How to take in more Potassium?

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Erikaelias85
Erikaelias85 Posts: 69 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Good Morning! I'm hoping I can get some advice on how to get more potassium from my diet.

I went to the Vitamin Shoppe yesterday in hopes that I could buy a supplement. They said the most a supplement would have is 99 g, which is equivalent to <3% of your daily need.

I have noticed from tracking the food I eat that I am missing about 3000 grams of potassium a day. That is a s hit ton, I am only getting in about 400 of the 3400 I need.

Now here is my problem, everyone keeps telling me to eat banana's but I hate, hate , hate, hate banana's.

I hate how they feel, peel, smell, how they are squishy. And yes, I realize this is strange but I just cannot eat them,

Any advice?
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Replies

  • mjl54
    mjl54 Posts: 127 Member
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    I've been in the same boat. I noticed the sup hardly have any potassium also.

    here is a link of foods high in potassium
    http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Potassium is all over the place. It's just not required to be listed in nutritional summaries, so most MFP entries don't include it.

    Potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and dairy are great sources of potassium and aren't bananas.

    Here's one of many internet lists on potassium: http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/potassium.cfm
  • Lauren8239
    Lauren8239 Posts: 1,039 Member
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    If you drink coffee, there is potassium in that as well.
  • jorge_007
    jorge_007 Posts: 70 Member
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    I've noticed that a lot food listings on here don't include the actual potassium amount, but to answer your question. Beans, green leafy vegetables, baked potatoes with the skin, citrus fruit just to name a few have a lot of potassium.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    cantalope is good source
  • pinkledoodledoo
    pinkledoodledoo Posts: 290 Member
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    Yogurt and potatoes immediately come to mind.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
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    This might help:

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

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/potassium-foods-banana_n_1898078.html
  • Aeramis13
    Aeramis13 Posts: 135 Member
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    Here's another list to find foods higher in potassium: http://www.calories-in-foods.com/foods-high-potassium.php

    And as others said, many of the things you eat every day have potassium in them, but as the food industry isn't required to list potassium, many, many, many companies choose to not 'waste' the space on their label. You're eating more potassium than you think!
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    I spent a little time earlier this week looking up the potassium content for the foods I eat regularly that don't list the K content (egg white from carton, Greek yogurt, sweet potato fries, baby spinach in bags, etc.), then logged them in as "quick potassium" to make sure that I was getting enough potassium. Now that I know I do, I am not going to worry about the number that MFP shows.

    It'd be nice if they'd list that on the nutrition label, but since it's not required by law, you're not going to find it most places.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    1) you're probably getting more than you think...it's not required on nutritional labels; as most of the MFP database is derived from such labels, it's not going to show up even though it's there.

    2) Get your roughage on...lots of green leafy veg, broccoli, tomatoes (and tomato products...sauce, paste, etc), fruits, etc

    3) potatoes are an awesome source...they kick a bananas *kitten*...but remember you have to eat the peel to get that benefit

    4) beverages like V8 (I prefer low sodium) and coconut water have tons of potassium

    5) dairy

    Just google high potassium foods for other ideas.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Most foods don't include potassium content on the label since it's not required. You're probably getting a lot more than you think.

    That said, there's no reason to go try to supplement potassium. If you think you're potassium deficient see your doc. Standard blood panels done at physicals check your potassium levels. If your blood K+ level isn't low, then you have nothing to worry about.
  • waltcote
    waltcote Posts: 372 Member
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    sweet taters!!!! :love:
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    It's squash season and squash has A LOT of potassium. I love eating half an acorn squash for lunch and it has almost 900 mg in 200 grams of cooked squash.

    Coffee also has a good amount, leafy greens and meat are also good sources. I think we eat more potassium than we realize.
  • MissKitty9
    MissKitty9 Posts: 224 Member
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    I was wondering about this too-- it's nice to hear that maybe some of the foods I'm logging don't actually have potassium listed, so maybe I'm getting more than I think!

    White beans are a good source, I've heard. And pears.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    yep..me too :sad:

    I'm doing keto so lots of the things that have potassium are not on my food list :ohwell:

    I made a pico de gallo the other day, I used 3#'s of tomatoes....guess what had the full daily amount of potassium?:blushing:

    If you guessed the ENTIRE bowl of pico meant to serve something like 8 people.....then yes, this had the daily recommended amount :sick:

    I read that salt substitute is a good source of additional potassium but haven't researched it as yet...

    eta: hmm....since I get all of my carbs from green leafies, I'm resting a little easier now :wink: I was hoping not to supplement potassium in any other way than with whole foods, so this is a relief!
  • Erikaelias85
    Erikaelias85 Posts: 69 Member
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    Thank you!
  • Erikaelias85
    Erikaelias85 Posts: 69 Member
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    Oooo! I love coconut water, thanks!
  • Mane1972
    Mane1972 Posts: 26 Member
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    This is good to know, I was worrying I wasn't getting nearly enough potassium, as well.
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    As many have said the counters here are misleading. Don"t rely on the database here to keep track of potassium! Most foods in the database don't include the potassium content. In fact, I don't think most food labels list it.
  • pinkstp
    pinkstp Posts: 220 Member
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    Bananas, citrus fruits, cantaloupe, tomatoes, watercress, green leafy veg, sunflower seeds, avocados, lentils, potatoes and whole grains

    I hear ya on the bananas thing, I love them but I have such a hard time eating/peeling them. I don't like the chalkiness. :D

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