Potassium is essential for a healthy heart, low blood pressure, and less fatigued muscles. Eating healthy sources of potassium for your heart will help you feel all around more energized.
Healthy Sources of Potassium for Your Heart
Potassium helps make up electrolytes that fuel your body and replenish minerals that are burned up when you exert energy.
Read More About the Benefits of Potassium
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Foods Rich in Potassium
When looking for foods rich in potassium, the obvious choice is bananas. However, there are plenty of foods that are rich in potassium that are not bananas.
The following are some of these foods and they are as delicious as they are full of potassium.
Avocados
These trendy and popular fruits (that’s right, they’re fruits!) are full of good fats, vitamin K, and folate. Moreover, half of an avocado has 10% of the adequate intake (AI) of potassium with 487 mg. A whole avocado contains 20% of the daily AI.
They also help lower blood pressure, which is why avocados are part of the DASH diet that helps people decrease their blood pressure levels.
Sweet Potatoes
Eating sweet potatoes is a great, nutritious way to get your potassium. One medium-sized sweet potato has 12% of the daily AI.
Furthermore, they are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates, low in fat, and have a small amount of protein. One potato contains 400% of your vitamin A recommended daily intake (RDI).
Spinach
Besides being full of potassium, spinach is also one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables.
For example, it contains 12% of the daily AI, 366% of the vitamin A RDI, 57% for folate, 725% for vitamin K, and 29% for magnesium.
Watermelon
Besides being large, delicious, and full of water, watermelon is a great source of potassium. Simply two wedges of watermelon contain about 14% of the daily AI.
Two wedges also contain about 172 calories, 3.4 grams of protein, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 2.2 grams of fiber, and 0.8 grams of fat. Watermelons are also good sources of magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
Coconut Water
If you’re looking for an alternative to regular water, coconut water is a fantastic choice. It has key electrolytes that help hydrate your body as well as provide energy during exercise.
Just one cup of coconut water has 13% of the daily AI of potassium. Besides being refreshing, it serves as a good source of calcium, magnesium, manganese, and sodium.
White Beans
When we say white beans, we mean a number of different beans such as navy beans, cannellini beans, lima beans, and great northern beans.
While bananas have a lot of potassium, just one cup of any of these beans contains double the amount of potassium as a single banana. One cup of these cooked white beans will yield 18% of the daily AI of potassium.
Furthermore, this one cup also contains from 28%-61% of the RDI for multiple B vitamins in addition to being a great source of iron and plant-based protein.
Black Beans
If you’re ever up for making a dish from Central or South America, chances are they will include black beans as an ingredient, adding both a delicious food and a great source of potassium to your meal.
While white beans contain more potassium, black beans still provide a great amount. One cup of black beans provides about 13% of the daily AI of potassium.
Strive to eat at least 4,700 mg of potassium each day. Make sure to pack snacks with you on the road and to work so that your eating choices are made easier.