How can we get 3500 mg of potassium on 2000 cal/day?

mkdanhoff
mkdanhoff Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How can we get 3500 mg of potassium on about 2000 cal/ day? My budget right now before exercise is 1820 cal... but I still came up 955 mg short on potassium today!

Replies

  • rosered93
    rosered93 Posts: 69 Member
    Yogurt, lentils, winter squash, navy beans, most fresh vegetables, coconut water, bananas. Or just accept that your body is pretty good at regulating its electrolyte balance and if you were hypokalemic you would know. (Arguably) it's more relevant to focus on keeping your sodium in check than worrying over not quite hitting the potassium goal--which will come pretty close if you're eating healthy, fresh foods.
  • ColleenRoss50
    ColleenRoss50 Posts: 199 Member
    Here is a link showing the potassium content of some common foods that are rich in potassium:

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

    If you do some googling you will likely find some other ideas not listed in this link.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    Potassium isn't required on nutritional labels and you are probably getting more than you think.
    Coffee for one has a fair bit. Fruits, veggies have a fair bit. Cocoa, milk, almond milk, coconut milk, almonds, raisins, apricots, apples, oranges, squash, sweet potato, fish, meat, peppers, tomatoes...the list goes on. Look here:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    All I know is that Kazakhstan is the number 1 exporter of potassium. According to Borat.
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    paradoxically I think potassium intake would go up as your calories allowed go down:

    If you have to limit calories then you're going to be filling in a bunch of quality foods that satiate you - leafy greens, potatoes, lentils, lean meats etc.

    You're not getting potassium in junk food, pizza, cakes, etc.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    bananas & coconut water :)
  • SRHelicity
    SRHelicity Posts: 36
    I eat 5-7 dried apricots daily to help take a chunk out of my potassium requirements.
  • haymancm
    haymancm Posts: 280 Member
    http://www.krispin.com/potassm.html
    It has a listing of foods & their potassium content. Eating more veggies, fruits, & fish can greatly increase the requirement.
  • boatsie77
    boatsie77 Posts: 480 Member
    8oz V-8 low sodium = 820mg (50 calories) can help a bit
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
    Lots of spinach. gram for gram one of the highest sources of potassium. I throw it in everything:

    ... handful of baby spinach leaves in each protein shake (you can't taste it, seriously)
    ... use spinach leaves instead of lettuce for sandwiches or wraps
    ... spinach salads, or mix spinach leaves in with other greens in salad
    ... put spinach in your lasagna (I usually make mine with zucchini instead of pasta)

    Heck, you'd be amazed what you can put spinach in... it's low-calorie, fiber rich and nutrient-dense.
  • bsowul
    bsowul Posts: 1
    I had just been wondering this question. Last few days I have increased bananas, spinach, and coffee... But the prestored list doesn't register coffee having potassium... I also grab a naked kale drink or the evolution green drinks with lunch.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    I just ordered a dehydrator to make my own sun dried tomatoes because one cup is 1,851 mg of potassium. Won't be cheap, but it's a great source and no preservatives unlike store bought sun dried tomatoes. Also, store bought are even more expensive than buying fresh tomatoes and dehydrating them.

    Other sources of potassium are also often not cheap. Coconut water is a good source but very expensive. Raisins are okay, but too high calorie to get most of a day's potassium from. Dried apricots are also fairly high in potassium.

    Potassium rich foods:

    http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php
  • suejoker
    suejoker Posts: 317 Member
    You've gotten a lot of good advice already, but I wanted to encourage you to keep trying to get your potassium levels up. Most American adults get far less than they need and you actually won't know that your body's potassium store has been depleted until it's down to almost nothing (and you're headed to the emergency room). This happened to me in my early 30's, which is very rare, but raised my awareness about how important potassium is! It's much more common in the elderly and people who take a lot of diuretics for high blood pressure.

    MFP says 3500mg/day is the recommended amount, but doctors now actually recommend 4700mg/day. I don't ever get to 4700mg on my 1230 calories/day, but I am usually in the 3000-4000mg range and keep my sodium down to about half of that. The only way I know of to get to that result is to eat mostly plants. It's a good thing I like fruits & veggies.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Potassium isn't required on nutritional labels and you are probably getting more than you think.
    Coffee for one has a fair bit. Fruits, veggies have a fair bit. Cocoa, milk, almond milk, coconut milk, almonds, raisins, apricots, apples, oranges, squash, sweet potato, fish, meat, peppers, tomatoes...the list goes on. Look here:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    This.
    If you are going by the data on MFP, it is likely you are getting more than you think. As noted, it is not required to be listed on nutrition labels and a lot of food that contain it do not have it listed in the MFP database.

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