Potassium is a mineral that’s essential for the body to function properly. It helps conduct nerve impulses, regulates heart rate and blood pressure, and plays a role in muscle contraction.
Potassium is also important for bone health—it’s required for the body to absorb calcium from food.
In terms of dietary sources of potassium, most fruits and vegetables are rich in this mineral. For example, bananas contain about 420 milligrams (mg) per medium-sized fruit; a cup of cooked spinach has 926 mg; and one medium tomato contains about 22 mg.
While it’s possible to get plenty of potassium just by eating a healthy diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables, some foods are especially high in this nutrient. Here are some examples:
-One medium avocado contains 684 mg of potassium—more than half of your daily recommended intake (RDI)!
-A cup of cooked broccoli contains 350 mg of potassium, which is about one-third of your RDI.
Food With The Most Potassium
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Food Sources of Potassium
- How Much You Need
- On the Label?
- Why You Need Potassium
If you’re like most people in the U.S., you likely don’t get enough potassium in your diet.
Like calcium and sodium, potassium is a mineral that’s found in some foods. Having the right amount of potassium in your diet helps to keep you healthy, so it’s crucial to eat plenty of potassium-rich foods.
Food Sources of Potassium
Many of the foods that you already eat contain potassium. The foods listed below are high in potassium. If you need to boost the amount of potassium in your diet, make healthy food choices by picking items below to add to your menu.
Many fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in potassium:
- Bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, apricots, grapefruit (some dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins, and dates, are also high in potassium)
- Cooked spinach
- Cooked broccoli
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Peas
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Pumpkins
- Leafy greens
Juice from potassium-rich fruit is also a good choice:
- Orange juice
- Tomato juice
- Prune juice
- Apricot juice
- Grapefruit juice
Certain dairy products, such as milk and yogurt, are high in potassium (low-fat or fat-free is best).
Some fish contain potassium:
- Tuna
- Halibut
- Cod
- Trout
- Rockfish
Beans or legumes that are high in potassium include:
- Lima beans
- Pinto beans
- Kidney beans
- Soybeans
- Lentils
Other foods that are rich in potassium include:
- Salt substitutes (read labels to check potassium levels)
- Molasses
- Nuts
- Meat and poultry
- Brown and wild rice
- Bran cereal
- Whole-wheat bread and pasta
How Much You Need
Women should get 2,600mg and men should get 3,400mg of potassium every day. Most Americans don’t meet that goal.
Your needs might be different if you have kidney disease. Some people with kidney disease should get less potassium than the guidelines. If your kidneys don’t work well, too much potassium could stay in your body, which can cause nerve and muscle problems. If you have kidney disease and your doctor hasn’t already told you what your potassium limit is, ask about it.
On the Label?
For a long time, potassium wasn’t listed on the Nutrition Facts food labels of packaged food items. But in May 2016, the Nutrition Facts rules were changed, and potassium will now be listed. Companies will need to update their food labels on or before January 2020. That should make it easier for you to track your potassium intake for better health.
Why You Need Potassium
For starters, it helps your blood pressure. It does this in two different ways:
- First, with the aid your kidneys, potassium helps remove extra sodium from your body through your urine. This is a good thing, because too much sodium can cause high blood pressure.
- Second, potassium helps the walls of your blood vessels to relax or loosen up. When they’re too tense or rigid, it can lead to high blood pressure, which can cause heart problems. Getting enough potassium is good for your heart.
You also need enough potassium for good muscle health — so that your muscles can flex or contract the way they should. And your nerves need potassium so that they can work well.
sources of potassium
Potassium is an essential mineral that is needed by all tissues in the body. It is sometimes referred to as an electrolyte because it carries a small electrical charge that activates various cell and nerve functions. Potassium is found naturally in many foods and as a supplement. Its main role in the body is to help maintain normal levels of fluid inside our cells. Sodium, its counterpart, maintains normal fluid levels outside of cells. Potassium also helps muscles to contract and supports normal blood pressure.
Recommended Amounts
The U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes state that there is not enough evidence to establish a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for potassium. However, the National Academy of Medicine has established an Adequate Intake (AI) for potassium. [1]
- For women 14-18 years of age, the AI is 2,300 mg daily; for women 19+, 2,600 mg. For pregnant and lactating women, the AI ranges from 2,500-2,900 depending on age.
- For men 14-18 years of age, the AI is 3,000 mg; for men 19+, 3,400 mg.
It is estimated that the average daily intake of potassium in adults is about 2,320 mg for women and 3,016 mg for men. [2]
Potassium and Health
The functions of sodium and potassium in the body are closely related and often studied together.
The interplay of potassium and sodium
Potassium and sodium are closely interconnected but have opposite effects in the body. Both are essential nutrients that play key roles in maintaining physiological balance, and both have been linked to the risk of chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease. High salt intake increases blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, while high potassium intake can help relax blood vessels and excrete sodium while decreasing blood pressure. Our bodies need far more potassium than sodium each day, but the typical U.S. diet is just the opposite: Americans average about 3,300 milligrams of sodium per day, about 75% of which comes from processed foods, while only getting about 2,900 milligrams of potassium each day. [3,4]
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that:
- People who ate high-sodium, low-potassium diets had a higher risk of dying from a heart attack or any cause. In this study, people with the highest sodium intakes had a 20% higher risk of death from any cause than people with the lowest sodium intakes. People with the highest potassium intakes had a 20% lower risk of dying than people with the lowest intakes. But what may be even more important for health is the relationship of sodium to potassium in the diet. People with the highest ratio of sodium to potassium in their diets had double the risk of dying of a heart attack than people with the lowest ratio, and they had a 50% higher risk of death from any cause. [5]
- People can make a key dietary change to help lower their risk: Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, which are naturally high in potassium and low in sodium, but eat less bread, cheese, processed meat, and other processed foods that are high in sodium and low in potassium.
Is there any research behind Acid-Alkaline Diet claims?
You may have heard of an acid-alkaline diet promoted for weight loss or cancer prevention. It became popular when authors claimed that eating certain “alkaline” foods could counterbalance the effects of a high “acidic” diet that might otherwise lead to various chronic diseases. Most health experts rejected these claims because it is nearly impossible to dramatically change the pH of blood in healthy people through diet alone. The body tightly regulates the pH level in blood to about 7.4, because swinging to either extreme of too acid or alkaline can be life-threatening.
However, there is some truth that the metabolism of certain foods can create bicarbonates, which neutralizes acids in the body. [1] Potassium-rich foods that have an alkalizing effect include fruits, vegetables, almonds, and lentils. One theory suggests that a long-term high intake of protein foods such as meats, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs, as well as cereal grains may create a condition called low-grade metabolic acidosis due to their high sulfate and phosphate content. [10,16] This occurs particularly if the diet does not contain enough counterbalancing potassium-rich foods. The condition is sometimes referred to as the ‘‘acid-ash hypothesis,’’ which may cause a very slight drop in blood pH, though still falling within a normal range. Theories suggest that even a small change such as this may increase one’s risk of developing conditions like kidney stones and bone loss.
BOTTOM LINE: Although theories in this area are compelling, the evidence is still inconsistent and it has not been shown in controlled trials that diet can significantly change blood pH in healthy people. Therefore it is too early to make specific recommendations based on this theory.
Food Sources
Potassium is widely available in many foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Leafy greens, beans, nuts, dairy foods, and starchy vegetables like winter squash are rich sources.
- Dried fruits (raisins, apricots)
- Beans, lentils
- Potatoes
- Winter squash (acorn, butternut)
- Spinach, broccoli
- Beet greens
- Avocado
- Bananas
- Cantaloupe
- Oranges, orange juice
- Coconut water
- Tomatoes
- Dairy and plant milks (soy, almond)
- Yogurt
- Cashews, almonds
- Chicken
- Salmon
Signs of Deficiency and Toxicity
Deficiency
The kidneys work to maintain normal blood levels of potassium by flushing out excess amounts through urine. Potassium can also be lost through stool and sweat. At least 400-800 mg daily from food is needed because of normal daily losses. Any conditions that increase fluid losses beyond normal such as vomiting, diarrhea, and certain medications like diuretics can lead to a deficiency, called hypokalemia. Hypokalemia is most common in hospitalized patients who are taking medications that cause the body to excrete too much potassium. It is also seen in people with inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis) that may cause diarrhea and malabsorption of nutrients.
It is rare for a potassium deficiency to be caused by too low a food intake alone because it is found in so many foods; however an inadequate intake combined with heavy sweating, diuretic use, laxative abuse, or severe nausea and vomiting can quickly lead to hypokalemia. Another reason is a deficiency of magnesium, as the kidneys need magnesium to help reabsorb potassium and maintain normal levels in cells.
- Fatigue
- Muscle cramps or weakness
- Constipation
- Muscle paralysis and irregular heart rate (with severe hypokalemia)
Toxicity
Too much potassium in the blood is called hyperkalemia. In healthy people the kidneys will efficiently remove extra potassium, mainly through the urine. However, certain situations can lead to hyperkalemia: advanced kidney disease, taking medications that hold onto potassium in the body (including NSAIDs), or people who have compromised kidneys who eat a high-potassium diet (more than 4,700 mg daily) or use potassium-based salt substitutes. Symptoms of hyperkalemia:
- Weakness, fatigue
- Nausea, vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Heart palpitations, irregular heart rate
Did You Know?
- The chemical symbol for potassium is “K,” not to be confused with vitamin K.
- Salt substitutes are sometimes made from potassium chloride, which replaces some or all of the sodium chloride in table salt. Although those on salt-restricted diets may benefit from its much lower sodium content, potassium salt has a bitter aftertaste when heated so it is not recommended for cooking. Check with your doctor before trying a potassium salt, because extra potassium can be dangerous for people who have trouble eliminating excess amounts or who are taking medications that can increase potassium levels in the bloodstream