Potassium is one of the vital minerals necessary to keep good health. Potassium helps in maintaining the water and acid balance in blood and tissue cells. In addition it also assists in muscle building, and transmitting of electrical signals between cells and nerves. For the normal functioning of the heart, kidneys, muscles, nerves, and digestive system potassium is essential.
A balanced diet, as is usually suggested, would help counter potassium deficiencies. However, certain diseases associated to the liver and the kidney would speed up the draining of potassium from the blood. Also some weight loss supplements and drugs, especially diuretics, remove potassium from the body. When the potassium content in the blood decreases it would show up in symptoms such as general fatigue, dry skin, muscle weakness, and unusually slow reflexes.
Rapid development of hypokalemia would affect the functioning of the heart and would result in cardio vascular diseases. Potassium is vital in lowering high blood pressure and also decreases one’s risk to stroke. When your potassium levels are depleted, you would be faced with hypokalemia, which needs to be diagnosed and treated medically. Doctors might suggest increasing your intake of potassium rich foods to complement any other treatments or therapies. Potassium deficiencies are countered by regular intake of potassium supplements and potassium rich food sources.
Sources of potassium :
Potassium is richly present in beef, chicken and fish such as cod, salmon, and sardines. Vegetable sources like peas, tomatoes, leafy greens, lima beans and potato skins and fruits like papayas, bananas, melons, apricots and citrus fruits also contain potassium in levels. The following is a list of potassium rich foods.
Fruits rich in potassium content (more than 200 mg per serving):
- One papaya (781).
- One cup of prune juice (707).
- One cup of cubed cantaloupe (494) or diced honeydew melon (461).
- One small banana (467).
- One-third cup of raisins (363).
- One medium mango (323) or kiwi (252).
- One small orange (237) or one-half cup of orange juice (236).
- One medium pear (208).
Medium potassium content (100-200 mg per serving):
- One medium peach (193).
- One cup of watermelon (176).
- One small apple (159) or one-half cup of apple juice (147).
- One-half cup of peaches canned in juice (158).
- One-half cup of canned pineapple (152).
- One-half cup of fresh, sliced strawberries (138).
Vegetables sources rich in potassium
- High potassium foods (more than 200 mg per serving):
- One cup of tomato juice (535) or chopped or sliced tomato (400).
- One baked sweet potato, with skin (508).
- One-half of a medium avocado (450).
- One-half of a medium potato, with skin (422).
- One cup of fresh or cooked asparagus (288).
- One-half cup of cooked pumpkin (282).
- One-half cup of cooked mushrooms (277).
- One-half cup of fresh Brussels sprouts (247).
- Medium potassium foods (100-200 mg per serving):
- One-half cup of fresh green beans (187).
- One-half cup of fresh carrots (177).
- One-half cup of cooked zucchini, summer squash (173).
- One-half cup of fresh cauliflower (151).
- One-half cup of canned peas (147).
- One-half cup of fresh broccoli (143).
- One-half cup of frozen corn (120).
- Low potassium foods (less than 100 mg per serving):
- One-half cup of cucumber slices (88).
- One cup of iceberg lettuce (87).
- One-half cup of frozen green beans (85).
- Protein rich sources of potassium (more than 200 mg per serving):
- One-half cup of cooked pinto beans (400), lentils (365), or dried peas (355).
- One cup of soy milk (345).
- Three ounces of baked or broiled salmon (319).
- Three ounces of roasted turkey, dark meat (259).
- One-fourth cup of sunflower seeds (241).
- Three ounces of cooked lean beef (224).
- Two tablespoons of peanut butter (214).
