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Nutrition & Product Information
Potassium Recommendation Fact Sheet
Dairy foods among the greatest sources of potassium in the American diet
What is the Function of Potassium?
Potassium is a mineral that helps regulate fluid and mineral balance and is needed for muscle contractions and transmission of nerve impulses(1). It also helps regulate blood pressure; an important role considering one in three Americans is living with hypertension(2).
Potassium plays such an important role in blood pressure regulation and stroke prevention that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the health claim "diets containing foods that are a good source of potassium and that are low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke," for foods that are naturally low in sodium, fat, and cholesterol, and provide at least 350 mg of potassium per serving, such as fat-free milk and some yogurts.
How Much Potassium is Needed?
Previously, no official recommendation for potassium intake existed, although many health professionals recommended 2 grams a day. But in February of 2004, after an extensive review of scientific literature, the Institute of Medicine set the Adequate Intake of potassium for adults at 4.7 grams a day - more than double previous estimates(3). No single age group of Americans is meeting these IOM recommendations(4). However, researchers have recently found that mean potassium intakes were significantly higher in people who met dairy intake recommendations of three servings of dairy a day, compared to those who did not(4).
| DIETARY REFERENCE INTAKE FOR POTASSIUM(3) |
| Males & Females |
Adequate Intake, mg/day |
| 1-3 years |
3000 |
| 4-8 years |
3800 |
| 9-13 years |
4500 |
|
| 14-50 years |
4700 |
| >50 years |
4700 |
What are the Effects of Potassium Deficiency?
Potassium deficiency can result in high blood pressure, stroke, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, weakness, depression, glucose intolerance, as well as increased risk of kidney stones, and increased bone turnover(3).
What Foods Provide Potassium?
Milk is a key source of the potassium in the American Diet(5). An 8 oz serving of milk provides about 350-400 mg of potassium. Three to four servings of milk a day provides 1050-1600 mg of potassium, up to a third of the potassium recommendation(6). Other common sources of potassium include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and dried beans.
Following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan could help people meet recommended potassium levels (5). Research shows the DASH eating plan, a balanced eating plan that includes two to three servings of dairy foods and eight to ten servings of fruits and vegetables, may help lower blood pressure (7,8).
| Sources of Potassium (6,9) |
| Medium baked potato (with skin) |
926 mg |
| 8 oz yogurt |
490 mg |
| 10 oz yogurt smoothie |
350 mg |
| 1/2 cup pasta sauce |
470 mg |
| 8 oz low-fat milk |
366 mg |
| 6 inch banana |
362 mg |
| 1 oz almonds |
206 mg |
| Small orange (2-3/8") |
174 mg |
| 1/2 cup cottage cheese |
108 mg | |
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Recommend 3 daily servings of dairy to help your patients get potassium, protein and other important nutrients. | |
Sources:
1. Insel P, Turner RE, Ross D, eds. Nutrition, 2002 Update. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Boston. 2002.
2. American Heart Association Web site, High Blood Pressure Statistics. Accessed June 11, 2008. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2139)
3. Institute of Medicine, Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. National Academy Press. Washington, DC. 2004.
4. McGill CR, Fulgoni VL, DiRienzo D, Huth PJ, Kurilich AC, Miller GD. Contribution of Dairy Products to Dietary Potassium Intake in the United States Population, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 27, No. 1, 44–50 (2008)
5. 5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. 6th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 2005.
6. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2004. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 16-1. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp (Milk, lowfat, fluid, 1% milkfat, with added vitamin A NDB No: 01082, Yogurt, fruit, low fat, 11 grams protein per 8 ounce NDB No: 01122, Nuts, almonds NDB No: 1206, Oranges, raw, all commercial varieties NDB No: 09200, Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve NDB No: 06931, Bananas, raw NDB No: 09040, Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 2% milkfat NDB No 01015).
7. Sacks, F.M., L.P. Svetkey, W.M. Vollmer, et. al. for the DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research Group. Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. N. Engl. J. Med. 344: 3-10, 2001.
8. Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, Vollmer WM, Svetkey LP, Sacks FM, Bray GA, Vogt, TM, Cutler JA, Mindhauser MM, Lin PH,Karanja N, for the DASH Collaborative Research Group. A trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. New England Journal of Medicine 1997;336:1117-1124.
9. Dannon Web site http://dannon.com/ourproducts.aspx ; accessed June 16, 2008.
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