Potassium

drblythe · February 2011

I've been making a pretty big effort to make sure my nutrient levels are all where they should be and am fine with Vitamin A, B and Iron (with the help of an iron supplement).

However, I've noticed I never seem to get anywhere near the recommended Potassium intake. we're talking 500mg out of a recommended 3300mg!!

I've just looked up online and it says that most of the food I eat are quite high in potassium however it is not necessary for companies to identify potassium quantities on food labels.

So am I lacking potassium in my diet or is it simply that when food has been entered into MFP potassium hasn't been included properly in the foods nutrients list?

Any thoughts?

thektturner · February 2011

I have no help or advice, but I have been noticing the exact same thing. I get about 1/2 what MFP wants me to get *on a good day*.

rjlam · February 2011

It's possible that it has not been entered properly. Having said that, my best advise is if you are concerned about your potassium levels, go see your family doctor and have some blood work done to see where your levels are at. You should never take a potassium supplement unless it has been prescribed by your doctor. The reason I say this is too much potassium can be dangerous for your heart. Hope this helps.

kimwig · February 2011

I've been making a pretty big effort to make sure my nutrient levels are all where they should be and am fine with Vitamin A, B and Iron (with the help of an iron supplement).

However, I've noticed I never seem to get anywhere near the recommended Potassium intake. we're talking 500mg out of a recommended 3300mg!!

I've just looked up online and it says that most of the food I eat are quite high in potassium however it is not necessary for companies to identify potassium quantities on food labels.

So am I lacking potassium in my diet or is it simply that when food has been entered into MFP potassium hasn't been included properly in the foods nutrients list?

Any thoughts?

Many of the foods on MFP database do not seem to have potassium levels included (some do not even have sodium so that is more worrisome). If you have a balance diet you would meet your potassium levels.
These foods are high in potassium
raisins
prunes
apricots
dates
strawberries
bananas
watermelon
cantaloupe
citrus fruits
beets
greens
spinach
tomatoes
mushrooms
soy products
peas
beans
turkey
fish
beef
salmon

So if these are in your diet ( and a balanced diet would include many of these) you probably have enough.

I think there are similar issues with foods on the database regarding iron, vit c etc, etc

pocketsam · February 2011

I eat a lot of bananas! Love them but also bought some coconut water last week which has something crazy like the equivalent of 20 bananas.

I think its an acquired taste because drinking it plain I struggled whether to swallow it or throw it or spit it out but worked just fine in post workout shake. A quick low cal way to get it into your diet though.

Hope that is helpful!

kadye · February 2011

It's pretty hard for potassium to get outside of the normal range in healthy people. Usually kidney issues, severe diarrhea, or taking diuretics affect it. You would know if it was out of whack because it really makes you feel bad. Too high leads to nausea, muscle weakness and fatigue. Too low may cause cramping, heart palpitations.

stamper44 · February 2011

I too noticed that checking Nutrients showed that sodium/potassium balance was way off, and potassium seemed way low. Yes, many entries in the DB lack an entry for potassium, even for things like beef, pork, fish. And I didn't want to add a whole new item just for each individual one where the potassium (and probably other elements) was not there. I was willing to look up the full nutritional analysis for each item, but that's a real pain and time consumer. MFP is really helpful, but disappointing in not having accurate complete info. And, yes, I know that much info is user contributed. Thanks. It helps. And, yes, I know that you often cannot get the full nutritional analysis for brand name food items, and even if you could, the manufacturer may change the formulation.
Perhaps the ability to add a personal note on each food item would allow me to save the value of interest after I look it up, without altering the general database. At this point I can't copy what is there into my own food Such a copy function would be useful.

While I'm going on, in a similar vein is how people seem to misunderstand Total carbs vs. Net carbs. Saw this error in using a Ruby Tuesday entree. RT posts Fiber and Net carbs. Not Total carbs. MFP carb entry is for Total carbs first. So, if one is entering an item, could all of you please put it in the right place. Carb tracking is important for those of us on low carb diets, and an error like this makes MFP tedious and misleading.

Thanks My Fitness Pals.

jennylynn84 · February 2011

Unfortunately there's not much the individual user-enterer can do about potassium when entering it into the database. The FDA doesn't require nutrition labels to include potassium. So if my yogurt doesn't say its potassium level, what am I to do about it? I know its in there, but how much? I'd just try to keep in mind what you're eating and if you're getting enough.

crystal_sapphire · February 2011

In canada (or at least my province) doesn't include potassium on the label. So I never reach the 3500. I take a supplement though for other reasons.

cmriverside · February 2011

Here's a good site for looking up Potassium (there's a chart and menu plan). MFP is a bit lower than the recommended Potassium on this site. I've been tracking Potassium for a while. It certainly forces you to eat more fruit and veggies.:laugh:

http://www.krispin.com/potassm.html

Formula for daily potassium goal:
Your Ideal Body Weight in pounds times 40 mg. =_________ mg. per day.
Your Ideal Body Weight in kilos times 88 mg. =__________ mg. per day.

Examples: 130 lbs. equals 5,200 mg. a day.
Example: 70 kilos equals 6,160 mg. a day.

Potassium

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