Replenish your nutritional levels of potassium every day through a variety of healthy foods. You lose some potassium naturally with bodily fluids daily, and your ratio of this electrolyte mineral is crucial to normal heartbeat, blood pressure and muscle function. Proper selections in each food group help you balance your diet as you achieve the 4,700 mg of potassium per day that the Institute of Medicine recommends for proper electrolyte distribution in the body.
Protein Foods
Potassium-rich protein foods will build your daily mineral totals the quickest when you include plant-based protein on menus often. Cooked white beans contain the most, at 1,189 mg of potassium per cup. Kidney beans, lentils, lima beans and pinto beans all have 700 mg or more of potassium per 1-cup serving. Canned clams have 534 mg; pork loin chops offer 382 mg; beef sirloin has 320 mg; salmon has 319 mg; and fried chicken has 221 mg of potassium, all per 3 oz. cooked. Compare these meat sources to 1-oz. servings of pistachios, with 295 mg of potassium, and sunflower seeds, with 241 mg.
Dairy Foods
More mineral boosts come from dairy products, especially yogurt and milk. The American Heart Association recommends 1 percent fat and nonfat varieties for better heart health. Plain nonfat yogurt has the greatest mineral concentration, at 579 mg of potassium per cup. Nonfat milk delivers 382 mg; 1 percent milk, 366 mg; and low-fat cottage cheese, 194 mg, all per 1 cup. An ounce of cheddar cheese has just 28 mg of potassium, with many other cheeses offering similar content.
Fruits
Bananas are known to surpass the values of other fresh fruits, with 422 mg of potassium per fruit. Eating a variety of additional fruits, such as 1 cup of cantaloupes, with 427 mg; kiwis and oranges, with 237 mg per fruit; and apples, with 148 mg per fruit, will contribute consistently to your daily goals. Dried fruits, including raisins and dried apricots, provide about 210 mg of potassium per ounce.
Vegetables
Eat cooked greens frequently for large amounts of potassium, which becomes more concentrated as the vegetables cook down. The 1,309 mg of potassium in a 1 cup serving of cooked beet greens represents the most potassium per standard serving of all foods. Potatoes have high potassium ratios, at 1,081 mg each when you eat them baked with the skin. Cooked spinach offers 839 mg of potassium; winter squash, 494 mg; and tomatoes, 427 mg, all per 1-cup serving.
Grains
Multiple servings of grain foods each day will gradually increase your mineral totals. Cereal varieties with fruit or nuts have the most potassium, with some raisin bran varieties providing up to 346 mg per cup. Regular oatmeal has 164 mg of potassium per cup, 1 cup of cooked brown rice offers 84 mg and one slice of whole-wheat toasted bread contributes 82 mg of potassium toward your daily goals.
References
- National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes, Electrolytes and Water
- American Heart Association; "How Do I Follow a Healthy Diet?"; August 2010
- MedlinePlus: Potassium in Diet
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference -- Potassium
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