5 Foods With More Potassium Than a Serving of Avocado

If you’re trying to get more potassium in your diet, consuming an avocado is a good choice: half of a standard-sized avocado (100 grams) contains approximately 485 milligrams of potassium. This represents 10.3% of the recommended daily value (DV). But many foods contain more potassium per serving than avocados.

• Potassium content: 1,310 milligrams in a cup of cooked beet greens, sliced ​​into one-inch pieces

Beet greens include the leaves and stems of the beet. If you’ve ever eaten beets, you’ve eaten the root of this plant: greens are the stems and leaves that grow above the surface of the soil.

Although beet greens are less popular, they are an excellent source of antioxidants and nutrients, especially potassium. One cup of beet greens contains 27.9% of the recommended daily value of potassium.

Beets themselves contain much less potassium, however, you will still find more potassium in a cup of sliced ​​cooked beats than in half an avocado.

Beyond potassium, beet greens are rich in essential micronutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin K, and folate (vitamin B9).

Beet greens can be boiled, mixed into soups, or sautéed with olive oil, garlic, and lemon.

• Potassium content: 955 milligrams in a cup of cooked white lima beans

Lima beans are a type of legume. They are flat, moon-shaped, and have a sweet, buttery flavor, especially when fresh or dried rather than canned. Lima beans are also called butter beans, fava beans, or sweet beans.

They’re packed with fiber and folate, and one cup of cooked lima beans contains 20.3% of your recommended daily intake of potassium.

Lima beans are also quite versatile. They can be mixed into soups or stews, mashed to make butter bean dip, tossed into salads, or added to ground meat dishes, like tacos.

• Potassium content: 739 milligrams in a cup of raw, sliced ​​jackfruit

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit that grows on trees and resembles a huge melon. In fact, it’s the largest tree fruit in the world (even though it’s in the same family as smaller fruits like figs and blackberries).

This fruit contains high amounts of vitamin C, fiber and calcium. Additionally, when it comes to potassium, a 1-cup serving of jackfruit contains 15.7% of the daily value of potassium.

Jackfruit can sometimes be difficult to find in the United States (although it can be grown in warm climates like Florida). Canned or frozen versions are more readily available. Jackfruit can be added to smoothies or desserts, or used as a meat substitute in vegan or vegetarian dishes.

• Potassium content: 941 milligrams in a medium-sized baked potato with skin

Potatoes often get a bad rap, but depending on how they’re prepared, they can be a nutritious addition to your diet.

A medium-sized, white, baked potato with the skin still on contains a substantial amount of potassium. In fact, it provides about 20% of your recommended daily intake. Baked potatoes with the skin are also a good source of vitamin C, magnesium and iron.

When incorporating potatoes into your diet, keeping it simple often leads to the most nutritious results. Bake, boil, or steam the potatoes, leave the skin on, and limit the amount of salt or full-fat dairy you add on them.

• Potassium content: 625 milligrams in an 8-ounce serving of fat-free plain yogurt

Like other dairy products, yogurt is best known for being a good source of protein, calcium and vitamin D. But fat-free plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt) also contains a substantial amount of potassium.

An 8-ounce serving, slightly larger than a standard yogurt container, provides 13.3 percent of the recommended DV of potassium.

Fat-free yogurt also has an endless number of uses, making it easy to incorporate into your diet. You can top it with granola, nut or berry butter, mix it into smoothies, use it as a substitute for cream or mayonnaise in sauces or dips, and add it to baked goods.

Potassium is an essential mineral involved in almost every process in the body. Potassium helps in particular to:

• Maintain heart, kidney and nerve function
• Contract the muscles
• Strengthen bones
• Managing blood pressure and blood sugar

Adults and children ages 4 and older should try to consume 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day, which is considered the recommended DV. However, an adequate daily intake is 3,400 milligrams for men and 2,600 milligrams for women.

Many foods contain potassium, so severe potassium deficiency is rare in healthy people. However, many people in the United States fail to achieve their daily goals.

A balanced, nutritious diet ensures you get the potassium you need, whether it’s from avocados, yogurt, beets, or other potassium-rich foods including yams, kiwi, orange juice, or clams.