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

EccentricDad
EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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)
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Replies

  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    Bump
  • kfbayard
    kfbayard Posts: 16 Member
    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
    jessalleyne Posts: 41
    Just found this online...

    http://potassiumrichfoods.com/potassium-rich-foods-list/
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    Thank you for the above replies.

    Bumping to get more options.

    367fua.jpg
  • curtnrod
    curtnrod Posts: 223 Member
    Bananas
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    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
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    Banana at a105g serving is a good option but only 12.1% of the daily value needed. Need MOAR!
  • dellrio
    dellrio Posts: 131 Member
    This Orange Juice ---> Simply Orange with Mango. If you buy a 13 oz container at a convenience store it has 850mg of potassium.
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    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
    laurielegg Posts: 5
    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
    MrDude_1 Posts: 2,510 Member
    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
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    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
    laurielegg Posts: 5
    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
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    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
    laurielegg Posts: 5
    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
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
    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
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    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
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Replace your regular salt with a low-sodium alternative which uses potassium chloride.
  • BogQueen1
    BogQueen1 Posts: 320 Member
    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
    jb_2011 Posts: 1,029 Member
    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. :love:
  • reggie2run
    reggie2run Posts: 477 Member
    bump
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    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
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
    Bananas, Potatoes, Melon, Spinach, Broccoli, and mushrooms are my sources! Very high in potassium
    Milk, Meat, and cheese has quite a bit too
  • leiloob
    leiloob Posts: 49 Member
    Coconut water!
  • mariposa224
    mariposa224 Posts: 1,241 Member
    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
    George1567 Posts: 107
    8 oz of Low Sodium Spicy V8, 1000g potassium
  • konerusp
    konerusp Posts: 247 Member
    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
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    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
    nygrl4evr Posts: 196 Member
    Bump...I struggle with getting all of mine in too.
  • reneetherare
    reneetherare Posts: 7
    Sweet potatoes! I have the same trouble and so, eat roasted root veggies all the time. Like other posters said, coconut water.

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