5 High Potassium Foods That’ll Boost Your Essential Mineral Intake
The food we eat says a lot about our health. A friend once told me that from far of, she can tell the state of a person’s health by looking at what they eat. And she’s right.
If you want to be healthy, you must eat foods that contain the right amount of minerals, vitamins, and nutrients.
Of all those nutrients, potassium is one of the most important. And you must eat foods with enough supply of potassium. The average adult needs at least about 100 milligrams of potassium each day to function.
Despite its importance, very few people get enough potassium.
Why is potassium important?
So what’s the big deal with potassium? Potassium is essential to the body for the following reasons:
Regulates movement of nutrients and waste products
Our body has a mechanism of cleansing itself off wastes. Potassium plays a crucial role in this process. This helps us to stay healthy and potassium-rich foods play a crucial role in that.
Helps in the contraction of muscles and responsiveness of nerve cells
Exercising requires several movements of the muscles. Potassium is an important enable in this process. Eating foods rich in potassium will help you train harder at the gym and also recover faster.
Moderates blood pressure
Studies show that eating food rich in potassium helps to significantly lower blood pressure. Whether you a hypertensive or nonhypertensive, potassium may help control your blood pressure
Reduces the risk of kidney stones
Research in The New England Journal of Medicine linked potassium intake to a reduced risk of kidney stones.
The researchers also found that if you supplement diets with potassium, you the excretion of calcium. This, in turn, helps to reduce the formation of kidney stone
Maintains fluid balance
The averaged body weight contains about 60 percent water. Potassium, together with other nutrients, get to different parts of the body through healthy water intake.
High potassium foods that you should add to your meals
1. Bananas
One of the many benefits of eating bananas is that they are rich in potassium. Potassium helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing the intake of sodium, according to this study.
The study concluded that people who consume 4069 mg of potassium daily have a 49 percent lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease.
High potassium intake also reduces the risk of stroke. Additionally, bananas have magnesium, which also promotes heart health.
But that’s not all. Fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, and C are all nutrients in bananas that promote heart health.
2. Avocado
Avocado is loaded with potassium. Potassium is one nutrient a lot of people find hard to incorporate in their meals. It’s not surprising we do not get enough of it even if we do get them.
The good news is, avocado has a lot more stored in them.
If you did not know, potassium reduces the chances of blood pressure which is a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.
3. Sweet Potatoes
Packed with dietary fiber and low in fat, sweet potatoes are a top-ranked go-to food with high potassium.
It also ranks low on the glycemic index (GI) scale. The GI is a measure of how fast or slow foods cause blood glucose levels to rise.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of complex carbs and potassium. A medium-sized sweet potato has about 541 mg of potassium.
I like to bake my sweet potatoes. Wash and dry them, poke a few holes in them using a fork and rub it up with olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and then let it bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Add them to other vegetables and enjoy!
4. Tomatoes
Tomatoes is a leading fruit (yes, fruit) packed with powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants include lycopene which helps in the detoxification process.
Lycopene protects the liver from damage thereby allowing it to function fully. This contributes to how the body removes toxins and cleanses itself.
5. Beans
White beans are an excellent source of potassium. A cup of white beans has double the potassium in a banana and can help you increase your potassium intake.
Besides, beans not only have a healthy dose of fiber but also are rich in proteins and carbohydrates.
Eating beans is comparable to the superfood with a good amount of all the vital nutrients in one bite.
