What are the best natural sources of potassium?

Potassium is a mineral that is essential for the body to work appropriately. This electrolyte is necessary for nerve functioning and muscle contraction, maintaining heartbeat, and helps to supply nutrition into cells while discharging the cell waste. Potassium is significant in balancing sodium and fluid in the body. Today matter of the subject of the Better Weigh Medical will be the best natural sources of this precious mineral and its usage in the everyday diet for achieving its optimal level and beneficial propositions.

Potassium daily intake

Low levels of potassium can infect increased blood pressure, kidney disorders such as stones, and withdrawal of calcium from the bonus. Besides poor diet, potassium deficiency can happen during health conditions like vomiting, sweating, and diarrhea, and manifests through fatigue, muscle weakness and cramps, and constipation. This potassium deficit condition is known as hypokalemia. On the other hand, sufficient potassium in the body is called hyperkalemia.

Before we continue to enumerate potasss nossing can reduces the potassium values in food products. The advice is to consume food te that procewithout “leaching” (soaking vegetables in water at least two hours before intaium-rich food, let’ke) and as fresh as it is possible to preserve the amount of this valuable substance. Processed food is rich in sodium while fresh is rich in potassium. Nonetheless, most minerals have stable nutrients regardless of the cooking heat, so will likely preserve the quantity of potassium content even with cooking.

Because potassium cooperates with sodium, another electrolyte, the high intake of sodium might obstruct the beneficial effect of potassium. The consummation of sodium should be between 1,500 to 2,300 mg daily, to ensure the prosperity of potassium. 

WHO recommends 3,510 mg of potassium daily intake, and meeting this daily advised amount, we suggest this tasty potassium stored food to include in your diet.

Potassium-rich food

Potatoes

Medium sweet potato contains around 700mg of potassium. Although potatoes recently gained a bad reputation cause of the way of cooking (fried in oils, salt, smothered in cheese and creams), the nutrients in a potato are wide in range. Vitamin C, fibers, and iron are also beneficial proportions in consuming tomatoes. Try eating the potato more healthily by baking it in a cooker with salt-free dressing, steaming it with a little chicken, or roasting it with olive oil and herbs while topping it with low-calorie sources instead of butter. The starch in potatoes is a good choice in making soup or broths for its thickening abilities while nutritive supplies.

Dried Fruit

Dried apricots contain between 750 and 1,100mg of potassium per half cup. Dried plums and raisins are also great choices of potassium supply in no fresh fruit seasons. One cup of dried prunes contains 699 mg of potassium. Keep in mind that most dried fruit in the market contains added sugar, and pay attention to the ingredients label.

Legumes and beans

Beans are generally healthy addition to the meal as filled with fiber and proteins. Beans and peas contain approximately  1300mg of potassium per 100g, kidney beans deliver 600-700mg of potassium per cup, black beans carry 400mg of potassium per half-cup, nuts have around 600mg per 100gr, azuki beans, and white beans 600mg per half cup, pinto, lima beans, and Great Nothern beans 450mg per half-cup, navy and canned refried beans around 350mg per half-cup. One cup of lentils contains 731mg of potassium. Before consuming any kind of legumes or beans it’s important to rinse them well to remove sodium.

Prepare delicious soups and broths with preferred legumes or add dried beans in salat for furnishing daily intake of potassium among other nutrients.

Tomato

Tomato is loaded with potassium but for its best utilization, consume it as tomato puree or juice. This product provides a contracted amount of tomato in a single intake. One medium size raw tomato contains 292mg of potassium, tomato puree contains 549mg of potassium per half-cup, and a cup of tomato juice has 527mg of potassium. Tomato juice can be added to various food recipes while also being drunk on its own. 

Fresh fruit

Banana is a popular and well-known fruit for its potassium-rich advantages with 300mg/100gr. But kiwi is the power fruit when it comes to potassium as well. One small kiwi contains 215mg of potassium which is the almost same amount as in a whole banana. 

Orange is also fruit packed with potassium, one cup of orange juice (200ml) is filled with 500mg of potassium. The same is when it comes to cantaloupe, one cup of orange melon provides 457mg of potassium. Prunes and prune juice are also a great source of potassium with 707mg in a single cup. Other potassium-loaded fruit juices you can consider adding to your diet are:

Carrot juice and passion fruit juice (around 600-700mg), pomegranate juice (533mg), and tangerine juice (450mg).

Avocado is yet another potassium-stacked fruit with 364mg per half of the serving.

Fish and Seafood

Among plenty other reasons why eating seafood is beneficial for health, one is certainly the source of potassium. Particularly wild Atlantic salmon and clams contain around 400mg of potassium per 100gr. Other seafood that offers a high amount of potassium in a 3 oz serving is Mackerel (470mg), halibut (450mg), snapper (444mg), and rainbow trout (380mg).

Milk and Yogurt

 Milk-based products also provide a significant quantity of potassium in dealy basis. A cup of milk has 350mg of potassium while low-fat milk contains even more around 400mg. The lower percentage of fat in milk equals higher content of potassium. Greek yogurts involve 350mg of potassium.

Green vegetables

Vegetable has better beneficial properties when it comes to potassium when cooked instead of consumed fresh. Spinach and cabbage have approximately 550mg of potassium in 100gr while cooked elevate the values up to 840mg per cup. Swiss chard 1,000mg per cooked cup and bok coy 445mg. Amaranth leaves 864mg per cup when cooked and broccoli 460mg. These numbers encourage us to eat green vegetables not only in salads but to cook them in soups and meals for even better advantages of their ingredients.

Final Thoughts

When considering meeting the daily needs of potassium many will turn to supplements in capsules and pills. But, many supplements limit the values of potassium to 99mg which is the 3% of daily recommendations, due to safety concerns. Eating healthy food, being deprived of excess sodium, and keeping the optimal level of potassium is easier with good food choice.