Potassium!

CoryIda

It is hard to track, so try googling high-potassium foods. I have to watch my potassium intake because I have a deficiency and my body doesn't absorb it properly so it is very important to get plenty...
Not that I'm complaining about having an excuse to eat potatoes and bananas, of course. :happy:

Ruby11222

Avocado's, sweet potatoes, banana's and almonds.

I have to keep my potassium up or I get terrible leg cramps, usually while sleeping.

sdewell20

I have been tracking my K+ intake too. I take a potassium tablet every morning and include a banana in my breakfast!

MaraDiaz

Baked potato, 1 potato has 1081mg.

Yum. Going to incorporate that into my diet, then, I hate muscle fatigue, not to mention those horrible muscle cramps.

DoingItNow2012

Coconut water is really high in potassium and low in calories.

LilMissFoodie

I don't track mine because it's one of those things that if you're not getting enough, you're going to know it. And it's nearly impossible to get too much unless you're eating a LOT of calories every day.

If I were having any issues that were symptoms of a potassium imbalance, though, I'd look into it. It's easier to find the values for whole, fresh foods, like fruits and vegetables than it is for packaged, definitely.

Not quite true- about 20% of people hospitalized (for all visits) have low potassium levels (not a perfect proxy for the general population, but interesting none-the-less).

Your plasma potassium level rarely has anything to do with the amount of potassium you are eating - it is mostly related to fluid shifts in your body and most people being admitted to a hospital will have some fluid disturbance e.g. dehydration or oedema. Potassium is found in the majority of foods and your body is very good at utilising it and not flushing it through if you need it. As long as you have healthy kidneys and good heart function, you shouldn't need to worry about eating excessive potassium. I would say the bigger danger in terms of potassium would be drinking excessive water and eating more potassium wouldn't necessarily help with this..

LilMissFoodie

I was surprised to find my coffee having potassium, although probably not as good a source as other things.

Actually, coffee has loads. One of the first things I would restrict for a kidney disease patient. And chocolate too!

1953Judith

I have been watching my potassium ever since it went very low during chemo a few years ago. I experience the same frustration as OP that it is not on all food labels.

I have my own informal, loose way of trying to maintain the balance. Most of the fresh fruits and vegetables on this site do list potassium with its nutrients. When I look at my MFP nutrient summaries throughout the day, I always have a contest between my salt and my potassium. My salt must be less than 1500. My potassium must be more. I attempt totweek my daily menu to add more potassium rich foods, fruits and vegetables, if the potassium appears to be running behind. I was told that the potassium should be equal to or up to six times more than salt in your system. I have bloodwork drawn and analyzed regularly and this method has served me well for keeping adequate potassium levels in my body.

SHDenver

"NoSalt" brand sodium replacement product (It's listed in the database) is a product that replaces sodium with potassium for a "salt" flavor. It can help lower sodium and gives you 650mg of potassium per 1/4 tsp.

I use it often when cooking vegetable and meats, which is interesting because sodium levels still sore with any processed foods I might eat. The NoSalt is pretty good in cooked foods and has helped lower my overall sodium intake.

I've wondered about the nutrient stuff myself, as far as showing the information on the label. So many foods are very rich in multiple nutrients, not just Calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Iron. I'm assuming it's just not cost effective for a company to list out all of their nutrients.

Good luck in reaching your goals!

SHDenver

Thank you for this info, very helpful to know!

ipaintbrush

This is all really helpful info. I have been trying to track potassium lately as well. I discovered that I regularly fall woefully short unless I'm really paying attention. I agree that it can also be hard to get amounts from labels.

Bananas and coconut water are my go-to options for filling in holes and prevent cramps. The C02 brand original with blue label has the most at 51mg per 8oz and only 40 cals. Spinach is a great vegetable to add to smoothies. I also love it cooked with garlic and a tiny drop of butter. When cooked it's easy to consume several 100mg.

The no salt suggestion is very helpful. I kept thinking I had heard of a potassium salt to use in place of regular. Now I know what to look for.

kshama2001

ipaintbrush wrote: »

This is all really helpful info. I have been trying to track potassium lately as well. I discovered that I regularly fall woefully short unless I'm really paying attention. I agree that it can also be hard to get amounts from labels.

Bananas and coconut water are my go-to options for filling in holes and prevent cramps. The C02 brand original with blue label has the most at 51mg per 8oz and only 40 cals. Spinach is a great vegetable to add to smoothies. I also love it cooked with garlic and a tiny drop of butter. When cooked it's easy to consume several 100mg.

The no salt suggestion is very helpful. I kept thinking I had heard of a potassium salt to use in place of regular. Now I know what to look for.

Are you tracking potassium because the app is nagging you, or do you have a medical reason to do so? If it's just the app, I wouldn't worry about it, because the database is mostly crowd-sourced and the crowd isn't terribly concerned with accuracy of micros, as I learned when I was anemic and tracking iron.

Unfortunately, the green check marks in the MFP database are used for both USER-created entries and ADMIN-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. A green check mark for USER-created entries just means enough people have upvoted the entry - it is not necessarily correct.

To find ADMIN entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP. All ADMIN entries from the USDA will have weights as an option BUT there is a glitch whereby sometimes 1g is the option but the values are actually for 100g. This is pretty easy to spot though, as when added the calories are 100x more than is reasonable.

I haven't noticed an issue with micros for ADMIN-created entries.

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Use the “SR Legacy” tab - that's what MFP used to pull in entries.

Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was USER entered.

For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct. Note: scanning is mostly only available with Premium these days.)

AnnPT77

ipaintbrush wrote: »

This is all really helpful info. I have been trying to track potassium lately as well. I discovered that I regularly fall woefully short unless I'm really paying attention. I agree that it can also be hard to get amounts from labels.

Bananas and coconut water are my go-to options for filling in holes and prevent cramps. The C02 brand original with blue label has the most at 51mg per 8oz and only 40 cals. Spinach is a great vegetable to add to smoothies. I also love it cooked with garlic and a tiny drop of butter. When cooked it's easy to consume several 100mg.

The no salt suggestion is very helpful. I kept thinking I had heard of a potassium salt to use in place of regular. Now I know what to look for.

This is a very old thread (2011), FWIW. Getting enough potassium is a good thing, but the people from 2011 probably mostly aren't here anymore.

Personally, I find that if I eat really lots of varied, colorful veggies and fruits, my micronutrients mostly fall into line quite nicely. I make an effort to pick database entries that do reflect micronutrient numbers (for the limited micros MFP totals). For potassium specifically, my MFP total tends to average well above the MFP default goal, looking at the weekly average.

Perhaps surprisingly, one of my biggest potassium sources is blackstrap molasses I like in my daily oatmeal . . . yup, that's an "added sugar". Fine by me.

Beyond that, some recent helpful foods have been kiwi, broccoli, cauliflower, yogurt, kefir, melons, coffee (!) . . . .