Your diet is an excellent tool for achieving your mineral requirements, improving your blood pressure or treating kidney problems that are affected by potassium. You may need more or less potassium from your diet, depending on your age and medical condition. Adolescents 9 to 13 years of age should get 4,500 mg and individuals 14 and up should consume 4,700 mg of potassium per day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The potassium in the fruits and nuts you eat can make a difference in your mineral levels. Consult your doctor before changing your potassium intake.
Fresh Fruits
Fresh fruits maintain their natural potassium ratios among their vitamin C and other nutrients. If you need more potassium in your diet, select 1 cup of fresh bananas, with 537 mg; tomatoes and cantaloupes, 427 mg; papayas, 360; oranges and peaches, about 325 mg; and grapes, 306 mg. Low-potassium fresh fruits such as raspberries have 186 mg of potassium; strawberries offer 154 mg; and apples 99 mg, in a cup of whole berries or cut fruit.
Canned and Frozen Fruits
Heat processing and added ingredients can raise or lower the amount of potassium in fruits, so check the package nutrition facts to know where you stand with canned and frozen fruits. At 285 mg of potassium per 1 cup, frozen raspberries, for instance, have far more mineral content than fresh berries. Frozen strawberries, at 150 mg per cup, have about the same potassium content as fresh ones. Canned fruits in juice tend to have more potassium than those packed in heavy syrup. One cup of juice-packed peaches and pineapple offers more than 300 mg of potassium, while applesauce and juice-packed pears average about 200 mg.
Dried Fruits
Drying fruits concentrates their mineral content. Increased calories prompts smaller suggested serving sizes. Dried apricots have 407 mg of potassium per 10 halves, while five dates provide 272 mg. Five prunes contain 307 mg of potassium, but the mineral content of stewed dried prunes climbs to 796 mg per 1 cup. A small packet of raisins has 106 mg potassium, while a full cup contains 1,086 mg.
Nuts
The potassium in nuts remains about the same whether they are raw, dry roasted or oil roasted. One oz. of pistachios delivers 295 mg of potassium, while almonds offer 200 mg. Pecans and walnuts have about 120 mg of potassium, cashews have 160 mg, and Brazil nuts have 187 mg. At 103 mg per 1 oz., macadamia nuts have the lowest mineral content, and peanuts, which are legumes but are frequent additions to nut mixes, have 187 mg in 1 oz.
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