How to Eat For Your Daily Dose of Potassium
Bananas are great sources of potassium, but eating one of these yellow fruits won't be enough to supply your body with the recommended daily intake (RDI) of this important mineral. Every day, you need to make sure to get 4,200 mg of potassium for digestion, to maintain healthy blood pressure, to carry out muscle contractions, and also for proper nerve, kidney, and heart functions. Since potassium is found in so many nutritious foods, you shouldn't have any problems getting your RDI. If you're not sure you're hitting the mark, I made a chart of what I ate yesterday to consume my daily potassium. To see it, read more.
| Meal | Food | Potassium (mg) |
| Breakfast | 6 oz. Stonyfield Farms low-fat vanilla yogurt | 367 |
| 1 cup of GoLean Crunch cereal | 300 | |
| 1 small sliced banana | 362 | |
| 6 oz. orange juice | 332 | |
| Lunch | 2 outer leaves of romaine lettuce, chopped | 140 |
| 8 baby carrots, sliced | 190 | |
| 1/2 cup sliced cucumber | 76 | |
| 1 small celery stalk, sliced | 44 | |
| 1/4 medium red pepper, diced | 63 | |
| 1 plum tomato, sliced | 147 | |
| 1/2 avocado | 487 | |
| 7 walnuts, chopped | 123 | |
| 1/2 cup garbanzo beans | 206 | |
| 25 raisins | 24 | |
| Optional Snack (for pre-workout) |
4-oz. cup of lowfat cottage cheese | 109 |
| 1/2 cup diced cantaloupe | 208 | |
| Dinner | 3 oz. grilled halibut | 490 |
| 2 cups spinach, steamed | 335 | 1 small baked sweet potato | 285 |
| Total potassium intake | 4,288 mg |
It really isn't that hard to get enough potassium, as long as you include a variety of fruits, veggies, and lean protein. If you're interested in knowing what other foods contain potassium, check out this list.
