The variety of healthy foods that contain potassium is extremely wide. This is great for your diet, because in the course of getting your daily dose of potassium, you'll benefit from a long list of other essential nutrients. Potassium-rich foods, such as leafy greens, legumes, fruits and dairy products have high concentrations of this mineral that aids many nervous system functions, including your heartbeat. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that adults get 3,500mg of dietary potassium per day.
Identification
The superstars of potassium foods are spinach, soybeans and other dry cooked beans. Beets, collard and mustard greens are similar healthy foods that are rich in iron as well as potassium. So are legumes, including split peas, lentils and pinto, black and kidney beans, which are protein-rich foods. Raisin bran cereals and blackstrap molasses are more good mineral sources. Milk, tomatoes, bananas, potatoes and sweet potatoes, plus some meats and fish, contribute substantial amounts of potassium.
Features
The variety of sources and nutrient density of individual foods enrich your diet as health experts suggest. With a range of vitamins and minerals in relatively small calorie amounts, potassium-rich foods help you keep your weight down while still providing adequate daily nutrition. This is evidenced by low-calorie fruits and vegetables, such as apricots, peaches, plums, spinach, tomato products, and fish, such as cod--all items under 100 calories that have about half the daily dose of potassium.
Function
Foods rich in potassium perform their role in metabolism as electrolytes that assist muscle contraction and other functions. The additional nutrients they contain, including vitamins, dietary fiber, protein, calcium, magnesium, iron and other minerals, are essential in daily doses as well. Food sources with higher calorie, fat and cholesterol totals, such as turkey and chicken, are less efficient at potassium delivery than more healthy foods, such as fish or beans.
Significance
If you don't get your daily dose of potassium or if your body doesn't retain it due to a health condition or a medication you are taking, your mineral level may drop quickly. Arrhythmia, muscle weakness or spasms, and even paralysis of the lungs can result. Life-threatening situations may require intravenous potassium administration.
Prevention
You can avoid mineral imbalance problems by making sure you get the right amount of potassium from healthy foods. Making bananas, yogurt, refried beans and cooked spinach a part of your usual diet will put your potassium plan on automatic. In checking the nutrition facts on food labels, look for 20 percent daily value (DV) of potassium or more. The FDA considers these food sources high in nutrient content.
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