Low Potassium Diet
A Guide To Finding Foods High In Potassium
Finding foods high in potassium is really not all that difficult. However, if you are suffering from a potassium deficiency, a high potassium diet is usually the best course of treatment. There are supplements and medications of course, but unless your potassium deficiency is particularly severe, your doctor may prescribe a change in diet as the best course of action.
Potassium is an abundant element; in fact it is the 7th most abundant element on our planet. It does not naturally exist in its pure form, rather it is present in salts and other compounds. Potassium is essential to life, being essential to the functioning of every cell in our body. It is an essential element of life in the plant kingdom as well. We receive our potassium from the foods we eat. Everything we eat will contain at least some potassium, and for the most part, a healthy diet will bring with it sufficient potassium to meet our needs.
Some foods are high in potassium, others not as high. The potato is one of the food items richest in potassium, perhaps the richest. Other foods particularly high in potassium are spinach, beans, oranges, and lentils. Bananas are often suggested for the prevention of cramps, as muscle fatigue and cramping are symptoms of a potassium deficiency, and the banana is a food rich in potassium.
You can fairly easily design a diet rich in potassium around the most popular and best tasting foods. Brown or white rice, nuts, wheat bread, and most milk products including yogurt, are excellent sources of potassium. Most green vegetables, and most fruits and berries, are good sources as well.
It is not only the specific food you eat that may help improve your potassium level, but the amount. Since there is a given amount of potassium in one serving, there will be twice as much in two servings. You may not wish to load up on potatoes or dairy products just to increase you potassium level. That is probably not a good idea, and could eventually affect your waistline. You could however, allow yourself an extra portion of fruits or berries, or an extra helping of spinach.
You will probably be far better off designing a diet around some of the above foods, than by relying on supplements. The use of supplements can place you in a position where you may end up getting an excessive amount one or more elements, including potassium. Also, if you are taking medicines, you need to be a little careful about what supplements you can take, or should not be taking.
Another look at the food items listed above should convince you that they form the basis of a very healthy diet, and finding foods high in potassium isn't so difficult after all.