The Vegetable Tops That Offer 143% More Potassium Than A Banana

You've probably heard about protein maxxing and fiber maxxing, but some people might want to be potassium maxxing instead. Potassium is an essential mineral – an electrolyte to be specific — that performs tons of important functions in your body. Potassium is linked to heart health, balances the fluid in your cells, and is good for your bones and kidneys. Unfortunately according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture only around 25% of adult Americans get the recommended amount of potassium in their diets each day. That's alarming, but before you go reaching for a banana, you might want to stock up on beet greens instead.

While their reputation as potassium powerhouses is not undeserved, bananas aren't actually close to the number one source of potassium if you are going by how much is in one cup of an ingredient. A cup of sliced banana has about 537 milligrams of potassium on average, which is a good amount, but not even in the top ten of options. The best vegetables overall are beet greens, the edible stalks that grow on top of beetroots. One cup of cooked beet greens has a whopping 1,309 milligrams of potassium. That is 143% more than the same amount of banana, and half the entire daily recommended value for women (2,600 milligrams), and almost 40% what is recommended for men (3,400 milligrams according to the National Institutes of Health — NIH). If you don't have beet greens for sale near you don't worry. Dark greens as a vegetable category in general, like Swiss chard and spinach, are some of the best sources of potassium you can find.

Beet greens have a taste much like those other greens, being earthy, lightly sweet, and mildly bitter, and they work in similar recipes. They give a peppery flavor to salads, and can be sauteed like chard or collard greens. Drop them in soups, stews, and pastas where you would normally use spinach. Or blend them into a refreshing and healthy green smoothie. If the bitterness of beet greens is a bit too much for you, you can also quickly blanch them in boiling water to cut down on the acids that create that flavor.

But if you are looking to up your potassium intake in general, there are plenty of other good options that almost match beet greens while giving you more than a banana. We already mentioned other greens, but legumes are also a top source of potassium. One cup of cooked white beans has over 1,000 milligrams, while lima beans have almost that much. Lentils are also a great option, with over 700 milligrams per cooked cup.

The other top categories are potatoes and squashes. One full russet potato has almost 1,000 milligrams itself, and one cup of cooked yams tops 900 milligrams. A cup of acorn squash also almost hits that level. Of course bananas have plenty of health benefits, and are still a good source of potassium, especially when it comes to fruit. Just make sure you're taking advantage of the amazing range of vegetable options when it comes to hitting a potassium goal.