Potassium

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Seanb_us
Seanb_us Posts: 322 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

Aside from eating a bijillion bananas, how do I meet my daily quota of Potassium.

Am 5-7, 225, working out with weights/cardio 50/50 5 days/ week and just want the Potassium to promote recovery. The MFP Potassium number is hard to hit. Supplements seem to offer only 2% of the RDA, so they're no good.

Thanks,

Sean
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Replies

  • Kminor67
    Kminor67 Posts: 900 Member
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    Multi-vitamins?
  • ckdub428
    ckdub428 Posts: 453 Member
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    orange juice
  • Larius
    Larius Posts: 507 Member
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    I think when most people enter foods they often don't enter the potassium. So, you are probably getting more than MFP shows. Other potassium rich foods include oranges and potatos. Tip: whole wheat foods have ~3 times the potassium of white flour products.
  • kristy_estes21
    kristy_estes21 Posts: 434 Member
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    I just Googled foods high in potassium and got this website.
    http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm
  • Dornroschen
    Dornroschen Posts: 178 Member
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    I may be wrong, but I believe that potassium is a very recent addition to the nutrients that food labels are required to track, and that being the case, some of the foods on here might not register potassium when if fact they do have some (??) You maybe getting all the potassium you really need. Can anyone else confirm this? I'm known for reading random things and then quoting it as gospel.
  • mallorybriann
    mallorybriann Posts: 1,380 Member
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    Coconut milk.
  • anna_lisa
    anna_lisa Posts: 486 Member
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    From what I hear the postassium counts are not super accurate because many do not add the potassium when adding food to the database. You can research sources of potassium online.

    I WOULD NOT TAKE A POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENT UNLESS YOU CONSULT A DR.
    TOO MUCH POTASSIUM CAN BE DANGEROUS VERY DANGEROUS
  • P90XCertifiedCoach
    P90XCertifiedCoach Posts: 369
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    I think when most people enter foods they often don't enter the potassium. So, you are probably getting more than MFP shows. Other potassium rich foods include oranges and potatos. Tip: whole wheat foods have ~3 times the potassium of white flour products.

    I totally agree, it seems the potassium isnt accurate
  • 424a57
    424a57 Posts: 140 Member
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    I WOULD NOT TAKE A POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENT UNLESS YOU CONSULT A DR.
    TOO MUCH POTASSIUM CAN BE DANGEROUS VERY DANGEROUS

    Be leery even of doctors. My step-mother DIED of a potassium overdose (5 heart attacks in a 12 hour period)-- while under her doctor's care at the hospital.
  • Samantharose8akaDebbie
    Samantharose8akaDebbie Posts: 407 Member
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    I agree with the above poster.....be careful.... too much can be very dangerous.
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
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    I found I hadnt been getting 1/'3 of the potassium I was supposed have and didnt realize it until I started getting muscle cramps and constipation. This had been going on for a couple of months. I thought I had a muscle injury not a cramp as I was getting enough sodium.. I Didnt realize that potassium had a hand in that also.
    What I have done is started drinking muscle milk light which has 570mg of potassium, i take a multi-vitamin, eat spinach with my salad and googled high potassium foods to find others. my muscle cramps are almost gone but I still struggle each day to get all the potassium I need... The muscle milk is a great addition.

    I started out eating bananas but they have a higher glycemic index number so I really dont eat them.

    Oh and the Doctors I work for say to NOT take a potassium supplement. For one thing they dont have a lot of potassium in them so you need to take a lot plus having too much can be deadly.
  • Seanb_us
    Seanb_us Posts: 322 Member
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    Thanks, I do take a multivitamin. One. I would not take a Potassium supplement alone or extra multivitamins. Also, am an EMT, so am aware of Potassium's effects on the heart -- but thanks for the heads up. I might go for orange juice -- that seems a good accessible idea (though I don't need the sugar). Looking to just help muscle recovery a little is all. :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,051 Member
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    Yeah, Sean don't supplement potassium. I tracked it for about a year here.

    Here is my favorite site for potassium info, along with a good chart for potassium rich foods. Basically shoot for fresh fruits and fresh or frozen veggies, beans, whole grains, lean meat, nuts, dairy. Green leafy veggies, tomatoes, beans, avocado, fruits. Bananas are a superfood in general, but many fruits have the high potassium like bananas do. Go for a well rounded, fresh, whole food diet.

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


    _________________________________________
  • Dcgfeller
    Dcgfeller Posts: 83
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    I just had bloodwork done the other day for the first time in forever and had perfectly normal potassium levels. According to MFP my "normal" diet is nowhere near the recommended amount...like under half most days.

    Either the databases are off (as suggested) or Im just super good at potassium regulation internally hah.
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
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    Thanks, I do take a multivitamin. One. I would not take a Potassium supplement alone or extra multivitamins. Also, am an EMT, so am aware of Potassium's effects on the heart -- but thanks for the heads up. I might go for orange juice -- that seems a good accessible idea (though I don't need the sugar). Looking to just help muscle recovery a little is all. :)

    Then you know that if your kidneys are normal, excess potassium will simply clear, and I am not aware of any amount of food form that can actually pose a risk. While there is no RDAs on it, the new recommendations are 4700 mgs per day, which is the amount used in the DASH diet. Apparently, it is actually cardioprotective and blunts the effect of sodium on hypertension. That is what I shoot for. A previous poster mentioned coconut milk, and that is brilliant. As well, I use muskmelon (with cantoloupe being a favorite), avocados (1 gram per), sweet potato, and the most common, nonfat milk. The amount in things like gatorade is pitful, and those have far more sodium.
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
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    I just had bloodwork done the other day for the first time in forever and had perfectly normal potassium levels. According to MFP my "normal" diet is nowhere near the recommended amount...like under half most days.

    Either the databases are off (as suggested) or Im just super good at potassium regulation internally hah.

    You can hold on to it if needed, and its functions are primarily intracellular, with extracellular levels (which are what are tested in bloodwork) being just a hint as to what is going on in the cell. Acidotic states, among other things, can interfere with the accuracy of the results. Currently potassium recommendations are for a diet that is intentionally higher than can be used to just maintain the intra/extra cellular levels needed for keeping membrane potential.
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
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    I WOULD NOT TAKE A POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENT UNLESS YOU CONSULT A DR.
    TOO MUCH POTASSIUM CAN BE DANGEROUS VERY DANGEROUS

    Be leery even of doctors. My step-mother DIED of a potassium overdose (5 heart attacks in a 12 hour period)-- while under her doctor's care at the hospital.

    Hyperkalemia is almost always a function of renal failure, not supplementation. Sadly, the people we give supplements to are usually those taking diuretics, often for heart failure, and they are the highest risk group of acute renal failure. They are also very likely to be on insulin, which can mask hyperK for awhile. Healthy kidneys can deal with almost any amount of K. That being said, supplements are not shown to have the same cardioprotective, hypertension blunting effects as food form potassium.
  • Hip_Dancer
    Hip_Dancer Posts: 14
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    I try to use blackstrap molasses as a sweetner. It has 600mg per Tbsp.
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
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    I try to use blackstrap molasses as a sweetner. It has 600mg per Tbsp.

    Incredible! I had no idea. That is super useful info!
  • Dcgfeller
    Dcgfeller Posts: 83
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    I just had bloodwork done the other day for the first time in forever and had perfectly normal potassium levels. According to MFP my "normal" diet is nowhere near the recommended amount...like under half most days.

    Either the databases are off (as suggested) or Im just super good at potassium regulation internally hah.

    You can hold on to it if needed, and its functions are primarily intracellular, with extracellular levels (which are what are tested in bloodwork) being just a hint as to what is going on in the cell. Acidotic states, among other things, can interfere with the accuracy of the results. Currently potassium recommendations are for a diet that is intentionally higher than can be used to just maintain the intra/extra cellular levels needed for keeping membrane potential.

    Interesting info.

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