In general, aim to consume about 3,500 milligrams of potassium a day. Your best bet is simply to eat more potassium-rich foods, especially fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products. If you're following the DASH diet, eating these foods shouldn't be much of a problem. Have a cup of orange juice with breakfast, half an avocado in a salad at lunch, and half a cup of cooked spinach or a baked potato with dinner. For snacks, try a banana, 8 ounces of low-fat yogurt, or five dried prunes.
Below you will find foods that contain plentiful amounts of potassium (starting with those that contain the greatest amounts of the mineral). Don't just home in on the best sources of the mineral; eating a wide range of foods provides healthy benefits, like phytochemicals and fiber.
- Apricots, dried: 1 cup, 1,567 mg
- Avocado: 1 medium, 1,097 mg
- Potato (baked with skin): 1 medium, 844 mg
- Pinto beans: 3 oz. cooked, 646 mg
- Yogurt: 8 oz., 579 mg
- Orange juice: 1 cup, 550 mg
- Cantaloupe: 1 cup, 482 mg
- Banana: 1 medium, 467 mg
- Winter squash: 1/2 cup cooked, 448 mg
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