Potassium minerals in food sources become dietary potassium when people eat them, and they become available to the human body. Potassium regulates many metabolic processes, including heartbeat. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the diets of many adults and children may lack sufficient potassium for healthy body function. To increase the levels of this mineral, individuals should add more foods that are high in potassium rather than take supplements. Diets with low potassium content will likely need other types of nutrients, such as fiber, that many of these foods can also provide.
Veggies
For the greatest increase in potassium content, consumers can put cooked beet greens on the menu from time to time. This potassium food provides 1,309mg, or nearly one-third the average daily requirement of 3,500mg, as calculated by the FDA.
Other big boosts include food sources such as potatoes at 1,081mg per baked potato; cooked spinach, 839mg per 1 cup; and tomato products such as marinara sauce, 790mg per 1 cup. Adding moderate-content foods like Chinese cabbage, parsnips and pumpkin more often will help preserve consistent dietary levels of potassium.
Legumes
Cooked dry beans, lentils, peas and soy products mark another group of high-content potassium foods. Calorie counts of this energy-dense group require portion control at 1 cup. The USDA Nutrient Database lists canned white beans atop the list for mineral content, at 1,189mg of potassium.
Cooked soybeans, with 970mg, lend their nutritional value to soy items that include veggie burgers, tofu and soy milk. Consumers can choose lima, pinto, kidney, navy and black beans, lentils, split peas and black-eyed peas, among additional legume food sources.
Fruit
The fruit group contains popular potassium foods, such as bananas, kiwi, oranges and cantaloupe, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report. These moderate-content fruits can be supplemented with dried fruits, with higher concentrations of potassium. Eating 1 cup of dates at 1,168mg, raisins at 1,086mg, prunes at 796mg and apricots at 407mg will swiftly increase dietary potassium levels.
Fish
The NIH notes that fish represent healthy choices among animal food sources of potassium. Nutrient-dense fish, such as halibut, rockfish and salmon, provide essential fatty acids along with 581mg or more of potassium in 3-oz. servings.
Meat
All meats contain potassium as well, according to the NIH. Chicken, pork and beef cuts average more potassium content than lamb, at about 320mg per 3-oz. serving.
Seeds and Nuts
Seeds and nuts make convenient additions to baked goods, salads and yogurt to increase dietary potassium content every day. The USDA lists high-content choices that include sunflower seeds at 241mg, pumpkin seeds at 223mg, pistachios at 295mg and almonds at 200mg, all in 1-oz. portions.
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