Potassium Rich Foods List

Thank you for visiting our page on foods rich in potassium where we will not only provide you with a full and comprehensive potassium rich foods list but we will also provide you with a simple explanation as to what potassium is. There are a great many foods with potassium in them and there are also a number of reasons why we need to consume them regularly, all of which are covered right here in our free guide to potassium foods!

Fortunately there are plenty of foods with potassium in them and not only are they all very tasty but they are also easily obtainable from your local store or supermarket. A few examples of the many brilliant potassium rich foods out there are fruits such as bananas, vegetables such as potatoes and dairy products such as milk! Be careful though as besides a lack of potassium being bad for you, consuming it in excess can also be detrimental to your health too! All will be explained on this page so please read on!

What is potassium?

We are going to begin by providing a quick and simple answer to a question asked by many people 'what is potassium?'. Potassium is a chemical element and one of the essential minerals that our bodies need a regular amount of. Potassium can be absorbed into the body by the consumption of potassium rich foods and also potassium supplements, however foods rich in potassium will provide you with many other nutritional benefits whereby the potassium supplements will only give you potassium.

The main reasons that we require potassium in our bodies is to ensure a safe balance of the PH levels in our bodily fluids and potassium is also involved in regulating other bodily functions and aspects of our composition which include:

• Potassium helps in the regulation of blood pressure
• Potassium helps in the regulation of the nervous system
• Potassium aids the heart and kidneys
• Potassium assists how our muscles work
• Potassium helps our adrenal functions

So that is what potassium is and what is does for our bodies, as you can clearly see there are many reasons why we should be eating potassium rich foods!

Why do we need foods with potassium in them?

As we have explained in the above section on what potassium is, our bodies require a regular amount of potassium in order to stay healthy and function properly. If you don't get enough potassium then you will develop what is known as a 'potassium deficiency' and this can affect your health by resulting in a number of medical conditions that we have highlighted below. There are several ways to ensure that your bodies absorb a sufficient amount and perhaps the most effective of these is to eat foods with potassium in them.

It is a fact that by eating foods with potassium in them that we can ensure we are getting the amount of potassium that we need, but how much is enough? Below we have shown how much potassium is needed per day:

How much potassium do I need per day?

The recommended daily amount of potassium is between 4.5 and 5.0 grams per day.

Our bodies contain approximately 140 grams of potassium.

This is not a difficult amount of potassium to consume each day through foods with potassium in them, however many people still lack this basic amount in their diets.

People who participate in a lot of sporting activities such as athletes can require a high level of potassium in order to compensate for what is lost during their exercising. The potassium that is lost during exercise is through sweat and also from the muscles using it. You will see for example during tennis matches the players eating banana at the change of ends or between sets, this is because bananas are not only a good immediate source of energy but also because they are a food containing potassium.

In our potassium rich foods list further on down the page not only do we advise you what foods are rich in potassium but also how much potassium is actually found in them.

Now we come to an important part of the page, what will happen if you do not consume enough potassium either through potassium supplements or foods with potassium in them. Below are a list of medical problems that can occur if you were to develop a potassium deficiency:

• Increase of blood pressure
• Hypertension
• Weakness of the muscles
• Muscular cramps
• Constipation
• Fatigue
• Cardiovascular irregularities
• Problems with the heart
• Hypokalemia - An excessive amount of potassium in the body

None of the above conditions are desirable and they can be avoided by eating foods rich in potassium on a daily basis.

Potassium rich foods list

Now that you know what potassium is and why we need it, it is time to go over the main part of this page our potassium rich foods list. As you will see there are many foods rich in potassium that are regular everyday foods that you may already eat.

• Raisins (seedless) - 1 cup of seedless raisins weighing approx 5.8 oz - 1,235.9 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 493 calories.
• Raisins (seedless) - 1 small box of seedless raisins weighing approx 0.5 oz - 104.9 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 42 calories.

• Baked potato (with skin & salt) - 1 medium baked potato weighing approx 6.1 oz - 925.6 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 161 calories.
• Baked potato (with skin & salt) - 1 small 1/2 cup serving weighing approx 2.2 oz - 326.3 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 57 calories.
• Baked potato (without salt but with skin) - 1 medium baked potato weighing approx 5.5 oz - 610 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 145 calories.
• Baked potato (without but with skin) - 1 small 1/2 cup serving weighing approx 2.2 oz - 338.5 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 57 calories.

• Lima beans (boiled and drained) - 1 cup of large size beans weighing approx 6.6 oz - 955 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 216 calories.
• Lima beans (boiled and drained) - 1 cup of baby size beans weighing approx 6.4 oz - 729.8 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 229 calories.

• Tomato soup (canned, condensed) - 1 cup weighing approx 8.9 oz - 574.8 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 151 calories.
• Tomato sauce (not ketchup) - 1 cup weighing 8 fl oz - 811.2 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 78 calories.
• Tomato sauce (not ketchup) - 1 fl oz serving - 101.2 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 10 calories.

• Banana (raw) - 1 small banana weighing approx 3.6 oz - 361.6 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 90 calories. More info about calories in a banana
• Banana (raw) - 1 medium banana weighing approx 4.2 oz - 422.4 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 105 calories.
• Banana (raw) - 1 large banana weighing approx oz - 486.9 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 121 calories.

• Prunes (dried and uncooked) - 1 cup weighing approx 6 oz - 1244.4 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 408 calories.
• Prunes (dried and uncooked) - 1 prune weighing approx 0.3 oz - 61.5 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 20 calories.

• Prune Juice (sunsweet) - 1 cup weighing approx 8.1 fl oz - 530 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 180 calories.
• Prune Juice (canned) - 1 cup weighing approx 9 oz - 706.6 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 182 calories.

• Spinach (raw) - 1 serving of 3 leaves weighing approx 1.1 oz - 158.5 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 7 calories.
• Spinach (boiled and drained) - 1 serving of 1/2 cup weighing approx 3.2 oz - 419.4 milligrams of potassium
  This also has 21 calories.

More information on our calories in food site.

There are plenty more potassium rich foods and these are listed below:

It is vital to remember that when you are buying your potassium rich food that you can see the amount of potassium that is found in it on the label as this has a standard amount of nutritional information as required by the government health standards.

More than potassium rich foods

There are other sources of potassium besides foods with potassium in such as potassium supplements, these are easily available from your local store or pharmacy and can also be purchased on the internet.

Our site is full of much more information that just a potassium rich foods list. We have lists on foods that are high in all of the other essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium as well as the trace minerals including selenium rich foods.

We hope that our potassium rich foods list has been helpful to you and that you will do the right thing for your ongoing health by making sure that you get the recommended daily amount of potassium through the foods rich in potassium that we have covered on this page. If you look around our site you will notice that many of these food potassium foods will crop up on many of the other pages as they are natural and full of the other vitamins and minerals too, so are good for you in a number of ways. If you already knew what the foods containing potassium were at least you will now know exactly what potassium is and the benefits that it brings to the human body.