Potassium? Seriously?

jhellwig828
jhellwig828 Posts: 109 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone ever meet their daily requirement of potassium?? I never even come close to hitting it! What is good for potassium besides bananas? Any help?
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Replies

  • rmdaly
    rmdaly Posts: 250 Member
    Potatoes
  • gamagem
    gamagem Posts: 87 Member
    Sweet potatoes, greek yogurt, milk, most vegetables, fruits, beans, oat meal, white potatoes
  • BelsFitnessJourney
    BelsFitnessJourney Posts: 29
    Avacados :)
  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
    Unless you know you have a deficiency don't worry about it. Chances are you are getting more than you think as most foods don't have the amount of potassium even listed in the nutrition facts. Avocados, bananas, and coconut water have tons though if you are concerned about it.
  • wshultz14
    wshultz14 Posts: 63 Member
    I have been checking the Report feature in MFP, and discovered I am not getting enough Potassium..
    I have been trying to add the foods to my diet I need. My issue is that Wayne does not seem to eat most of the foods that have potassium.. If it is not a potato he does not eat it. Therefore, I discovered that I had fallen behind in this requirement.
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    Many of the foods on here don't have potassium listed, however if you are eating a good variety of fruit and vegetables you will likely be getting enough. Google 'food compsition tables' and see if you can find a database where you can look it up manually for different foods if you are interested.
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
    Kiwi's have almost the same amount of potassium per 100g as a banana. Also, unless you suffer from cramps on the regular you probably are getting enough.
  • crepes_
    crepes_ Posts: 583 Member
    White beans, dark leafy greens (spinach), potatoes (sweet potatoes are better for regulating sugar, but they're still decent for potassium), acorn squash, plain yogurt, fish (salmon), avocados, mushrooms, bananas

    Morton's also sells Lite Salt and No Salt, which are salt alternatives that use potassium chloride (tastes the same). Lite Salt is a 50/50 mix and No Salt is entirely potassium.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Dont rely on the database to measure your potassium intake accurately.
  • naariel
    naariel Posts: 37
    Don't stress over it. If you have a diagnosed deficiency you will have carefully dosed supplements. If not you're probably fine. Like some said, a lot of food haven't their potassium listed, doesn't mean they don't have any potassium. And too much potassium is just as dangerous as not enough. Potassium info isn't accurate enough to be tracked on MFP.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    In the US, potassium isn't required on nutrition labels, so it often isn't listed in the database. One good example of this is my Fage Greek Yogurt. I was so happy to learn that this is an excellent source of potassium!
  • jhellwig828
    jhellwig828 Posts: 109 Member
    Thanks everyone! I guess as long as I keep up with my bananas and greek yogurt I won't worry too pmuch about it :)
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    I recently bought some potassium powder because I had recently gone from having bananas in my diet to not and I was cramping so for the cost I figured I would give it a try. I just sprinkle a little on my lunch each day and so far so good. If it had not been for the cramping and the correlation with some diet changes I wouldn't have added it to my diet.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    It's not required on food labels, so many don't include it. You're probably getting a lot more than you think.
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
    I'm not sure if someone said this already but I just found that VItaCoco actually has 450mg per serving so a medium sized one is a total of 900! Helps up it! Also spinach is a great source.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    http://potassiumrichfoods.com/potassium-rich-foods-list/
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    This is my second year of tracking on MFP. What I have learned is that you shouldn't worry so much. Unless you have a medical condition that has been tested, don't worry. Too much potassium can be a as bad for you as too much sodium. Lift more, worry less. Seriously, this was advice that I had last year on a similar thread that I posted about potassium intake. Now I am lifting more and worrying less. I was concentrating on the wrong things. :drinker:
  • OverDoIt
    OverDoIt Posts: 332 Member
    KM Matol, is a supplement that may help you. I used it in the 90's and it was very good.
  • wshultz14
    wshultz14 Posts: 63 Member
    Low Potassium is tied to high blood pressure..

    I have been trying to increase my Potassium indicate. I was very low... I am now about half way to my daily requirement.

    I have just been diagnosed with Hypertension, and now take blood pressure pills. My hope is that with increasing my Potassium, and taking a copy of the potassium graph to my quarterly appointment with my Dr. I may be able to get off Blood Pressure Pills.

    Good Luck.
  • FearlessRobb
    FearlessRobb Posts: 249 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.

    But they're yummy! They do have a load of calories. But I work potatoes into my diet. I likes them.
  • FearlessRobb
    FearlessRobb Posts: 249 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.

    But they're yummy! They do have a load of calories. But I work potatoes into my diet. I likes them.



    o trust me i miss my mashed potatooes but once i learned that 1 cup of them is like 600 calories i knew they had to go lol
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php

    :drinker:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You're probably getting more than you think you are, particularly if you're eating your veg and fruit. It isn't required to be on food labels, so many things that have potassium don't show as such in the database.

    If you're really worried about it just google high potassium foods...there are many that are far better sources than a banana. Potatoes are one of my favorite...148 grams of red potatoes has over 600 Mg of potassium and only 110 calories...and that's plenty of potato.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.

    But they're yummy! They do have a load of calories. But I work potatoes into my diet. I likes them.



    o trust me i miss my mashed potatooes but once i learned that 1 cup of them is like 600 calories i knew they had to go lol

    148 grams of potatoes is quite a helping and only 110 calories or so. You're probably selecting some random mashed potatoes some user put into MFP and they probably had it laden down with butter and cream. I eat potatoes 3-4 times per week and I can assure you that if they were 600 calories per serving I wouldn't be where I am right now.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    You probably DO meet it. Potassium is pretty readily/commonly available in a lot of foods, but it is NOT required to be listed on nutritional information panels on food packaging.

    Probably 30-70% of your potassium intake just isn't accounted for.

    Don't worry about it unless you've had bloodwork that indicates a potassium deficiency.
  • GummyHuman
    GummyHuman Posts: 193 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.

    And they are an excellent source of potassium, which matters more than the carbs or calories for people who really need the potassium. And for really not that many calories for how filling they are. And who could eat a whole cucumber? I couldn't . Blech.

    Orange juice is also a great source of potassium.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.

    If it fits into your calories and macros, then why? They really are a good source of potassium.
  • GummyHuman
    GummyHuman Posts: 193 Member

    Don't worry about it unless you've had bloodwork that indicates a potassium deficiency.

    So many experts.

    Potassium is helpful for battling high blood pressure as well.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    Potatoes

    NO stay away from them. there high in carbs and calories and a starch veggie. 1 cucumber can have as much as 450mg of potassium. and only 45 calories.

    But they're yummy! They do have a load of calories. But I work potatoes into my diet. I likes them.



    o trust me i miss my mashed potatooes but once i learned that 1 cup of them is like 600 calories i knew they had to go lol

    What are you putting in your mashed potatoes that makes them 600 calories? I use instant, 2% milk, and margarine and 1 serving (1/2 cup) is 200 calories.

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