A healthy adult should aim to consume 3,500–4,700 mg daily from foods. To increase your intake, incorporate a few potassium-rich foods into your diet such as spinach, yams, avocados, bananas, and fish, such as salmon.
Adults should consume about 3,500mg of potassium per day, according to the UK's National Health Service. The average banana, weighing 125g, contains 450mg of potassium, meaning a healthy person can consume at least seven-and-half bananas before reaching the recommended level.
How much potassium is in an egg? One large egg contains about 63 mg of potassium. 1 Eggs are considered a low-potassium food, but check with your doctor or dietitian to find out how often you should eat them.
Dried apricots and almonds are also sources of potassium that are easy to incorporate into a healthy snacking routine. Other sources of the mineral include sweet potatoes, oranges, tomatoes and tomato juice.
What is the best form of potassium to take? A person should prioritize getting potassium from their diet. Sources of potassium include dried apricots, lentils, squash, prunes, potato, kidney beans, and bananas. Apricots offer the most potassium.
There are limited or no options for at-home kits to test potassium levels. If you are prescribed a 24-hour urine test, you will need to collect your urine wherever you are during the day, including at home. However, this testing is still prescribed by your doctor rather than sold as a separate at-home test kit.
Some of the best sources of potassium are dark leafy greens such as spinach, which when cooked has an astounding 1,180 mg per cup, per USDA data. Swiss chard is a close second, with almost 1,000 mg per cooked cup, and even bok choy has around 445 mg per cup when cooked.
Low-potassium fruits:
Apples (plus apple juice and applesauce) Blackberries. Blueberries. Cranberries.
Vomiting, diarrhea or both also can result in excessive potassium loss from the digestive tract. Occasionally, low potassium is caused by not getting enough potassium in your diet. In most cases, low potassium is found by a blood test that is done because of an illness, or because you are taking diuretics.
Low potassium (hypokalemia) has many causes. The most common cause is excessive potassium loss in urine due to prescription medications that increase urination. Also known as water pills or diuretics, these types of medications are often prescribed for people who have high blood pressure or heart disease.
Chicken breast has the most per 3-ounce serving with 332 milligrams, but beef and turkey breast contain 315 and 212 milligrams, respectively. If you don't eat meat but include fish in your diet, salmon has 326 milligrams of potassium, and canned tuna contains 153 milligrams for the same 3-ounce serving.
Sweet potatoes
One cup of boiled sweet potato contains 754 mg of potassium, which is 16% DV. This is more than 1.5 times the amount of potassium in a banana. "Sweet potatoes are packed with fiber which is known to reduce constipation and improve heart health," Pitts says.
A low potassium level can make muscles feel weak, cramp, twitch, or even become paralyzed, and abnormal heart rhythms may develop. The diagnosis is based on blood tests to measure the potassium level. Usually, eating foods rich in potassium or taking potassium supplements by mouth is all that is needed.
Yogurt is a great source of calcium, riboflavin and potassium. One cup (245 grams) of this creamy treat provides you with 380 mg of potassium ( 52 ).
Whole grains, including oats, are considered good potassium sources. One serving of instant or steel-cut oatmeal provides about 130 milligrams of potassium. If you're aiming to increase your potassium intake, you can bring this amount up significantly by adding high-potassium fruit to your oatmeal.
Excessive water consumption may lead to depletion of potassium, which is an essential nutrient. This may cause symptoms like leg pain, irritation, chest pain, et al.
Nuts, seeds, and legumes
These foods have a low level of potassium (less than 200 mg potassium per serving on average).
Peanut butter also gives you some fiber, some vitamins and minerals (including 200 milligrams of potassium), and other nutrients. Unsalted peanut butter, with 5 milligrams of sodium, has a terrific potassium-to-sodium ratio. Salted peanut butter still has about twice as much potassium as sodium.