potassium

olletho
olletho Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, is it that there are in fact not a lot of foods with a notable source of potassium; or is it just one of the most under-logged nutriants going?

Replies

  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
    LOL I was thinking the same thing myself a few weeks ago. I am always lower in potassium than I would like so I started tracking it...Then I had to google what foods have it :/ so I could make sure I try and grab some of them when i go shopping
  • suejoker
    suejoker Posts: 317 Member
    There ARE a lot of potassium rich foods. Here's a table with potassium content and calories:

    http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/appendixb.htm

    Unfortunately, most adults don't get the potassium they need. After a cardiac incident in my 30's, caused by insufficient potassium in my system, I have been very, very mindful of keeping my potassium intake high. MFP has our potassium requirement at 2500mg/day, but it is actually 4700mg/day. I usually average 2500-3000mg/day, but it's hard to get what you need when you're short and restricting your calories. There are supplements, to help you if you're not getting enough.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
    I actually just went back and looked at a few of my meals last week - I knew spinach & sweet potato had a good amount of potassium however I realized it was not listed on here ?!?! I just looked at calorie / fat etc to compare apparently who ever entered it did not find potassium important. ugh! Guess I need to check all macros when comparing labels or just enter my own :)
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    In most countries legal requirements of food labelling does not include things like potassium and iron .Due to this a lot of entries in the database will only have those nutrients if they are labelled as such and many won't be. I've been tracking my iron recently and its really hit and miss. So I would not expect too much accuracy from tracking those things on mfp
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    I actually just went back and looked at a few of my meals last week - I knew spinach & sweet potato had a good amount of potassium however I realized it was not listed on here ?!?! I just looked at calorie / fat etc to compare apparently who ever entered it did not find potassium important. ugh! Guess I need to check all macros when comparing labels or just enter my own :)
    I made all my own entries to track potassium.
    You can check here:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
    I actually just went back and looked at a few of my meals last week - I knew spinach & sweet potato had a good amount of potassium however I realized it was not listed on here ?!?! I just looked at calorie / fat etc to compare apparently who ever entered it did not find potassium important. ugh! Guess I need to check all macros when comparing labels or just enter my own :)
    I made all my own entries to track potassium.
    You can check here:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    Looks like I will have to do the same - thanks!

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