Potassium - How to get 4g a day without a supplement?

EccentricDad

I read something that people who has sensory over-stimultation (overwhelmed easily by noise, lights, sounds, tastes, etc), sensitive temperament, and hyperactive tendencies not only benefit from a low sugar and sodium diet, but they also benefit from getting enough Potassium because of an odd imbalance due to genetics. They said that if all "-caine" drugs don't do much to you without huge doses (like novacaine at the dentist office) then you likely have this form of sensitivity that could benefit from increasing Potassium. So I thought "what the hell, might as well try" and now I'm on an adventure to get Potassium in my diet.

According to the World Healthiest Foods website, legumes and green veggies are the best ways to do it. But I can't eat legumes (they wreck havoc in my stomach - except PB but that's expected since it is the lowest with resistant starches) and dark green veggies are difficult to eat EVERY DAY (but bananas aren't)....

So I need to know, does anyone know any good ways to get Potassium up on a budget without taking supplements (though I will consider this venue too because it may be my only option)?

Link to World Healthiest Foods About Potassium:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=90

Link to study for credibility:
http://stephaniesarkis.com/blog/?p=156
(note: she has a ph.d so looks legit to me)

EccentricDad

Bump

kfbayard

I get muscle cramps in my legs at night if I don't get enough potassium so I started focusing on adding in more to my diet in April. I snack on apricots and almonds, and add coconut water to my smoothies and drinks, and eat a banana every day or so.

jessalleyne

Just found this online...

http://potassiumrichfoods.com/potassium-rich-foods-list/

EccentricDad

Thank you for the above replies.

Bumping to get more options.

curtnrod

Bananas

bcattoes

Here is a link to potassium source in foods by content

https://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/SR24/nutrlist/sr24w306.pdf

Prunes, cooked tomato products, potatoes, bananas, oranges, raisins are all good sources of potassium.

ETA: don't rely on the MFP database solely to track potassium as many members don't add it and many packaged products don't list it.

EccentricDad

Banana at a105g serving is a good option but only 12.1% of the daily value needed. Need MOAR!

dellrio

This Orange Juice ---> Simply Orange with Mango. If you buy a 13 oz container at a convenience store it has 850mg of potassium.

Erienneb

I just posted about leg cramps caused by a potassium deficiency and someone was kind enough to respond with this:

Here is some info from a website I found for my mom, who wound up in the hospital because her potassium levels dropped way to low.

My favorites are avocados, cantalope, and orange juice. This shows how much eat food gives you

Foods with Potassium Serving Size Potassium (mg)
Apricots, dried 10 halves 407
Avocados, raw 1 ounce 180
Bananas, raw 1 cup 594
Beets, cooked 1 cup 519
Brussel sprouts, cooked 1 cup 504
Cantaloupe 1 cup 494
Dates, dry 5 dates 271
Figs, dry 2 figs 271
Kiwi fruit, raw 1 medium 252
Lima beans 1 cup 955
Melons, honeydew 1 cup 461
Milk, fat free or skim 1 cup 407
Nectarines 1 nectarine 288
Orange juice 1 cup 496
Oranges 1 orange 237
Pears (fresh) 1 pear 208
Peanuts dry roasted, unsalted 1 ounce 187
Potatoes, baked, 1 potato 1081
Prune juice 1 cup 707
Prunes, dried 1 cup 828
Raisins 1 cup 1089
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 839
Tomato products, canned sauce 1 cup 909
Winter squash 1 cup 896
Yogurt plain, skim milk 8 ounces 579

laurielegg

Sorry, I can't be of any real help. I have only been told to increase crisp greens in my diet. I was also told by a doctor that a doctor has to prescribe a supplement (if needed) because too much potassium is deadly or at minimum can cause kidney damage. If prescribed then you have to follow up on a regular basis with lab work to check levels.

MrDude_1

As unpopular as supplements can be on here... I would say go with one.
Not only will it guarantee that you get the min amount you need, but you don't have to worry about its absorption being blocked by sodium and caffeine in foods.

EccentricDad

This Orange Juice ---> Simply Orange with Mango. If you buy a 13 oz container at a convenience store it has 850mg of potassium.

Too much sugar in juices. I know it's fruit sugar, but my body is sensitive to sugar. Thank you though :flowerforyou:

laurielegg

If you find increasing your potassium intake does not alleviate your leg cramps, try increasing your calcium intake as well. Insufficient calcium levels will cause leg cramps, also.

EccentricDad

I just posted about leg cramps caused by a potassium deficiency and someone was kind enough to respond with this:

Here is some info from a website I found for my mom, who wound up in the hospital because her potassium levels dropped way to low.

My favorites are avocados, cantalope, and orange juice. This shows how much eat food gives you

Foods with Potassium Serving Size Potassium (mg)
Apricots, dried 10 halves 407
Avocados, raw 1 ounce 180
Bananas, raw 1 cup 594
Beets, cooked 1 cup 519
Brussel sprouts, cooked 1 cup 504
Cantaloupe 1 cup 494
Dates, dry 5 dates 271
Figs, dry 2 figs 271
Kiwi fruit, raw 1 medium 252
Lima beans 1 cup 955
Melons, honeydew 1 cup 461
Milk, fat free or skim 1 cup 407
Nectarines 1 nectarine 288
Orange juice 1 cup 496
Oranges 1 orange 237
Pears (fresh) 1 pear 208
Peanuts dry roasted, unsalted 1 ounce 187
Potatoes, baked, 1 potato 1081
Prune juice 1 cup 707
Prunes, dried 1 cup 828
Raisins 1 cup 1089
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 839
Tomato products, canned sauce 1 cup 909
Winter squash 1 cup 896
Yogurt plain, skim milk 8 ounces 579

Awesome list! I will have to save this. This is definitely going to help! Thank you VERY much :flowerforyou:

laurielegg

I get muscle cramps in my legs at night if I don't get enough potassium so I started focusing on adding in more to my diet in April. I snack on apricots and almonds, and add coconut water to my smoothies and drinks, and eat a banana every day or so.

If you find increasing your potassium intake does not alleviate your leg cramps, try increasing your calcium intake as well. Insufficient calcium levels will cause leg cramps, also.

julieh391

Squash looks like the winner of the list calorie wise. If you do consider buying Potassium supplements over the counter, don't bother. They have 99mg, which is (I think) 2% of your RDA. Potassium is very dangerous in extremely high doses, so they make it pretty impossible to overdose on over the counter supplements.

BrianSharpe

Here's another list......

http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm

I was pleasantly surprised to see how high avocados are (I could eat them every day......)

BerryH

Replace your regular salt with a low-sodium alternative which uses potassium chloride.

BogQueen1

Cantaloupe, tomatoes, salad, definitely salad. Bananas are good... but they aren't THAT high in potassium for the amount of calories they contain. You can make potassium a macro you track, I aim to get 3500 mg in my diet daily, and generally the only way I can do that is a LOT of produce. 2 cups of cantaloupe with breakfast will give you 850 odd mg for about 100 calories, which is double what you get in a large banana with the same calories. 3 cups of salad greens has 1200mg for about 30 calories.

jb_2011

Dark leafy greens like spinach, chard and beet greens. Cook 'em up, they're delish! Also other green vegs like zucchini, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, and don't forget the almighty tomato! Drink low-sodium V-8 juice. Good stuff. Bake some winter squash.

reggie2run

bump

lyttlewon

Is it possible you are low in serotonin? Deficiencies include overreacting to stimulus, paranoia, lack of self esteem, lack of rational emotion and unexplained fears. Your emotional hyper sensitivity may be due to a lack of the calming affect of this neurotransmitter. L-Tryptophan a building block which naturally comes from protein sources like cottage cheese, non fat dry milk chicken, turkey with skin, soybeans, almonds, pumpkin seeds, orange juice and toasted wheat germ.

I recall you saying you had an issue with dairy and legumes so maybe these lacking in your diet are not helping.

Running is known to produce enkephalins, which causes the runners high, and deficiency in enkephalins causes feelings of inferiority, inadequacy and low self worth. You can improve your enkephalins with the building block L/D Phenylalanine

Just based upon how you feel many times in posts, personally attacked and belittled, I thought I would mention these. :flowerforyou:

ToughTulip

Bananas, Potatoes, Melon, Spinach, Broccoli, and mushrooms are my sources! Very high in potassium
Milk, Meat, and cheese has quite a bit too

leiloob

Coconut water!

mariposa224

Don't know if you're wanting seasonings as well, but I purchased this to help me cut back on sodium & found that it had a good-ish amount of potassium (460 mg). Tony Chacheres - Salt-Free Creole Seasoning

George1567

8 oz of Low Sodium Spicy V8, 1000g potassium

konerusp

try cooking up dark greens with lentils,makes a delicious dish.
you can search for "spinach dal" in google ull find a ton of recipes.

the same recipe can be done with kale,spinach,fenugreek leaves,chards.

free pass for vegetables

EccentricDad

Doing research on my own while I wait for answers and I think Information on the internet sucks... "Bananas have the most potassium at 357 mg per 100 grams of fruit, followed by cantaloupe with 350 mg, kiwi with 330 mg, then apricot and blackberry with 300 mg each." but WHFOODS says bananas have 422mg and cantaloupe has 425....

Le sigh. Why can't people just share the same data and take the guesswork of who is "accurate" out of this!

nygrl4evr

Bump...I struggle with getting all of mine in too.

reneetherare

Sweet potatoes! I have the same trouble and so, eat roasted root veggies all the time. Like other posters said, coconut water.