low potassium

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skampi
skampi Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
According to the daily nutrition chart on the MFP app on my phone, my potassium never gets near the "goal" amt. Should I worry, or does MFP possibly not register the amount of potassium in many foods?

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  • palmerig88
    palmerig88 Posts: 623 Member
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    I don't have an answer but mine is the same way. I do eat a banana most days but it doesn't seem to even take a stab at the daily goal.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    Potassium is not a required mineral on US food labels. Therefore, a lot of entries in the food database do not list the potassium. If you're eating a variety of whole foods, you're probably getting enough potassium. If you don't eat enough veggies and fruits, or other potassium rich foods like salmon and yogurt, you're probably running under the goal.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    Potassium is not a required mineral on US food labels. Therefore, a lot of entries in the food database do not list the potassium. If you're eating a variety of whole foods, you're probably getting enough potassium. If you don't eat enough veggies and fruits, or other potassium rich foods like salmon and yogurt, you're probably running under the goal.

    Exactly this. You are getting a lot more than you think. Potassium is in a lot of foods. It's very high in bananas, potatoes, oranges, tomatoes, spinach, and meats as well as a huge variety of other things.

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=90
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
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    It is correct that many of the database entries do not have potassium listed. I am also tracking potassium, so if I make an entry, I check it prior to adding to diary. If potassium (or any other essentials) of interest are not listed, I go to self.com and look it up, make the entry to the MFP database. You can do the same of course. This is of course difficult with some meals, but I have tried to adopt a philosophy that if I can't measure it, at least an estimate, I can't record it, so I don't eat it.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    I was thinking the same thing but this morning I had 2 Weetabix with 1/4 cup of Raisins and came very close to my pottassium with just those two foods. So raisins to my surprise are very high in pottassium.
  • danarose74
    danarose74 Posts: 5
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    I'm a bit relieved to find that I'm not the only one encountering this problem. I've been mulling over the issue for a few days and last night decided to do a google search on foods that are rich in potassium. Avocados are an excellent source and also one of my favorite foods. Dried apricots and prunes are also rich in this heart healthy nutrient.
    Hope that helps some.

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