Potassium
Potassium is the main mineral inside your cells, where it keeps nerves firing and muscles, the heart included, contracting. US guidance is 2,600 mg a day for women and 3,400 mg for men, and most adults eat less than that.
2,600-3,400 mga day for adults, adequate intake (US)
2,000 mg on EU food labels (NRV), the figure behind label percentages
WHO · at least 3,510 mg a day for adults; no upper limit for food
- Most per 100 g 3,427mg Sun-dried tomatoes
- Most per portion 778mg 1 medium potato
- Main sources Beans, potatoes, fruit then milk, fish, meat and nuts
- Inside cells ~30× the level in the fluid around them
Daily amount: the US adequate intake for adults aged 19 and over (NIH). Food figures per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central; per portion, only for foods with a Caltide calorie page.
Foods High in Potassium
Ranked per 100 g, with what a usual portion gives, limited to 3 foods per category. Foods with a Caltide calorie page link to it.
S
Sun-dried tomatoes
1885 mg in 1 cup
3,427mg / 100 g
S
Small white beans
1,542mg / 100 g
S
Soy nuts
1396 mg in 1 cup
1,470mg / 100 g
P
Pink beans
1,464mg / 100 g
M
Molasses
293 mg in 1 tablespoon
1,464mg / 100 g
T
Tomato paste
972mg / 100 g
P
Pistachios
265 mg in 1 handful
Nutrition facts
947mg / 100 g
W
White sorghum bran
852mg / 100 g
S
Sunflower seeds
1224 mg in 1 cup
850mg / 100 g
M
Mixed seeds
1209 mg in 1 cup
834mg / 100 g
C
Currants
777mg / 100 g
R
Raisins
Nutrition facts
744mg / 100 g
Per 100 g vs. a Usual Portion
Why the food that ranks first per 100 g can give less in a real serving.
| Food | Usual portion | Per 100 g | Per portion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banana | 1 medium (120 g) | 326mg | 391mg |
| Potato | 1 medium (200 g) | 389mg | 778mg |
| Kidney beans | 1 cup (180 g) | 401mg | 722mg |
| Salmon | 1 fillet (125 g) | 452mg | 565mg |
| Spinach | 1 cup, raw (30 g) | 582mg | 175mg |
| Pistachios | 1 handful (28 g) | 947mg | 265mg |
The banana is the food most people name for potassium, yet a boiled potato or a cup of kidney beans gives about twice as much per portion.
What Is Potassium?
Potassium is an electrolyte, a mineral that carries an electric charge when dissolved in body fluids. An adult body holds about 140 g of it, and almost all of it is inside cells, where its concentration is about 30 times higher than in the blood.
What Potassium Does in the Body
That difference between the inside and outside of a cell works like a small battery. Each cell keeps pumping potassium in and sodium out, and the charge this builds up is what lets a nerve send a signal and a muscle contract. The heart is the muscle most sensitive to it: blood potassium that is too high or too low can upset its rhythm.
The gut absorbs about 85 to 90% of the potassium in food, and the kidneys keep blood levels in a narrow range by passing the excess into urine. That is why healthy people cannot overdose on potassium from food, and why kidney disease changes the picture.
Potassium and Blood Pressure
In studies, people who eat more potassium tend to have lower blood pressure, and the link is strongest in those who also eat a lot of sodium. Potassium helps the kidneys pass more sodium into urine and lets blood vessel walls relax. For this reason the WHO advises adults to get at least 3,510 mg a day from food.
Can One Day of Food Reach 3,400 mg of Potassium?
3,400 mg is the US target for men. This is one ordinary day of foods from the Caltide library, in usual portions, with no supplements.
| Meal | Food | Amount | Potassium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Oats | 40g | 145mg |
| Breakfast | Milk | 236g | 366mg |
| Breakfast | Banana | 120g | 391mg |
| Lunch | Kidney beans | 180g | 722mg |
| Lunch | Rice | 160g | 56mg |
| Snack | Pistachios | 28g | 265mg |
| Dinner | Salmon | 125g | 565mg |
| Dinner | Potato | 200g | 778mg |
| Dinner | Broccoli | 76g | 230mg |
| Total | 3518mg |
It can, at 3,518 mg, but only because the day has beans, a potato, a fish fillet and a banana. Take out the beans and the potato and it falls well short.
Who Is at Risk of Low or High Potassium
US surveys find average intakes of about 3,000 mg a day for men and 2,300 mg for women, below the adequate intake. Low blood potassium, called hypokalemia, is still rarely caused by diet alone: it usually follows vomiting, diarrhea, laxative overuse or diuretics. The opposite, hyperkalemia, mainly affects people with chronic kidney disease or those taking drugs that make the body hold on to potassium.
Common Potassium Mistakes
Thinking bananas are the top source. A medium potato or a cup of beans gives about twice what a banana does. Bananas are a fine source, just not an exceptional one.
Making up the gap with pills. Over-the-counter potassium supplements hold 99 mg or less, about 3% of a man's adequate intake. Food is the practical way to close the gap.
Using salt substitutes without checking. Many replace part of the sodium with potassium chloride. That helps most people cut sodium, but it can be risky for anyone with kidney disease or on medicines that raise potassium.
How Much Potassium You Need
By age and sex, and the signs of too little or too much in the blood.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 3 years | 2,000mg | 2,000mg |
| 4 - 8 years | 2,300mg | 2,300mg |
| 9 - 13 years | 2,500mg | 2,300mg |
| 14 - 18 years | 3,000mg | 2,300mg |
| 19+ years | 3,400mg | 2,600mg |
| Pregnancy | - | 2,600 - 2,900mg |
| Breastfeeding | - | 2,500 - 2,800mg |
Potassium in Supplements and Salt Substitutes
Supplements are a minor source of potassium, by design. Salt substitutes can be a larger one.
Why Potassium Tablets Stop at 99 mg
Potassium is sold as chloride, citrate, gluconate, bicarbonate, aspartate or phosphate, alone or in multivitamins. Over-the-counter products stay at 99 mg or less because the US FDA ruled that some oral potassium chloride products above that amount are unsafe, after reports of small-bowel injuries. Larger doses are prescribed for people who need them.
Medicines That Interact With Potassium
- ACE inhibitors, ARBs and potassium-sparing diureticsthey make the body keep potassium; extra from supplements or salt substitutes can push it too high
- Loop and thiazide diureticsthey increase potassium lost in urine and can lower blood levels
Ask a doctor or pharmacist before combining a supplement with a medicine.
Tracking Potassium in Caltide
- Logged automaticallyCaltide adds up the potassium in every food you log and shows it against the amount for your age and sex in the Nutrition tab.
- Supplements count tooAdd a supplement or multivitamin once with its potassium. Each day you tick it off, it counts toward your total.
Potassium Sources and References
The figures and claims on this page are checked against these sources. Food amounts come from USDA FoodData Central.
Questions About Potassium
US guidance is 3,400 mg a day for men and 2,600 mg for women (adequate intake). The EU label reference is 2,000 mg, and the WHO advises adults to get at least 3,510 mg.
In the Caltide food library, sun-dried tomatoes: 3,427 mg per 100 g. Small white beans (1,542 mg) and Soy nuts (1,470 mg) come next. Per portion, beans and potatoes give more, because they are eaten in larger amounts.
The potato. In the Caltide food library boiled potato has 389 mg per 100 g and banana 326 mg, and a medium potato weighs more than a banana, so it gives roughly twice as much.
Because the US FDA ruled that some oral potassium chloride products above 99 mg are unsafe, after they were linked to injuries of the small bowel. Higher doses are prescription medicines.
Not from food if your kidneys work normally; there is no upper limit for food. People with kidney disease, or who take ACE inhibitors, ARBs or potassium-sparing diuretics, can build up too much and should ask a doctor before using supplements or salt substitutes.
It helps. Higher potassium intake is linked to lower blood pressure in studies, especially in people who eat a lot of sodium, and the WHO counts it among its ways to cut heart disease and stroke risk.
Rarely diet alone. Low blood potassium usually comes from losing it: through vomiting, diarrhea, laxative overuse, or loop and thiazide diuretics.
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