Healthy Eating Guidelines : How to Treat Low Potassium Blood Levels

My name is Christine Marquette and I'm a registered dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I am going to talk to you about how to treat low potassium levels. There are a lot of different foods that you can eat that actually help you increase your potassium. Most people think of bananas. That's the first thing that pops into everyone's mind because you've grown up hearing it, "Oh, eat bananas if you need more potassium." Bananas do have a lot of potassium but they're not actually one of the highest sources. There's a lot of different fruits and vegetables that have potassium. Baked russet potatoes actually have a lot more potassium in them than bananas do. Dried apricots or raw, fresh apricots actually also have a lot more potassium. Cantaloupe, avocados. So there's a lot of different foods you can include to get more potassium. Another good source is tomatoes and, in particular, tomato sauce. Cooked tomato products actually have more available potassium in them than even the fresh varieties. So, the best way to increase your potassium is not to focus on just one food. It's better if you can actually include a variety of foods. That gives you a better chance of making sure you get enough on a daily basis. So, for example, orange juice, if you're not struggling with controlling blood sugars or trying to limit your sugar intake, orange juice is a good way to start your day. It's a good high potassium juice that you can include with your breakfast. At your breakfast you may want to include a side of fruit, particularly a high potassium fruit like apricots, or even a little bit of bananas or some melons on the side. And then at your lunch and dinner meals, try to include some of those vegetables that are high in potassium like the potatoes or actually even spinach has quite a bit of potassium in there. The peppers have quite a bit in them, as well. Beans are very high in potassium. So, you've got a variety of different vegetables and fruits you can include and that's the best way. Just make sure that you're getting a lot of different types of fruits, a lot of different types of vegetables on a daily basis and some of those choices at each one of your meals. That will give you the best opportunity for increasing your potassium levels.