When a Banana a Day Isn't Enough

(Health-e Headlines™) - Nature's nearly perfect food, the banana, packs a punch of potassium that helps each of us reach our daily requirement for this vital mineral.

With so much attention on other nutrients, such as calcium, poor misunderstood potassium gets lost in the mix. Potassium is present in almost every food we eat, including fruits and vegetables, milk and meats.

So why the concern if we don't get enough? Potassium helps regulate cells and muscles and fluid in blood. It even plays a role in reducing the risk of high blood pressure, according to the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. These nutrition experts often encourage people with high blood pressure to increase their intakes not only of potassium but also of two other vital nutrients involved in blood pressure control - calcium and magnesium.
What to Do?

Do you start your day with a ripe banana sliced over fortified cereal along with milk and a glass of orange juice? Most Americans don't. If they did, the recommended goal of 4,700 mg per day would be easily met.

To get adequate amounts of potassium, check food labels. You'll find potassium listed on foods that contain added potassium, such as breakfast cereals. But it's not required on every food label. Green beans, baked potatoes, squash and prunes are other good sources.

For adults who are taking certain medications, potassium levels may be low because the medications themselves cause the kidneys to move the potassium out of your body. At risk for low potassium are people who take high blood pressure medications and women who use diuretics ("water pills") to reduce water and bloating during premenstrual days. Some older people take similar medications to reduce swelling in their legs.

Talk with your doctor about checking potassium levels in your blood and, if you're a banana too low, discuss ways to replenish this valuable mineral.

Sources:

1. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7). NHLBI. 2003. Available online at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ guidelines/hypertension/ jncintro.htm. Accessed June 9, 2006.

2. DRIs for Water, Potassium, and Sodium, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (IOM), February 2004.