Potassium matters

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

From the Lean Plate Club comes the below highlighting the importance of

potassium

intakes.

With an intake of just over 5 g/day, I do not exceed the 4,700 mg/day

recommended

below of potassium by much.

washingtonpost.com

Got Potassium? Check the Label

By Sally Squires

Tuesday, November 1, 2005; HE01

If you're a close reader of nutrition labels, you may have noticed that a small

but

growing number of foods now list how much potassium they contain.

The Food and Drug Administration doesn't require food producers to reveal this

information, but " there's both consumer and industry interest to provide

potassium

information on a voluntary basis, " notes Earl, senior director of

nutrition

policy at the Food Products Association, which represents food processors.

That's because in recent years several well-regarded groups -- the U.S. Dietary

Guidelines Advisory Committee, the National Academy of Sciences' Food and

Nutrition

Board and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) -- have

underscored

the health benefits of potassium and the risks of not getting enough of this

nutrient.

Besides, the food industry has been criticized for adding too much salt to many

products. High blood pressure is a problem that afflicts nearly one in three

adults

in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. Studies show

that

a potassium-rich diet can help counter the hypertensive effects of eating too

much

sodium.

How much potassium do you need daily? The National Academy of Sciences says

4,700

milligrams daily is adequate for adults. But men routinely consume only about

two-thirds of that, and women get about half, according to a 2004 study cited in

a

report from the dietary guidelines committee.

" Our diet is remarkably different from what we evolved on, " says Lawrence Appel,

professor of medicine at s Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore who has

examined potassium's importance in the human diet. " We evolved on a low-sodium,

high-potassium diet. Now we eat a high-sodium, low-potassium diet. This flip may

be

in part responsible for many of the [health] problems that are commonplace

today. "

Besides high blood pressure, count among those possible problems stroke, kidney

stones and osteoporosis -- one of the major causes of broken bones in the

elderly

and a frequent reason for admission to nursing homes. Potassium protects health

by

blunting salt sensitivity, regulating blood pressure, keeping the heart at a

steady

beat and muting calcium loss from bones.

While you can eat food fortified with potassium, sprinkle potassium chloride in

place of table salt or take dietary supplements with potassium, " you can get all

the

potassium you need through foods, " Appel says. Most adults can meet their needs

by

consuming two cups of fruit, 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and three glasses of milk,

preferably low-fat or nonfat daily. In fact, studies show that the Dietary

Approach

to Stopping Hypertension (DASH) eating plan developed by NHLBI supplies all the

potassium needed daily. (Find DASH free online at

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/index.htm .)

Naturally occurring potassium seems to cover the health bases better than

potassium

chloride fortification alone, which only appears to offer protection against

salt

sensitivity and high blood pressure, not against kidney stones or bone loss.

There's another drawback to taking potassium supplements or sprinkling potassium

chloride on your food: These steps could be harmful for those who have kidney

damage

or who take blood-pressure-lowering drugs known as angiotensin converting enzyme

(ACE) inhibitors. " If you have problems with kidney function or are taking

medication to lower blood pressure, check with your doctor before increasing

your

potassium intake, " Appel says.

National nutritional surveys conducted by the federal government show that milk,

white potatoes, coffee, beef, tomatoes, orange juice and grapefruit juice are

among

the leading sources of potassium in the American diet. But the more varied the

diet

-- and the less processed food eaten -- the higher the potassium intake. Here

are a

few other potassium-rich options:

Have a sweet potato . One baked sweet potato contains nearly 700 milligrams of

potassium, twice that found in six ounces of orange juice.

Dig into some cooked greens. A cup of cooked beet greens provides about a

quarter of

a day's worth of potassium and clocks in at just 40 calories -- less than the

calories found in half a cup of grapefruit juice. A cup of cooked spinach

provides

nearly as much -- about 20 percent of the daily intake.

Toss some white beans on your salad. And while you're at it, add edamame, green

soybeans and some tuna. About half a cup of soybeans, half a cup of white beans

and

three ounces of tuna together provide about a third of the daily adequate intake

for

potassium.

Snack on yogurt . An eight-ounce container of plain low-fat yogurt has more than

500

milligrams of potassium. Add a banana (422 milligrams) and you'll get nearly 20

percent of the daily intake. Other good high-potassium snack options are

apricots,

peaches, prunes, cantaloupes and honeydew melons.

Dine on fish. Cod, halibut, clams, rockfish and rainbow trout are also packed

with

potassium, providing about 10 percent of the daily intake per three-ounce

serving.

Sip tomato juice . Or add some tomato-based spaghetti sauce regularly to your

fare.

Tomato products are rich sources of potassium. Just be sure to choose canned

low-sodium tomato products since the standard tomato products in cans and jars

are

generally high in sodium and could undermine your efforts.

Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

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