A Cup Of This Pantry Staple Has Almost Double The Potassium Of A Banana

Bananas are high in potassium. It's a commonly agreed upon truism, but in actuality, it's the result of perhaps the greatest food marketing campaign of all time. Yes, bananas are a good source of potassium. However, they are not a great source of potassium, or even among the top 10 foods containing this essential element. Many foods, such as beet greens, avocado, and coconut water, have far more potassium than bananas. In fact, you may have a better source of potassium in your house right now: White beans, a common household pantry staple, are full of that good mineral.

Pound for pound, a cup of white beans hits much heavier than bananas do in this regard. According to the USDA's FoodData Central, one cup of cooked white beans (about 179 grams) contains about 1,000 milligrams of potassium. On the flip side, a single banana (measured at 115 grams) has 375 milligrams. Given that that the daily recommended value for the average adult is between 2,600 and 3,400 milligrams, as per National Institute of Health, one of these things is bound to get you much closer to that target than the other.

Potassium is an absolutely crucial mineral and electrolyte for the human body. Your cells need it for a lot of reasons, including that it helps hydrate them, assists in the process of muscle contraction, and even regulates blood pressure and flow. This makes it important for heart health as well. Still, too much of a good thing can impact you negatively. Exceed your daily limit, and you may hit a condition called hyperkalemia, which results in muscle weakness, stomach or chest pain, and heart palpitations, to name a few. That said, you would have to be eating a lot of potassium to reach this point, and it's generally agreed upon that most Americans need to add a bit more of this mineral to their diet.

So, how can you do that? Start by cooking simple white bean recipes that pack in a lot of flavor with your element K. Italian cuisine is replete with dishes that use these pulses, such as in this white bean and tomato skillet recipe. For something fresher, a white bean salad with roasted artichokes might be in the cards for you. Or, you could try working in additional foods high in potassium content. Consider a delicious Swiss chard-wrapped dumpling, and you can add close to 1,000 milligrams of potassium for every 1 cup of cooked chard.