What is potassium?
Potassium is an essential mineral that helps the muscles, heart and nerves work properly. Our body gets potassium from the foods we eat. It is mainly found in fruits, vegetables and whole grain products.
Potassium is carefully balanced by the kidneys. Too little potassium in the body can cause serious heart problems, and even death.
Read food labels
Some labels state the amount of potassium in a food. But remember that a food may still contain potassium even if potassium is not on the label.
Choose foods that have more than 200 mg of potassium per serving.
| Food labels: Nutrition Facts (one serving) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Amount | % Daily Value | |
| Potassium | More than 200 mg | More than 6% |
Potassium content of foods
Almost all foods contain potassium. Choose high-potassium foods more often.
High potassium food choices
Vegetables
Choose fresh vegetables more often.
| Best choices | |
|---|---|
| Artichokes | Avocado |
| Bamboo shoots, raw | Beet greens |
| Broccoli, raw | Bok choi |
| Carrots, raw | Chinese cabbage; pak choi |
| Parsnips | Plantains |
| Potatoes, fried, baked, instant mashed | Pumpkin and squash |
| Rapini, raw | Soy bean sprouts |
| Spinach, cooked | Sweet potato or yam |
| Tomatoes, canned | Tomato paste, puree, juice; Clamato |
| Vegetable juices | Winter melon/squash |
| Zucchini | |
Fruit
Choose fresh and dried fruit more often.
| Best choices | |
|---|---|
| Apricots | Banana and plantains |
| Coconut | Dragon fruit |
| Dried fruits: raisins, dates, dry figs, prunes, apricots, peaches | Figs |
| Fruit cups or cocktails in syrup | Fruit juice* and nectars |
| Kiwi | Mangosteen |
| Melon: honeydew, cantaloupe, musk | Nectarine |
| Orange | Papaya |
| Peach, canned | Pear, canned |
| Persimmon | Pomegranate |
| Prune, juice and canned | Rhubarb |
| Star fruit or carambola | Tangelo |
*Avoid grapefruit juice.
Breads and cereals
| Best choices |
|---|
| Whole wheat and whole grain breads, bagels, English muffins, roti, chapatti, tortillas, crackers (for example bran, pumpernickel, dark rye, mixed grains) |
| Corn tortilla and Masa |
| Smart and Wonder+ breads |
| Baked products with bran, chocolate, raisins, molasses or nuts |
| Cereals: bran cereals (such as All-Bran, Bran Flakes, Raisin Bran), whole wheat cereals (such as Cheerios, Shreddies, Shredded Wheat, Mueslix) and cereal with dried fruits, raisins or nuts |
| Oat squares, oat bran and all oat cereals |
| Flours made from potato, soy, corn (cornmeal), chickpeas, barley, brown rice, rye or whole wheat |
| Pasta or noodles, brown or whole wheat |
| Rice, brown or wild |
Milk and milk alternatives
| Best choices |
|---|
| Buttermilk |
| Chocolate milk |
| Milk, coconut |
| Milk, evaporated or powder |
| Milk, goat |
| Milkshakes |
| Dairy products containing nuts, chocolate, carob, raisins, coffee or malt |
| Soy, rice or almond beverages containing nuts, chocolate, carob, raisins, coffee or malt |
| Yogurt, all types |
Meat and meat alternatives
| Best choices |
|---|
| Goat |
| Lamb |
| Pork, roast and chop |
| Shellfish and molluscs (abalone, clams, mussels, oysters, scallops) |
| Octopus |
| Beans, dry and canned (white, navy, kidney, black, lima, soy and other); chickpeas; lentils or dal; split peas; edamame |
| Egg substitute |
| Sunflower, sesame, poppy, amaranth and other seeds |
| Peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts and other nuts |
Drinks
| Best choices |
|---|
| Coconut water; coconut milk |
| Tea, black |
| Fruit juices*: mangosteen juice (such as Xango), orange juice, prune juice |
| Vegetable juices |
| Malt or chocolate drinks (brands include Ovaltine, Milo, Nesquik); coffee substitutes (such as Postum) |
*Avoid grapefruit juice.
