Less famous than iron, magnesium or calcium, potassium is also an essential mineral for our body. And although there are supplements to alleviate its possible deficiency, it is preferable to cover these needs from the diet. Juan A. Latorre Catalá, dietician-nutritionist at the San José Health Center in A Coruña and member of the Specialization Group in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics (GE-NuCyD) of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, helps us learn more about this minerals and which foods have the most potassium.
What is potassium?
Potassium is one of the electrolyte (that is, electrically charged) minerals that are present in blood and other body fluids. It is the third most abundant mineral in the metabolism and participates in numerous vitally important functions.
Potassium functions
Among the essential functions of potassium are “maintaining heart rate, participating in muscle contraction and intervening in nerve transmission,” explains Latorre.
Sports performance
When you exercise, “muscles contract and release potassium. This causes its blood level to increase. After exercise, the concentration of potassium within the cells recovers again and, as a consequence, the concentration in the plasma decreases again. That is why athletes need a greater consumption of potassium than sedentary people,” he says.
In fact, people with little intake of this mineral in their diet, “after prolonged physical effort and with a lot of sweating, could suffer hypokalemia.” In its most serious states, this situation can cause cardiac symptoms, neuromuscular and renal alterations, as described by a study of the Spanish Society of Nephrology.
arterial hypertension
It is often generalized that it is advisable to consume foods rich in potassium to lower blood pressure. “In this case, potassium favors the elimination of sodium through urine. In this way, tension is relieved from the walls of blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure. in hypertensive people”.
In fact, potassium can be useful in the prevention and control of hypertension, “always in people without kidney disease”.
Daily potassium intake recommendation
Although needs vary depending on gender, age and certain situations, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Determine the recommended daily intake of potassium around 3,500 milligrams per day.
In the case of lactating women, this amount rises to 4,000 milligrams per day.
An intake of more than 10,000 milligrams per day could cause hyperkalemia.
List of foods richest in potassium
Latorre highlights that there are many “foods that contain potassium. Potassium is also commonly used as a food additive.”
This expert divides them between those rich in potassium (they offer more than 300 milligrams per 100 grams of edible portion of food); and those very rich in potassium (more than 600 milligrams of potassium per 100 gram serving).
Foods rich in potassium
- whole grains
- Fish and lean meats
- Potato, sweet potato
- Fresh fruits, such as cherimoya, grapes, melon, banana or avocado.
- Vegetables in general, and in particular, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, chard, borage, lamb’s lettuce, arugula, etc.; cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower, and mushrooms, among others.
Foods very rich in potassium
- peanut butter
- Nuts such as walnuts or sunflower or pumpkin seeds
- Dried fruits such as dried apricots, dried figs, dates or dried plums
- Cocoa powder or dark chocolate (more than 70% cocoa)
- milk powder
- grated coconut
- wheat germ
- dried seaweed
- Lupins and other dried legumes, such as soybeans, beans, garrofon (large bean used, among others, in paella)
Tips to optimize the absorption and use of potassium in the body
Although many foods we regularly eat contain potassium, the way they are cooked or consumed can reduce it. Latorre lists some of the processes where potassium is usually lost:
- fruit: If it is consumed boiled and the cooking water is not used.
- vegetables: when boiling them. To preserve it, the cooking water should be consumed in soups and purees.
- potato: When peeling it, cut it into small pieces and soak it or cook it, without using the cooking water
- legumes: In soaking and cooking.
- Nuts with salt: “Increased sodium can lower potassium levels by decreasing absorption.”
- cereals: Refining and cooking decrease the amount of potassium.
At the opposite pole, potassium additives, present in processed foods, such as E501, E508, E202, E340, «can be an important source of this mineral, due to its easy absorption.»
Use of potassium supplements
There are specific pathological situations in which the Your doctor may prescribe potassium supplements.“always with a clear indication of how much and how it should be taken.”
For non-medical use there are potassium supplements “intended primarily for sport practice, like potassium citrate. It is also found in multivitamin and multimineral supplements, as well as in salt substitutes used to replace table salt,” concludes Latorre.
Precautions and guidelines for the consumption of potassium supplements.
Urine is the natural method to eliminate excess potassium in healthy people. When consumed in excess, it puts extra effort on the kidneys. “For this reason, the consumption of potassium supplements should always be done under the supervision of a doctor or dietitian-nutritionist.
And, as a general rule, they are not recommended in cases of:
- Kidney disease, heart problems, or Addison’s disease (adrenal gland disorder).
- Patients who consume drugs that increase potassium concentration, such as ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme), and potassium-sparing diuretics, both medications to treat high blood pressure.
Specific groups that could benefit from dietary potassium supplements
It is advisable to satisfy the requirements of this mineral from foods rich in potassium. However, sometimes it is necessary to supplement it. “It happens either because the needs of this mineral increase, because there are absorption problems or because the consumption of a drug lowers potassium levels. It is common in athletes who do prolonged and intense training, patients with inflammatory bowel disease; or those being treated with thiazide diuretics, a type of medicine to lower blood pressure. Also due to excessive use of laxatives,” says Latorre.
Signs of elevated potassium levels in the body
High levels of potassium in the body only become evident when it is already a serious problem. Although abnormal potassium values could be detected through analytics Before symptoms appear, it is ideal not to exceed your consumption, nor stay below it. “Both excess potassium (hyperkalemia) and its deficiency (hypokalemia) cause serious damage to health,” comments the member of the Specialization Group in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics.
Among the symptoms of excess potassium in the body, the following stand out:
- muscular weakness
- Fatigue
- Paralysis
- Arrhythmia
- Difficulty breathing
- heart attack
The entry What function does potassium have in our health and in what foods is it found? was first published in Nutriiendo.
