Calling g'em.....Q on potassium

yvonnethedub

Hi,
I read an old thread now closed from 2006 where the site http://caloriecount.about.com was recommended by g'em , I love it , very easy to use and gives great analysis of daily food logs. I've started a calcium supplement after 4 days, it was v obvious I was taking in v little calcium.
It also comes up I am very low in potassium, I was already taking a multivitamin there appears to be no potassium in it, there is potassium in a lot of the foods i'm eating but together that don't come near the target, its a US site , are there recommended Pottassium levels in europe are they lower than in the US? Is another supplement the answer, its a mineral you don't really hear about so wondering if its a US thing.
I'm only interested from a nutrition point of view, not diet/exercise.
Thanks

El_Dangeroso

yvonnethedub wrote: »

Hi,
I read an old thread now closed from 2006 where the site http://caloriecount.about.com was recommended by g'em , I love it , very easy to use and gives great analysis of daily food logs. I've started a calcium supplement after 4 days, it was v obvious I was taking in v little calcium.
It also comes up I am very low in potassium, I was already taking a multivitamin there appears to be no potassium in it, there is potassium in a lot of the foods i'm eating but together that don't come near the target, its a US site , are there recommended Pottassium levels in europe are they lower than in the US? Is another supplement the answer, its a mineral you don't really hear about so wondering if its a US thing.
I'm only interested from a nutrition point of view, not diet/exercise.
Thanks

Yeah the RDA is higher in Europe, not sure why. It's very hard to get enough potassium on a calorie restricted diet but the key is LOADS of veg and fruit. Here is a sample day that pretty much meets every RDA (possibly with the exception of E, which you need less of if you're eating less polyunsaturated fat):

Got it from an American site so hence the cups and oz.

1 tin sardines.

0.25 cup dried tomatoes

0.5 cup cooked spinach.

1 cup broccoil.

1 cup of baked winter squash.

0.5 cup chinese water chestnuts.

2 medium pork chops.

1/4 honeydew melon.

1 oz of dried apricots.

You can't supplement potassium beyond a tiny amount because it carries the risk of sudden cardiac death, it's one you definitely have to get from food.

yvonnethedub

Great, thanks for exact reply.