Benefits of Potassium intake

Potassium is abundantly available in the fresh food products that we eat and is vital in maintaining the sodium levels and blood pressure of our body. It is widely known that high blood pressure is a silent killer and an unstable blood pressure leads to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, blindness, and renal ailments. To counter the harmful effects of sodium it is vital for us to eat abundant quantities of potassium rich foods.

Even though potassium is easily available in nature, a majority of the population falls short of consuming even the recommended daily amounts of potassium intake because many people do not regularly consume enough of fresh fruits and vegetables! All kinds of processed foods are L-O-A-D-E-D with sodium and coupled with reduced potassium intake, it is certain to create havoc in the blood pressure level of our body.

Very simply put, it is imperative for us to consume fruits, vegetables, and beans in our daily diet, all of which are thankfully best sources of potassium available in nature to balance out the harmful effects of sodium in our system. Some of the most commonly used food products, such as tomato, potato, broccoli, milk, and dairy products are also one of the good sources of potassium found in nature.

All you have to do is to make sure to consume these regularly or better still raise the consumption to lower the risk of getting kidney stones and slow down the loss of bone mass.

Interestingly, you can never have enough of potassium in your diet, as healthy people excrete the excess amounts of potassium through the urine! Unless you are already suffering from kidney disease or have been advised by your physician to monitor the potassium intake.

Not many people know that each part of our body, including the brain, heart, muscle, and everything else, all depends upon potassium for their function.

Potassium is vital to our system as it helps to maintain the adequate acid-base balance in our body. It is also important for the regular growth of each and every cell of our body, to regulate the regular blood pressure levels, conduct uninterrupted nerve transmission, aids in muscular contractions, and helps in the carbohydrate and protein metabolism.

You may supply ample amount of potassium in your diet by regularly consuming various kinds of food products that will balance the potassium levels in your body. Such as cooked spinach (798mg of potassium in a cup), orange juice (496mg of potassium in a cup), frozen lima beans (955mg of potassium in a cup), baked potato with the skin (738mg of potassium in each medium piece), medium avocado (488mg of potassium in every half piece), cooked broccoli (457mg of potassium in a cup), medium banana (422mg of potassium in each piece), and cooked cod (439mg of potassium in every 3 ounces).