The potassium in a healthy diet helps maintain cellular metabolism and electrical stimulation in the heart. People who try to improve their eating habits, however, must take care not to increase the undesirable nutrients as they bump up the essential ones.
Good potassium food sources include those that carry small fat, sugar and calorie loads, according to the USDA. Cooks and dieters can find high potassium among plant-based foods and low-fat animal-based foods, many of which naturally limit the less desirable nutrients.
Vegetables
The FDA defines high potassium as 700 mg or more per 1-cup serving of a total 3,500 mg needed daily. Certain vegetables shine in this high-content category, with cooked beet greens topping the list at 1,309 mg and cooked spinach providing 839 mg. A baked potato offers 1,081 mg and a baked sweet potato 694 mg.
Additional good potassium vegetables include winter squash and tomato products. One cup of tomato-based marinara sauce for pasta, for example, contains 790 g of potassium.
Legumes
Dry cooked beans, peas, lentils and soybeans have similar high potassium counts. Navy and kidney beans, split peas, lentils, lima and pinto beans and soybeans have from 708 mg to 970 mg per cooked cupful.
The National Institutes of Health note that soy products such as veggie burgers naturally add good potassium to a healthy diet. Soy nuts, a baked snack, and refried bean dip both make potassium-rich snacks. Peanuts offer a moderate 187 mg per 1-oz. serving.
Animal Products
The NIH reports that all animal-based foods contain potassium, but some contain unwanted saturated fat. Fish choices for a healthy diet include rockfish, salmon and halibut, with as much as 916 mg per fillet.
Beef such as top sirloin contains a moderate amount of potassium, at 320 mg per 3-oz. serving, with chicken and pork offering comparable amounts. Sardines and beef jerky provide protein as well as potassium in a quick snack.
Fruits
Dried fruits make good potassium sources, but the USDA recommends limiting their quantities due to the concentrated sugar content. Sprinkled on cereals and salads, or eaten as snacks, however, prunes, raisins and dates all deliver high potassium with low calories, ranging from 796 mg to 1,168 mg in 1 cup.
The NIH suggests additional potassium fruits as snacks, such as bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, citrus fruits and dried apricots, which have five times more mineral content than raw apricots.
Nuts and Seeds
Eating nuts and seeds requires the same restraint as eating dried fruits, due to their calories from fat ratio. The USDA considers these foods essential to a healthy diet, however, in part due to their potassium contributions.
One ounce of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, for instance, delivers 223 mg to 241 mg in about 165 calories. Almonds, cashews and pistachios have similar mineral and calorie counts.
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