Daily intake of about 3,500 mg of potassium from healthy food sources is needed by humans in all stages of growth and maturity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) explains this dietary recommendation in Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Potassium plays key roles in regulating many body functions through its action on the nervous system. It helps the kidneys, heart and muscles perform their jobs, and plays a role in digestion.
Individuals whose potassium levels are affected by disease, medication or aging may suffer heart arrhythmia or digestive upset. To get more potassium, follow a good diet that includes readily available healthy foods. Potassium content refers to that of 1-cup servings unless otherwise noted.
Leafy Greens
Cooked beet greens (1,309 mg potassium) and spinach (839 mg) are your greatest vegetable sources for more potassium. This is because cooking concentrates the mineral in less volume than in raw form. While spinach salad (167 mg) and pickled beets (519 mg) are still healthy foods, they are not considered high in potassium. The Food and Drug Administration defines high nutrient content as 20 percent or more of the recommended daily value.
Dry Cooked Beans
Choose legumes often for good dietary sources of potassium. Cooked dry beans are versatile in soups, entrees and side dishes, and as salad ingredients. Calories are relatively high, so stick to 1-cup serving sizes of white beans (1189 mg potassium), soybeans (green, 970 mg; mature, 886 mg), lima beans (955 mg) and kidney beans (713 mg). If you're looking for ways to get more potassium into children's diets, serve canned "pork and beans" (746 mg) and refried pinto beans (847 mg), which are especially kid-friendly.
Fish and Other Seafood
Enjoy fish for its other beneficial nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, as you incorporate potassium into your diet. Highest on the potassium chart are halibut (1/2 fillet, 916 mg potassium) and rockfish (1 whole fillet, 775 mg). Other significant fish and shellfish sources include salmon (1/2 fillet, 581 mg), clams (3 oz, 534 mg) and scallops (3 oz., 310 mg).
Potatoes
Potatoes demonstrate why cooking and eating habits affect the nutrient content of healthy foods. The flesh of a regular baked potato (1 medium, flesh only, 610 mg potassium) offers adequate nutrition, but eating the skin as well nets you more potassium (1 medium, flesh and skin, 1,081 mg).
Sweet potatoes (1 cup cooked canned 796 mg; 1 medium baked, flesh and skin, about 700 mg) are high potassium foods as well.
Fruits
A good diet already includes fruit, but try these particular potassium-rich choices: raisins (1,086 mg potassium), dates (1,168 mg), prunes (796 mg), papaya (1 whole fruit, 787 mg) and plantains (716 mg). One serving of cooked pasta sauce (790 mg) represents a tomato-based potassium source for everyday entrees.
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