potassium

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rglover69
rglover69 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I don't seem to ever get close to the potassium goal, is it really that important? Can't find a supplement that would bring me much closer. Thanks.

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  • terrenceobrien1
    terrenceobrien1 Posts: 22 Member
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    You have to eat a good quantity of a wide variety of greens and fruits to get the ~5,000 mg most of us need. Supplemental potassium causes gastric problems so you won't see it in doses higher than 99mg. Take a look at my diary.
  • rglover69
    rglover69 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks!
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited June 2015
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    terrenceobrien1 wrote: »
    You have to eat a good quantity of a wide variety of greens and fruits to get the ~5,000 mg most of us need. Supplemental potassium causes gastric problems so you won't see it in doses higher than 99mg. Take a look at my diary.

    Except most of us don't need 5000 mg... More like 3200-3800 mg.

    I've seen doses of 150 mg per pill. Take multiple pills, and do the math... Not that you should supplement potassium. It could be dangerous.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Keep in mind that potassium is not required to be included on labels so many foods that contain it may not show it listed. You are likely getting more than you think.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,775 Member
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    coffee and mushrooms are good sources of potassium, and of course, bananas.
  • Zinka61
    Zinka61 Posts: 563 Member
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    One problem is that potassium is not a nutrient required to be listed on nutritional labels, so often it isn't. And because of this, you'll find that the food listings in the MFP database often don't list potassium, even when there is plenty of it in the food in question. If you eat beans, bananas, etc... you are probably getting more potassium than MFP leads you to believe. Google "potassium content of foods" to get an idea how much you may be eating.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    There is more potassium than sodium in almost every natural food, but added salt during processing drives sodium levels up. Declaration of potassium is not required on food labels, and thus usually omitted, and it rarely shows up in MFP database entries either, because many people don't bother to type it in, even if it is stated on the label. You could check the UDSA database if you are truly concerned; but chances are you are ingesting way more potassium than the MFP report tells you. If your diet includes a variety of whole foods, you'll be fine.
  • comeongethealthyro
    comeongethealthyro Posts: 50 Member
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    bananas & avocados!
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
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    Top 10 foods high in Potassium

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