What Is Potassium? | Why Follow a High-Potassium Diet? | Food Choices on a High-Potassium Diet | Suggestions
What Is Potassium?Potassium
is a mineral found in many different foods, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, dried beans, and peas. Potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure and also helps muscles, including the heart, to contract properly.
Why Follow a High-Potassium Diet?
When combined with a low-sodium diet, a diet high in potassium may help lower
high blood pressure. This can help lower the risk of
stroke
and other complications of high blood pressure. If you have kidney problems, you should not follow a high-potassium diet. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet.
Food Choices on a High-Potassium Diet
The below chart shows the healthy foods that are highest in potassium in each food category. If you are eating a high potassium diet to help lower your blood pressure, choose foods from this list. You should also follow a
low-sodium
or
heart-healthy diet.
| Food Category | Food High in Potassium |
|---|
| Grains | - Bran muffin
- Cereal
- Granola or muesli with fruit and/or nuts
- Wheat germ
|
|---|
| Vegetables | - Artichokes
- Avocados
- Beets, beet greens
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Mushrooms
- Parsnips
- Potatoes
- Rutabaga
- Spinach
- Sweet potato
- Swiss chard
- Tomatoes
- Tomato or vegetable juice
- Winter squash
- Zucchini
|
|---|
| Fruits | - Apricots
- Banana
- Cantaloupe
- Dates
- Dried figs
- Grapefruit juice
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Nectarine
- Orange
- Papaya
- Pear
- Pomegranate, pomegranate juice
- Pumpkin
- Prunes, prune juice
- Raisins
|
|---|
| Milk | - Buttermilk
- Low-fat chocolate milk
- Milk
- Soy milk
- Yogurt
|
|---|
| Meats and Beans | - Beans, baked and lima
- Chicken
- Clams
- Crab
- Fish
- Lean ground beef
- Nuts (almonds, Brazil, cashew, hazelnuts, mixed peanuts)
- Pistachios
- Peanut butter
- Pork
- Roast beef
- Seeds (sunflower, pumpkin)
- Turkey
|
|---|
| Fats and Oils | - Avocado
- Nuts and nut butters
|
|---|
Suggestions- Eat a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These foods tend to be naturally high in potassium, in addition to being loaded with other important vitamins and minerals.
- Work with a dietitian to develop an individualized eating plan.
American Dietetic Association. Nutrition Care Manual website. Available at:
http://www.nutritioncaremanual.org. Accessed January 20, 2010.
National Lung, Heart, and Blood Institute website. Available at:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/. Accessed January 20, 2010.
Last reviewed March 2013 by Dianne Scheinberg Rishikof MS, RD, LDN Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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