Potassium is one of the more important nutrients in our diet, and the recommended daily dietary intake is 4700mg – but few of us actually get even close to that figure (you may need more or less potassium depending on your body and if you have certain medical conditions). Sure, you can take dietary supplements, but that’s really the wrong way to go about it – here are some healthy, potassium rich foods you can easily include in your diet:
Bananas (358 mg / 100 g)
Bananas are the “famous” foods when it comes to potassium, and for good reason. Their potassium content is quite high, and while other foods may have even more potassium, bananas will certainly do the job.
Prunes (730 mg / 100 g)
OK, at least as far as fruits go, prunes definitely take the crown! With more than double the potassium content of bananas, prunes are drastically underappreciated. They also contain lots of fiber and magnesium.
Potatoes (421 mg / 100 g)
Potatoes often get a bad rep for having lots of carbohydrates, but when it comes to potassium, potatoes do really good. Sweet potatoes have even more potassium according to some sources, though Google’s nutrition facts tends to disagree. Either way, potatoes have a lot of potassium. Carrots come in at 320 mg / 100 g.
White beans (1,795 mg / 100 g)
White beans is simply the richest food in potassium I managed to find. Its other relatives come in close, with black beans at almost 1,500mg/100g, lentils at 955 mg/100g, chickpeas at 875, and boyled soybeans at 515. Beans have a lot of potassium people.
Avocado (485 mg / 100g)
Aside for potassium, avocados have a lot of vitamin C and a lot of fat and fiber.
Spinach (558 mg / 100g)
Spinach, as well as all other dark leafy plants have a lot of potassium. Spinach itself has huge quantities of Vitamin A (you can get all your daily requirements from just over 50 g), as well as Vitamin C.
Yogurt (141 mg / 100g)
Yogurt always seems to come up on the list of “foods high in potassium”, but from what I could find, it’s not really among the richest ones. Sure, yogurt come in many types, but the average value seems to revolve around 150 mg / 100 g. Still, it deserves an honorable mention on this list.
Garlic (400 mg / 100g)
You’re pretty much never going to actually eat a lot of garlic, but still – the overall potassium quantity in garlic is certainly noteworthy.
White Mushrooms (318 mg / 100g)
I mentioned white mushrooms because they seem to be the most common these days, but potassium content in mushrooms naturally varies from species to species. Chanterelle mushrooms for example have 506 mg per 100g.
These are just some of the foods you can include in your menu to ensure you satisfy your body’s daily potassium requirements. All these numbers were obtained from Google’s Nutrition Facts, and it should be kept in mind that they are just estimates and can vary significantly based on the source of the food (how it was grown and so on). The point of this article is not to convince you to eat these foods, but rather to help you find ways to healthily complement your diet
