Foods High in Potassium
It is important to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet consisting of potassium-rich foods. Your body needs this essential nutrient so that it can maintain the proper balance of pH levels in your body fluids. Potassium also plays a key role in regulating blood pressure, bone mass, muscle functioning, a proper heart rhythm and adrenal functioning. Being deficient in potassium can result in hypokalemia or low potassium levels which can lead to many different types of health conditions.
Some of the health problems one could experience with low potassium levels include high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, muscle aches and fatigue, nerve dysfunction, water retention and vomiting. It is therefore essential that you maintain the amount of potassium in your body by ensuring that you are eating a well-balanced and healthy diet. Foods high in potassium are those which have more than 225 milligrams per ½ cup serving.
Babies up to six months old should get 400 milligrams of potassium each day. The recommended daily intake of potassium rises to 700 milligrams daily up to a child’s first birthday. Children under the age of four need 3 grams of potassium daily while kids aged four to eight need 3.8 grams. Pre-teens up to 14 should get 4.5 grams of potassium daily. From the teen years through adulthood, 4.7 grams of potassium are recommended.
Foods high in potassium include brussel sprouts, bananas, avocados, beets, dates, figs, lima beans, oranges, kiwi fruit, cantaloupe, pears, baked potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, squash, low fat milk and plain yogurt. It is quite apparent that foods rich in potassium are plentiful, easy to find and delicious to eat. Almonds, Brazil nuts and peanuts are rich in potassium. These nuts make good between-meal snacks for anyone wishing to raise the level of potassium in their bloodstream.
An adult’s potassium levels normally range from 3.5 to 5.0 milliequivalents per liter or mEq/L. Maintaining a normal level of potassium in your blood by getting enough of this essential nutrient as a part of your regular daily diet can help assure that your bones remain healthy and it may even reduce your chances of having a stroke.
One-third of adults in the western world suffer from high blood pressure and if you are one of them, eating potassium-rich foods can help drop your blood pressure. Eating foods high in potassium can also help to ensure that you avoid future health problems which may include muscle weakness, fatigue, intestinal problems as well as high blood pressure. Studies have shown that people who eat a potassium-rich diet cut their risk of stroke by as much as 38% so it is essential to eat those foods rich in potassium regularly.