Why is Potassium SO hard to find?

MaiLinna
MaiLinna Posts: 580 Member
in Food and Nutrition
UGH. I've heard potassium can really help with bloating and water retention, which I have often because of my love for beans and sodium. (Damn soup!) I can't find anything that would help me nab more potassium without a ton of calories! Any ideas?
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Replies

  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    Avocado has a ton. Just use it as a spread on sandwiches.
  • MaiLinna
    MaiLinna Posts: 580 Member
    But the daily need is 3500, and even one whole avocado is only around 750! How are we supposed to get all that potassium and stay under 1300 calories! Holy hell...that's ridic.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    Walmart has some.
  • MaiLinna
    MaiLinna Posts: 580 Member
    I'd have to eat 5 avos every day, and that's all I'd be allowed to eat. -_- That's crazy.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Pork has tons of it. Yogurt can have a lot, too, for the calories. And bananas.
  • archoo_letsdothis
    archoo_letsdothis Posts: 90 Member
    Banana, dry fruits , beet greens , honey and every thing has potassium.
  • GardeningZombie
    GardeningZombie Posts: 55 Member
    http://www.health.com/health/m/gallery/0,,20721159_2,00.html

    This source indicates chili is your friend! With tomatoes, white beans, and topped with a bit of avocado like previously suggested, you will have a fantastic source of potassium.

    Though as far as vegetable trends go, it seems the flesh of a vegetable, rather than the leaves are the best source.
  • MaiLinna
    MaiLinna Posts: 580 Member
    Never mind, potassium is hard to find because it will kill you. kk problem solved.
  • gungho66
    gungho66 Posts: 284 Member
    good question, supplement would probably be the only way and still keep within your goals

    Potassium: The Sources

    Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits. One cup of orange juice contains 500mgs.
    Fish, especially halibut, tuna and flounder (all contain 400mg+ per serving)
    Beets, 1 cup of beets is approximately 15% of your daily potassium dose
    Bananas each contain 450mg of potassium
    Tomato or prune juice
    Honeydew melons
    Lima beans, 1 cup contains 1000mgs
    Baked potatoes contain nearly 900mgs
  • LeahFerri
    LeahFerri Posts: 186 Member
    Definitely agree with the people who say bananas.

    Salt substitutes are often potassium chloride, which would help with the potassium. My father used to use salt substitute because he was concerned about sodium intake, but now he uses it more because of the potassium--he wants to prevent muscle cramping after his 90-120 minute workouts. Having tasted potassium chloride accidentally (was trying to figure out what was in the decorative salt shakers for the Seder table), I can't recommend it on taste, but maybe it's more tolerable when actually put on food.
  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
    Spinach, fish, potato. I'm heavy on protein and potassium, creep my diary if you like.
  • simplypanda
    simplypanda Posts: 15 Member
    I take a potassium supplement. There isn't a lot in it... only 3% of your daily need, but it helps me. I order it from iherb.com. If you happen to make an order there, pm me, and I'll give you a code to save some money!
  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
    Its in almost everything it just might not show up in the MFP nutrition data. Foods that are particularly high in potassium: swiss chard, beans/legumes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas. Almost all fruit and veg have some amount of potassium, along with fish, and dairy. Its nearly impossible to be deficient in this nutrient in any range of diets. :) hope this helps
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    Check out:

    http://potassiumrichfoods.com/

    Keep in mind also that potassium isn't required to be listed on nutrition labels. (Kinda dumb if you ask me) So a lot of foods in the MFP database and elsewhere will erroneously list a food as having no potassium when in fact the food is a good source of potassium. To address this, many potassium-minded MFPers add potassium to the name of the food in the database. My morning java is listed in MFP as "Homemade Black Coffee - Brewed (W/Potassium)" (Three cups of black coffee have as much potassium as a medium banana)

    I would not take potassium supplements however. Much better to get it from foods.
  • bobbinalong
    bobbinalong Posts: 151 Member
    I was surprished about radishes, it all adds up!
  • GardeningZombie
    GardeningZombie Posts: 55 Member
    I just created a hypothetical meal plan in here. 3,697 mg of potassium, 667 calories. It goes as follows:


    Breakfast:
    1 medium banana
    1 8 oz serving dannon lite and fit yogurt

    Lunch:
    2 5.5 oz servings low sodium v-8 juice

    Dinner
    I baked sweet potato, with skin. 180 g

    Snacks
    Dried apricot pieces, 10

    I did notice that people may not always fill these things out correctly for potassium so be vigilant.

    Good luck!
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    It's just not listed in most nutritional facts. You could just search google.

    Red meat, chicken, white potato, spinach are all great sources.
  • xoeva
    xoeva Posts: 209 Member
    Bananas?
  • nena49659
    nena49659 Posts: 260 Member
    I just created a hypothetical meal plan in here. 3,697 mg of potassium, 667 calories. It goes as follows:


    Breakfast:
    1 medium banana
    1 8 oz serving dannon lite and fit yogurt

    Lunch:
    2 5.5 oz servings low sodium v-8 juice

    Dinner
    I baked sweet potato, with skin. 180 g

    Snacks
    Dried apricot pieces, 10

    I did notice that people may not always fill these things out correctly for potassium so be vigilant.

    Good luck!

    That's a meal plan? Holy crap. No wonder I'm fat!
  • astartig
    astartig Posts: 549 Member
    mortons low sodium salt.
  • GardeningZombie
    GardeningZombie Posts: 55 Member
    I just created a hypothetical meal plan in here. 3,697 mg of potassium, 667 calories. It goes as follows:


    Breakfast:
    1 medium banana
    1 8 oz serving dannon lite and fit yogurt

    Lunch:
    2 5.5 oz servings low sodium v-8 juice

    Dinner
    I baked sweet potato, with skin. 180 g

    Snacks
    Dried apricot pieces, 10

    I did notice that people may not always fill these things out correctly for potassium so be vigilant.

    Good luck!

    That's a meal plan? Holy crap. No wonder I'm fat!

    Hahaha! That is not the WHOLE meal for a day, silly! What I was showing is that one could meet the entire daily potassium requirements and still have 1,100 calories (I believe the goal was 1,700) for twinkies!

    **Excessive Twinkie consumption not recommended. Please consult your physician before starting any Twinkie heavy regimen. Not applicable in South Dakota**
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    It's not recommended that you take potassium supplements without a doctors order and it can cause stomach upset in supplement form. You're far better to get your potassium from foods but few people are potassium deficient unless you have been vomiting excessively or are an athlete who has sweat excessively for a long period of time.
  • nena49659
    nena49659 Posts: 260 Member
    I just created a hypothetical meal plan in here. 3,697 mg of potassium, 667 calories. It goes as follows:


    Breakfast:
    1 medium banana
    1 8 oz serving dannon lite and fit yogurt

    Lunch:
    2 5.5 oz servings low sodium v-8 juice

    Dinner
    I baked sweet potato, with skin. 180 g

    Snacks
    Dried apricot pieces, 10

    I did notice that people may not always fill these things out correctly for potassium so be vigilant.

    Good luck!

    That's a meal plan? Holy crap. No wonder I'm fat!

    Hahaha! That is not the WHOLE meal for a day, silly! What I was showing is that one could meet the entire daily potassium requirements and still have 1,100 calories (I believe the goal was 1,700) for twinkies!

    **Excessive Twinkie consumption not recommended. Please consult your physician before starting any Twinkie heavy regimen. Not applicable in South Dakota**

    Oh. :blushing: I pictured eating like that 3 days in a row and fainting. LOL
  • MaiLinna
    MaiLinna Posts: 580 Member
    http://www.health.com/health/m/gallery/0,,20721159_2,00.html

    This source indicates chili is your friend! With tomatoes, white beans, and topped with a bit of avocado like previously suggested, you will have a fantastic source of potassium.

    Though as far as vegetable trends go, it seems the flesh of a vegetable, rather than the leaves are the best source.
    ty <3
  • Jenifer_Duron
    Jenifer_Duron Posts: 53
    White Beans, Dark Leavy Greens, Baked Potatoes (with skin), Dried Apricots, Baked Acorn Squash, Yogurt (Plain, Skim/Non-Fat), Fish (Salmon), Avocados, Mushrooms (white) and Bananas are enriched with Potassium.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    But the daily need is 3500, and even one whole avocado is only around 750! How are we supposed to get all that potassium and stay under 1300 calories! Holy hell...that's ridic.

    How did Homo erectus (our evolutionary ancestors) get enough potassium? They ate food, which also contains calories. It's not that hard to get enough potassium, and you're probably getting a lot more of it than you think (see the next paragraph about the MFP database).

    If you have a medical issue that means you need more potassium than the average person (e.g. due to deficiency) then take supplements. If what you're quoting is the daily recommended amount of potassium (you didn't include units* so I have no idea exactly how much potassium you're talking about), then you'll be able to get enough while meeting your calorie goal. If you're logging potassium on here, then bear in mind that most user entries won't have a value for potassium listed, so you're probably getting a lot more potassium than MFP says. The database here is great for tracking fat, carbs and protein, but all the other nutrients are missing from a lot of entries. That doesn't mean those foods don't contain them though, so you're probably already getting a lot more than you think.

    (*sorry for being the science equivalent of a grammar nazi, but numbers don't mean anything without units and the wrong units can change the quantity by several decimal places)

    Fresh fruit and veg contain potassium. Get plenty of that, and you'll get plenty of potassium. Eat fresh or frozen, the canning process results in loss of potassium and gaining a lot of sodium. Fresh and frozen fruit and veg contain potassium and sodium in the balance required by the body. And don't add salt while cooking (that increases the amount of sodium.... what your body needs is sodium and potassium in the right balance).
  • AccioFitness
    AccioFitness Posts: 244 Member
    Bless this post. I've been feeling frustrated and trying to "fix" the way I ate so I'd finally get the amount of potassium my body needed. Go figure that it may not be me who is the problem! I'll start double checking the nutritional facts and if necessary entering my food manually (I already do 25% of the time so it's not a huge sacrifice on my part lol). Thanks everyone for your help!
  • GardeningZombie
    GardeningZombie Posts: 55 Member


    (*sorry for being the science equivalent of a grammar nazi, but numbers don't mean anything without units and the wrong units can change the quantity by several decimal places)

    While the OP may have left out the measurement, this number is not exactly left in a vacuum. In fact there are only three measurements of required nutrients: g, mg, ug. g of course are for the big three: protein, carbohydrates, fats (one could include fiber, depending on syntax). mg measure the more common minerals: calcium, magnesium, zinc, and a few vitamins: vitamin C, E, B6. ug measure heavier metals, selenium, copper, as well as vitamin A and D. This is not an exhaustive list, but a pretty good generality.

    All I'm saying is that message board don't always convey what we want them to, so it is best to understand the context.

    Now, if you will excuse me, my dinner is 30 away, and I need to get there before it gets cold!
    :wink:
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    Never mind, potassium is hard to find because it will kill you. kk problem solved.

    It's not really so much that too much potassium will kill you - healthy kidneys actually manage potassium levels pretty well (there is actually no established upper limit on how much healthy adults can consume).

    Although, this is commonly why people think it comes in small dosage pills (100mg max).

    The (kind of weird) problem with potassium pills is that too much potassium in one spot in your stomach can be bad on your stomach (ulcers, bleeding, etc). You can buy liquid supplements that are > 100mg since they don't have the pill problem.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member


    (*sorry for being the science equivalent of a grammar nazi, but numbers don't mean anything without units and the wrong units can change the quantity by several decimal places)

    While the OP may have left out the measurement, this number is not exactly left in a vacuum. In fact there are only three measurements of required nutrients: g, mg, ug. g of course are for the big three: protein, carbohydrates, fats (one could include fiber, depending on syntax). mg measure the more common minerals: calcium, magnesium, zinc, and a few vitamins: vitamin C, E, B6. ug measure heavier metals, selenium, copper, as well as vitamin A and D. This is not an exhaustive list, but a pretty good generality.

    All I'm saying is that message board don't always convey what we want them to, so it is best to understand the context.

    Now, if you will excuse me, my dinner is 30 away, and I need to get there before it gets cold!
    :wink:

    my advice was different depending on whether what she's trying to get is the usual amount of potassium that everyone needs, or if she needs to get a significantly greater amount than the general population. The difference between g and mg, and between mg and micrograms, is three decimal places, and three decimal places is a big difference in that context. Normal amount of potassium required = eat lots of fresh fruit and veg. Needing significantly more due to medical issues = take supplements and a lot of my other advice on the post would be irrelevant. I couldn't tell which of those would be applicable from the info she gave.

    And my apology above, which was lighthearted, was apologising for asking for the units - which I did because I didn't know if she was trying to get a typical amount of potassium or much more than usual. It's probably the first time I've ever pointed out someone's lack of units, because in this case, it actually mattered in terms of the advice to take. In other words, I wasn't being pedantic.

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