Popular Foods With More Potassium Than a Banana
In the summertime, it's vital that you stay on top of your water and electrolyte intake—especially if you're physically active. When you sweat, you primarily lose sodium, which can have a huge impact on your training. However, you also do lose some potassium when you sweat as well.
Though not as dramatic as the loss of sodium and chloride, you'll still want to make sure you're eating foods that are rich in potassium so that you don't risk a deficiency in potassium, which could include symptoms such as weakness and fatigue, muscle cramps and spasms, and breathing difficulties, just to name a few.
Historically, bananas have been touted as a key source of potassium, with one medium-sized banana containing around 422 milligrams of potassium. For context, that's about 9% of the adequate intake (AI). As it turns out, there are plenty of fruits and vegetables that contain more of the mineral than a banana. Below, you'll see just four popular foods with more potassium than a banana. And after, don't miss The One Major Way You're Eating Bananas Wrong.
Avocado
Avocado toast, anyone? Just half of an avocado contains 487 milligrams of potassium, aka 10% of the AI! If you eat the whole thing in one sitting, you'll fulfill 20% of your daily dose of the mineral.
Sweet potatoes
If you love the taste of baked sweet potatoes, know that your muscles appreciate them too. One medium-sized sweet potato packs around 541 milligrams of potassium, which amounts to 12% of the AI for the mineral.
Spinach
Not only is spinach a great source of iron, vitamin K, and magnesium, but it also packs quite a bit of sodium. Like sweet potatoes, one cup of frozen spinach packs 540 milligrams of the mineral, which fulfills about 12% of your daily needs.
Don't miss One Major Effect of Eating Spinach, Says Science.
Watermelon
Watermelon is both a hydrating and nutrient-dense fruit with two wedges (around 1/16 of the melon per wedge) containing 640 milligrams of potassium, or about 14% of the AI. Watermelon also offers vitamin C, vitamin B6, and magnesium.
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