Are bananas the richest source of potassium?
Bananas are a good source, but they aren't the richest. A serving of dried apricots, cooked lentils, a baked potato or canned kidney beans provides more, as the food table shows.
Essential mineral
Potassium, the cell charger
Potassium is the main mineral inside your cells, keeping the electrical gradient that nerves, muscles and your heart rely on, and it works closely with sodium1.
What potassium does for you.
Nerve signals
Your body needs potassium for nerve transmission2.
Muscle contraction
Maintains the electrical gradient across cells that muscles need to contract1.
Heart & blood pressure
Higher intakes may help lower blood pressure, partly by increasing sodium loss in urine1.
Fluid inside cells
Maintains fluid volume inside cells, while sodium governs fluid outside them1.
Acid-base balance
Helps control the body's acid-base balance3.
Foods and other sources.
BananasPotatoesLentilsKidney beansDried apricotsSpinachTomatoesOrangesMilkYogurt
Vegetarian
| Food and serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Apricots, dried, ½ cup | 755 mg |
| Lentils, cooked, 1 cup | 731 mg |
| Potato, baked, flesh only, 1 medium | 610 mg |
| Kidney beans, canned, 1 cup | 607 mg |
| Banana, 1 medium | 422 mg |
| Milk, 1%, 1 cup | 366 mg |
| Spinach, raw, 2 cups | 334 mg |
| Yogurt, fruit, nonfat, 6 oz | 330 mg |
Non-vegetarian
| Food and serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Chicken breast, grilled, 3 oz | 332 mg |
| Salmon, Atlantic, farmed, cooked, 3 oz | 326 mg |
Whole-wheat flour and brown rice are much higher in potassium than refined white flour and white rice1. Amounts per serving from1.
Salt substitutes
Many salt substitutes swap some sodium chloride for potassium chloride; people with kidney disease should check first1.
Your daily reference amounts.
The same reference table draws the reference lines on your charts in Ayuvo. Needs differ in pregnancy and breastfeeding, which are not covered here.
| Age | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| 19–30 | 2,600 mg | 3,400 mg |
| 31–50 | 2,600 mg | 3,400 mg |
| 51–70 | 2,600 mg | 3,400 mg |
| 71+ | 2,600 mg | 3,400 mg |
AI (Adequate Intake) is used when there is not enough evidence for an RDA: an amount assumed to be enough. Per day, for adults14.
- No upper limit is set for potassium from food; people with kidney problems should follow their clinician's advice.
Too little, too much.
Signs like these have many possible causes. They are a reason to talk to a clinician, not to self-treat.
Too little
Getting too little potassium can raise blood pressure, deplete calcium in bones and increase kidney stone risk2.
- Higher blood pressure
- Constipation
- Tiredness
- Muscle weakness
- Irregular heartbeat (severe)
Too much
Potassium from food isn't harmful with healthy kidneys, but kidney disease or some medicines can lead to high blood potassium2.
- Muscle weakness
- Paralysis (severe cases)
- Heart palpitations
- Prickling in hands and feet
- Dangerous heart rhythms
Serum potassium.
Blood potassium is closely regulated and often reflects body stores poorly, since most potassium is inside cells1.
| Serum potassium | What it may mean |
|---|---|
| < 3.6 mmol/L | Low (hypokalemia) |
| 3.6–5.0 mmol/L | Normal range |
| > 5.0 mmol/L | High (hyperkalemia) |
Labs use different units and ranges. Your clinician reads a result alongside your history and other tests.
Supplement forms.
Most supplements contain only small amounts of potassium, and the label lists elemental potassium1.
Potassium chloride
The most common form in supplements, also used in salt substitutes1.
Citrate, gluconate & others
Citrate, phosphate, aspartate, bicarbonate and gluconate are also used; none is proven better2.
Potassium iodide
Present in microgram amounts as a source of iodine, not potassium1.
Supplements can interact with medicines. Talk to a clinician or pharmacist before you start one, especially at high doses.
Remember these five.
- Potassium keeps nerves firing, muscles contracting and your heart beating normally.
- Fruit, vegetables, beans, lentils, potatoes and milk are the main food sources.
- More potassium alongside less sodium is linked with healthier blood pressure.
- Healthy kidneys clear extra potassium from food.
- With kidney disease or certain medicines, ask before using salt substitutes or supplements.
Questions about potassium.
Why do potassium supplements contain so little potassium?
Many manufacturers keep amounts low because some potassium chloride medicines have been linked with small-bowel injuries. Food is the main way most people get potassium.
Who needs to be careful with potassium?
People with chronic kidney disease, and people taking medicines such as ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or potassium-sparing diuretics, can build up too much potassium even from typical food intake. They should ask a clinician before using potassium supplements or salt substitutes.
Get started
Track potassium in Ayuvo.
Ayuvo charts potassium by day, week, month and year, with the reference lines from this page, personalised by age and sex where they differ. Supplements you log in Medications count too. Free, with no account.
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Sources
Facts on this page come from these sources, checked on the dates shown. Intake numbers come from Ayuvo's shared reference table, which cites the sources marked for them.
- Potassium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · NIH Office of Dietary Supplements checked 2026-09-27
- Potassium: Fact Sheet for Consumers · NIH Office of Dietary Supplements checked 2026-09-27
- Potassium in diet · MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine checked 2026-09-27
- Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019) · National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine checked 2026-09-27
General information, not medical advice. This guide is for healthy adults and does not cover pregnancy, breastfeeding, children or medical conditions. It cannot diagnose or treat anything. Talk to a clinician before starting high-dose supplements, or if you think you may have too little or too much of a nutrient. Spotted an error? Email us.
Keep reading.
CalciumBuilds bones and teeth, keeps muscles and nerves workingIronCarries oxygen in your blood; heme and plant iron explainedMagnesiumEnzyme helper for energy, muscles, nerves and bonesSodiumBalances body fluids; most comes from packaged foodsZincImmunity, wound healing and taste; watch copper at high dosesPhosphorusBones, teeth and cell energy; in dairy, meat and beansVitamin AVision, immunity and growth; from retinol and beta-caroteneVitamin CCollagen, antioxidant defence and plant-iron absorption