question about potassium

MissKim

I was reading in a magazine the other day and came across an article about Potassium. Actually the article was about water retention and ways to get celebrities tiny to fit in their dresses but it was saying that Potassium plays a big roll in water retention, also that if you don’t have enough of it your body will retain more water. And to get rid of extra water weight, just have a banana or something high in potassium. (it also said drinks lots of water and limit sodium) Well, I have a problem with water retention a lot. I feel bloated most of the time. And my weight can vary pounds everyday ( I know this is normal, but just throwing it out there). So I changed my food diary to show Potassium just to be nosy. It says that we require 3500 mg a day. ( I also googled it to make sure that was accurate!) Well, looking over my past days of eating and even days where I was eating healthy foods all day, never once did I hit that goal! Actually I was lucky if I got 500-1000 mg of potassium!! Should I take a potassium supplement?? I’ve tried increasing it with food over the past couple of days but it’s still hard to reach that much? Any advice or comments would be helpful! Thanks!

Mellie13

Unfortunatly, most things don't list potassium. I know there was a thread recently, but I would just look for some high potassium foods and focus on those, maybe check out your multi-v and see if it's in that. The foods I can think of off the top of my head are bananas, peas, wheat germ, and a quick google search gave me this:
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm

jennylynn84

I did the same thing and noticed the same problem.

Potassium is not a nutrient required by the FDA to be included in the nutrition guide on food. Some include it and thats great. MFP also has it for a few items (yogurt, spinach, etc) because those items contain it. But by and large the potassium levels are zero on a lot of items because people simply don't know.

So now I just try to incorporate foods high in potassium into my diet. I eat as much seafood as I can afford, put spinach in everything from my eggs to my salads (same goes for tomatoes), I eat Chik patties every now and then for soy, I eat strawberry special K (or slice them over my cereal if I have a different kind), I'm pretty sure garlic and broccoli have potassium too, so I try to cook with one and include the other in salads....

I've just accepted that its going to be next to impossible to track accurately. I took it back of of my tracking because it just depressed me to see the low number.

lilchino4af

While I'm working on getting my eating right, I'm taking a Woman's One a Day supplement with Calcium and Vitamin D. It also has potassium and I think it definitely helps me. Doesn't hurt to try!

Also, I know it sounds backwards, but make sure you're also drinking plenty of water (half your body weight in ounces) or your body will retain water because it feels like it's not getting enough.

jennylynn84

Your post reminded me about it and I just started looking - this might help you at least get an idea of how much you are getting.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/potassium-rich-foods-chart.html

Just a quick look tells me I'm probably getting more than I thought.

RichFoods

A good summary on potasium is on the NIH goverment site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002413.htm
In general potasium is in many foods and a shortage is unusual, 4 to 5 grams a day is normal.

Many foods contain potassium. All meats (red meat and chicken) and fish such as salmon, cod, flounder, and sardines are good sources of potassium. Soy products and veggie burgers are also good sources of potassium.

Vegetables including broccoli, peas, lima beans, tomatoes, potatoes (especially their skins), sweet potatoes, and winter squashes are all good sources of potassium.

Fruits that contain significant sources of potassium include citrus fruits, cantaloupe, bananas, kiwi, prunes, and apricots. Dried apricots contain more potassium than fresh apricots.

Milk and yogurt, as well as nuts, are also excellent sources of potassium.

MissKim

Well it's good to know that some are just listed as zero when in fact they do have potassium! That helps alot. I too googled and I eat alot of what they said had potassium in it. but when added in mfp it's still not enough! So hopefully I am getting enough, but it just doesn't show it. I've recently started eating more fruits and veggies, so hopefully that will help too. Thanks for everyones advice! Also, my vitamins showed that they only provided like 3 mgs of potassium? odd..

PJilly

Here's a list of symptoms of potassium deficiency. If you don't have many of these, maybe you don't have to worry about potassium after all.

# Muscle Cramps
# Muscle Fatigue and Weakness
# Irregular Heartbeat
# Fatigue
# Mental Confusion
# Irritability
# Abnormally Dry Skin
# Insatiable Thirst
# Chills
# Depression
# Nausea and Vomiting
# Nervousness
# Insomnia
# Diarrhea
# Low Blood Pressure
# Periodic Headaches
# Salt Retention
# Constipation
# High Cholesterol Levels
# Glucose Intolerance
# Impaired Growth
# Edema
# Extreme cases, cardiac arrest

Hope that helps!