Potassium is an essential mineral, are you getting enough?
Most Americans get barely half of the recommended amount of potassium in their diets, according to Harvard Health.
“It is well established that nutrient deficiencies or suboptimal nutritional status can contribute to the development of diseases and/or health problems.”
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Would you change (or have you changed) your diet to reduce your risk for chronic illness like diabetes, heart disease and cancer?
The good news 🌱
There are many plant foods rich in potassium that we already know and love. We’ll get to those in a minute.
What is potassium and why is it important?
Potassium is a type of electrolye.
It’s necessary for the normal functioning of all cells. It regulates the heartbeat, ensures proper function of the muscles and nerves, and is vital for synthesizing protein and metabolizing carbohydrates.
“Your body doesn’t produce potassium. Like essential nutrients and amino acids, you need to get it from an outside source. Fortunately, it’s found in a variety of foods — mostly plant-based.”
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The imbalance of potassium (low) and sodium (high) in modern diets, which is at odds with how humans evolved, is thought to be a major contributor to high blood pressure, which affects one in three American adults.
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Lentil soup
How much potassium do you need?
Sweet potato
The 7 highest sources of potassium
More potassium-rich foods
Soybeans, bananas, spinach, tomatoes, soymilk, broccoli
Soybeans in shell
Strategies
Eat a wide variety of vegetables, every day. More is better.
Consider a ‘standard’ serving of vegetables. Now triple it.
Keep an eye on what’s in your dressing and sauces.
If you like technology, use it. Tools like Cronometer are free and do the heavy lifting of assessing your diet for nutrient deficiencies
tomatoes
Reminder on the stats
Six out of every ten adults in the United States have at least one chronic disease, and about four in ten have two or more chronic diseases.
Chronic diseases are among the leading causes of death globally, accounting for 70% of all deaths around the world.
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broccoli
We can change the stats by changing what’s on our plate. Easier said than done — big changes are what move the needle. Big change is hard. It’s also doable.
“Yes you can,” as my Bar Method instructors say. 💪
There is no change without desire. Reach out if you’d like help building new routines.
Thanks for reading!
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