My Potassium Rich Foods Guide lists
Chinese Cabbage,
Dandelion Root and Dill
On this page I have listed foods number 13 – 15 in my potassium rich foods guide.
- Chinese Cabbage
- Dandelion Root
- Dill13. Chinese Cabbage is listed in my potassium rich foods guide because just look at the potassium content!Bok choy Chinese cabbage – 1 cup (6 oz) – cooked – 631mg of potassium
Rich indeed! The health benefits of cabbage go beyond it’s abilities to supply abundant potassium in helping to regulate high blood pressure.
Other names for Chinese cabbage are Celery cabbage, Chinese white cabbage, pak choy, white mustard cabbage. If you can’t get hold of bok choy then by all means eat any cabbage as they are all good sources of potassium.
Cabbage is not only at the top of the list in my potassium rich foods guide, but it is high in calcium, and sodium which is needed along with potassium to help regulate water balance. It contains vitamin C, which is a good antioxidant. Take note of the organic nitrates which are known to reduce high blood pressure. It also contains manganese, magnesium, thiamine, riboflavin, sugar, vitamin A and B6, phosphorous, and folic acid.
Folic acid may reduce high blood pressure. On January the 19th 2005, the BBC News reported that folic acid may keep blood pressure in check. They were reporting the findings of researchers at Harvard, which were printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In brief; they tested 156 nurses for levels of folic acid. Those with the least were found to be more at risk of hypertension.
You can find bok choy in some supermarkets and in Chinese grocery shops or Cash & Carrys all year round. When you buy, use them in a couple of days or they will spoil.
You need to separate the dark green leaves from the stalks, because the stalks take longer to cook. Once the stalks have been in the water for a few minutes then add the leaves. The best way to preserve the potassium though, would be to steam them. But be careful! Don’t eat too much cabbage. It can affect your iodine absorption.
14. Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale) (Chinese – Pu Gong Ying)
The next listed in my potassium rich foods guide, looks like the teeth of a lion. Yes! Dandelion means lions tooth, so named by a 15th century surgeon who thought the shape of the leaf resembled a lion bearing its teeth. Other names for it are Blowball and Wild Endive.
I am not going to discuss the roots only, as the whole plant is used for medicinal purposes, and the leaves can be eaten. In fact, I wonder why the roots, not the leaves are listed under potassium foods. Perhaps it is because you can make a tea blended with ginger, liquorice, and other herbs to mask its bitterness.
By all means, if you can stand bitter things, drink the tea. It is a diuretic, liver tonic and bile flow aid, which helps if you are not taking pharmaceutical diuretics for high blood pressure. It also helps neutralize acid in the blood, helping it keep its pH balance and reducing free radical damage to the veins and arteries.
The leaves are at home in my potassium rich foods guide, as I mentioned already. They can be eaten in a salad, freshly picked as a cleansing action for the system.
If you liquidize the leaves, they can be used as a quick action diuretic because of the rich potassium content. Use up to 20mls, 3 times a day. You can also drink it as an infusion, but the diuretic action is rather weak.
One of the great things about using dandelions, they come free. If you have a garden you can have a never ending supply in spring. The only problem you may encounter, if you wish to cultivate them in your garden, is a very irate neighbour!
15. DillDill is a sweet herb with a mild diuretic action. It is also a good source of calcium, vitamin C (an antioxidant), manganese, copper (helping to maintain the elastin fiber in veins and arteries), all important minerals in the fight against high blood pressure.
I can vouch for it as a complimentary herb for fish dishes. A few years back I used to enjoy it along with mackerel and lemon.
Dill will lose its flavor if cooked to long so it is best used raw. Use it to marinate, or add as an ingredient in pickled recipes.
Pickled cucumbers and dill is a famous recipe, but because of their acidity, and salt content in the varieties fermented with salt, it is not, for obvious reasons, recommended for those with high blood pressure.