This page is part of a list of foods with high potassium levels.
The potassium RDA is 4,400mg.
Added to that list are:
- Cucumbers
- Spinach
- Figs
- Dates
- Avocados.
These five additions are lower in K mineral than the previous foods but are still high enough to help those who are taking potassium wasting medication for high blood pressure.
The body uses potassium as it is assimilated. It does not store it, so it is necessary to make sure you are getting sufficient amounts in your diet.
These foods are numbered from 16 – 20 on the main list for your convenience.
16. Cucumber
(Cucumis sativus) –
1 cup (184gms) = 420mg of potassium
Stay “cool as a cucumber” and keep your blood pressure low!
Nearly everybody enjoys salads that accompany meat or fish dishes in the summer months, so adding cucumber, one of the foods with high potassium levels, will help to feed your body`s constant need for potassium.Remember too that when it is hot we sweat more and so loose more minerals from our bodies. Cucumbers are a cool way to put the potassium back and they also contain ascorbic and caffeic acids, compounds which help us stay hydrated because of their moisture retaining properties.
The cucumbers eaten in salads are nicknamed “slicers” and the ones for pickling “picklers”. Try and avoid the latter as they will only add to the acid in your body. It is healthy to keep your body`s pH slightly alkaline.
Did you know that the cucumber is really a fruit? It develops from the flower and has seeds in it like the tomato, another in our list of foods with high potassium levels. It too is classed as a fruit but thought of, by many, as a vegetable.
It`s mineral and vitamin contents are great for high blood pressure. You will always find it in any list of potassium in foods.
It also contains vitamin C, magnesium, and copper, all of which support a healthy cardiovascular system. Copper is known to help produce elastin, keeping the skin, veins and arteries supple.
Make your salad bowl look attractive by using Marketmore Ridge cucumbers if you can get them. When you slice them they produce flower-like patterned edges.
If you can`t find them then simply take a fork and carve grooves along the length of a plain English cucumber, turning to complete it`s entire surface. It usually has a more effective result.Another point to remember! As nearly all vegetable foods with high potassium levels, eat them with their skins. Wash them thoroughly, but if they are waxed which contains toxins, it is better to peel. To avoid wasting the potassium rich skin, try and buy organic.
17. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) –
100gms = 500mg of potassium
Eat your heart out Popeye!
Spinach is one of my favorite foods with high potassium levels. I eat it almost every week with brown rice.
It`s a pity it doesn`t contain the iron that it used to years ago.
You need to eat 20 times as much to get the same amount of iron. But then again, according to some information sources, a substance called oxillate binds to iron and consequently iron is removed from the body. So Popeye has been telling us lies all this time. We are living in such a mixed up world with all sorts of conflicting data.
Our concern though is the potassium it contains because we need to have a balance of potassium and salt to regulate our blood pressure.
As you can see above, it is rich in potassium.
Many might be afraid to eat it after the e-coli outbreak in California last year, but spinach has been a popular food from time, and it has always been safe to eat. I will certainly continue and eat it as I enjoy it`s taste and pungent aroma.
18. Figs + Dried (Ficus Carica) –
100gm = 232mg potassium (USDA)
The mention of figs conjures up in my mind pictures of the Holy Land as I remember the account of Jesus who cursed the fig tree to teach a two fold lesson about faith. (The Bible – Mark 11:12-14;20-24)
It is a strange plant because the buds for the fruit appear around February, 2 months before the leaves which bud April/May and then the fruit does not mature until June where it produces the early fig. In August it produces a second main crop which also makes this remarkable tree strange. So when it is the season to produce leaves the tree should have both figs and leaves.
This is the month of June, so if you are searching for foods with high potassium levels, the early fig should be in your supermarket now.
Yesterday I went of to my local supermarket to find them. And there they were, a yellow fruit flecked with red about 7cm long. (See picture above)
Not only are figs listed among foods with high potassium levels, they are also one of the rare fruits containing nearly all minerals combined. Also, it is good to know that they are an excellent source of flavonoids and polyphenols which will add to your fight against free radical damage, a contributor of high blood pressure.
Out of interest, if you want to understand why Jesus cursed the fig tree, you can send me a note. Just use the help form below and put “Fig Tree Query”.
19. Dates –
1 date = 54mg potassium (USDA)
In countries such are Tunisia, which holiday makers just love, you will be offered the tamr date all day long. This kind of date is last of the four stages of ripeness. I returned home from my holiday there with a good supply.
Have you tried the khalal date? It is the second stage when the fruit is ripe, fresh and crunchy. I also developed a palette for that too.
Normally they will appear in abundance during the Christmas season, bringing the price down slightly, compared to their cost at any other time of the year.
If you have a sweet tooth, why not add the tamr sun-dried date to your list of foods with high potassium levels.
20. Avocado – (Persea Americana) – 1 avocado = 1100mg potassium Wow!
If you are looking for foods with high potassium levels, avocado is an excellent choice. I was literally brought up on them, but hated their taste until I acquired a taste for them and a mature palette. Now I just love them.My father, born in Belize, Central America, the native land of the avocado, tried to cultivate a plant here in Britain, of all places, and in Scotland at that. Why? Maybe it was the fact that an average adult tree can produce up to 120 pears annually! A wealth of potassium in food! We didn’t have a green house at the time so the plant just stood inside our house tall with nice, shiny leaves, but would never product the desired fruit my father yearned for.Fortunately, we now have an abundance of imported avocados from different lands to enjoy. They vary in taste and color and can be used as a rich hors d’oeuvre with French Salad dressing, or placed in many exotic salads, or eaten along with Ackee and Salt Fish. (A Traditional Jamaican Dish). Mmmm! Yumy!
I torture myself constantly writing about good food on this site that I don’t at the time have access to. It is said that avocado oil is good for the heart. I should say! Is it not renowned as being among the richest of foods with high potassium levels? Don’t eat too much of it!