Potassium - WTH?

sathor
sathor Posts: 202 Member
edited December 21 in Health and Weight Loss
according to the metrics MFP gives me, I am supposed to have 3.5 GRAMS of K per day, or....

3500 mg =

Potassium Gluconate supplement pills: 35.3 pills (over 1/3rd a small bottle)
Medium Bananas: 8.3 (875 Calories worth!)
OJ: 7.14 cups (800 Calories)
Raw Spinach: 20 cups (140 Calories, but damn, that's a LOT of spinach. That works out to 0.6 KG, or 1.2# of spinach.
Brussel Spouts: 10 cups ( 380 Calories, 880 grams, or 1.87#)


so seriously, WTH?


http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php

Replies

  • kaydensmom12
    kaydensmom12 Posts: 338
    3500 is the recommended daily value from what I learned in school, but I know that I am no where near it daily. I always worry about it because I know what low potassium can do to your muscles/heart, but I have not had any palpitations or weakness. I plan to talk to the doctor about it when I go in to check my potassium level, but it seems impossible to get enough of it daily.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    There's quite a bit of potassium in a lot of foods (some of them are not listed as such in the db). Potassium is necessary for your body to function properly (unless you have a medical condition for which potassium is dangerous-eg kidney disease). You don't have to eat 9 bananas or 20 cups of spinach to meet your potassium requirement. Fish, beans, some fruits and veggies, even dairy & meat have a fair amount of potassium. A potato can have 1000mg of potassium (in the skin). Have a potatoe and then you only need to eat 12 cups of spinach (or thereabouts). Have a cup of broccoli & a piece of fish with that potatoe and then you only need to eat 6 cups of spinach. Have a tomato and a yogurt and you can get away with 2 cups of spinach-or swap out the spinach for a glass of milk or OJ. Throw in a banana for good measure and presto-you've more than met your potassium requirement. Not hard at all-especially of you look at the actual potassium content in foods and not in the db or on the food label where it's typically not listed.
  • melissachipman123
    melissachipman123 Posts: 64
    I know right it does not seem possible?
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    Morton's Lite Salt.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    I have no problem hitting 3,500 a day in actuality, but my log seldom shows it due to food labeling laws in the US excepting potassium from the necessary minerals displayed on the label. Even my morning coffee has potassium. I eat 5-6 ounces of wild salmon once a week and that has 800mg+. A serving of pistachios has 300+, etc.

    If you're eating whole foods as part of a varied diet high in fruits and vegetables, you're likely meeting this amount. If you're eating mostly processed foods, you might have troubles.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    Since potassium deficiency is rare in developed countries, it is not a requirement for product labeling and many of the foods in the database have lots of potassium, but it's not reflected in the nutritional info.

    I track potassium. It's the only way I force myself to eat enough fresh vegetables and plants.

    Find a site with listings ( I use Krispin) and add it to your foods in the database. Or use the admin-entered foods, potassium is listed in them.

    Supplementing is a bad idea unless recommended by a physician. You probably get enough, it just isn't in the database correctly.
  • lunchgirlie
    lunchgirlie Posts: 101 Member
    A lot of foods don't list potassium content on the labels so don't have the info in the database. I find that if I just log that stuff, I don't hit my goal. But if I look up comparable stuff in the nutrition database, my potassium is often on point or even a little over.
  • jennm72
    jennm72 Posts: 45 Member
    I was told by the doctor tha I needed to up my potassium. I have been doing better, but it is hard to meet recommendations every day.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Some of my go-to foods for potassium are potatoes, spinach, and beans. Black beans have a TON of potassium (about 650mg per cup). Potatoes have over 1,000mg per serving.

    Also, for the database, choose foods without an asterisk beside them. Those are the USDA data, and the potassium content is listed there.
  • amandab1669
    amandab1669 Posts: 86 Member
    Don't worry about not hitting your potassium goal. Most foods don't have it on their label so you will never have an accurate reading of the potassium you are really getting.
  • Raenstoirm
    Raenstoirm Posts: 5
    I am at 2800 so far according to my journal and it is only 12:44 pm here. I think a lot of stuff has a little bit like someone said.
  • runnerjenn0708
    runnerjenn0708 Posts: 400 Member
    UGH - I hear ya .... Leg cramps bad ... doc says UP the potas. and magne. .... now Im struggling with sugar, fats, and what ever else .... Not sure I will ever make it :/
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
    acorn squash - 1 cup = 896 Potassium but ya, I gave up trying to get it every day from food. I just went back on supplements for it :(
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    I believe it! My urologist said that my urine was not acidic enough to keep me from developing kidney stones ( I have had 3, including a massive 14mm one a year ago), and put me on a potassium supplement-- 2160mg a day. When I look at my nutrition info here on MFP, I can see that I was no where close to hitting the RDA of potassium.
  • Billywoo
    Billywoo Posts: 141 Member
    Yogurt is where its at too. Some people on here eat yogurt 3 times a day. Potato's, yogurt, bananas, berries, melon, and pretty much all things green (I think).
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
    I am at 2800 so far according to my journal and it is only 12:44 pm here. I think a lot of stuff has a little bit like someone said.

    And a lot of foods in the data base don't even show the amount of Potassium.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    I am at 2800 so far according to my journal and it is only 12:44 pm here. I think a lot of stuff has a little bit like someone said.

    And a lot of foods in the data base don't even show the amount of Potassium.

    The non-asterisk foods do. Those are the USDA nutritional data that was entered originally into the MFP database. They all have potassium listed.
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