Do you know a fruit better than bananas for sodium excretion?

Frequent consumption of salty foods narrows blood vessels, raising blood pressure. This increases the risk of various diseases, including high blood pressure.

While reducing salty foods, it's also important to expel sodium from your body. Potassium is a nutrient that helps excrete sodium through urine.

Kim Min-jeong, a registered dietitian in the United States, explained, “Potassium is essential for blood pressure control, heart health, muscle and nerve function, and fluid balance,” and “the recommended daily intake for adults is 3,500 mg.”

For the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure, a potassium intake of 3500-5000 mg (American Heart Association, AHA) is recommended.

Bananas are widely recognized as a high-potassium food. However, there are many other foods that contain more potassium than bananas.

 

Nutritionist Kim Min-jeong said, “Prunes (Western prunes) are a representative food rich in potassium,” and added, “Avocados, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, beans, nuts, and dairy products also contain potassium.”

 

Prunes are well-known for their bone health benefits, but they're also rich in potassium. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's Food and Nutrition Facts, a banana contains 355 mg of potassium per 100 g (the same reference standard applies). According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), prunes contain 732 mg of potassium, about twice as much as bananas. A 100 g serving of prunes is equivalent to about 10 prunes.

 

Prunes' high potassium content is evident even when compared to other potassium-rich fruits. Avocados contain 485 mg of potassium. Tomatoes contain 250 mg, melons 218 mg, and oranges 152 mg, all of which contain less potassium than prunes.

Potatoes are among the most nutritious vegetables, particularly purple potatoes. Purple potatoes contain 588 mg of potassium, while Sumie potatoes contain 335 mg.

The potassium benefits of potatoes were also recently reported at the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting (NUTRITION 2024). Researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) explained in their paper that "a high-potassium diet is important for preventing high blood pressure and diabetes," and that "potatoes are one of the foods rich in potassium and dietary fiber in the Western diet." They went on to say that cooking methods like fries are unhealthy, and recommended "baking and eating with the skin on to maximize potassium preservation."

 

Pumpkin is a vegetable that's just as rich in potassium as potatoes. It's also good for reducing swelling. Among varieties, sweet pumpkin contains more potassium than both old pumpkin and zucchini. Sweet pumpkin contains 412 mg of potassium.

 

Legumes are also rich in potassium, with red beans being particularly high. Red beans (dried) contain 1,333 mg. Lentils (dried brown) also contain 943 mg.

 

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Bananas aren't the only thing that's good for excreting sodium.

Make sure to eat plenty of other fruits and vegetables too.