potassium without only eating raw fruits and vegetables high in it?

qtgonewild

i didnt read through the thread. but artichokes!!!!!!!!! low calorie as well.

SakuraRose13

green beans. potatoes. bananas of course I have days where I actually go over my daily intake , I have a harder time with calcium and protein intake myself .