I am suscribed to various email newsletters. All too often there are articles in them that note the foods you should try to eat. 10 foods, 15 foods... You know the articles. And I always get sucked in. What should I be eating? And I am usually pleasantly surprised that when I make the decision to eat healthy I have chosen food items that scatter these lists. But the lists still suck me to see what else I could do. Or maybe reinforce what I do already...
This week there were 2 lists. One of the 15 healthiest foods you should eat. The other was 10 steps to reduce stomache bloating. Yes, things like this suck me in.
So the mineral that got top billing in the process was potassium. It seemed to be an underlyer in both articles and present in a number of foods. And if you google it enough - you can find that it is a miracle cure-all...
Yes, it was listed in the bloating article. But it has accolades for helping in lots of other areas - heart health focusing on blood pressure and stroke prevention, blood sugar, muscle fatigue, anxiety/stress/nervous system.... Reading all that I figured - well heck I better make sure I am getting enough potassium...
And readers will know, I do have a source that I turn to when training... YUCK - coconut water. I still drink it. I just havent built up a tolerance to the just short of tasting like coconut taste and its slightly slimey consistency. But I still do drink it. 650mg per serving...
Other foods that ahve potassium - bananas 400mg (DUH!), canatloupe (1/2) 975mg, almonds, lima beans, potatoes, salmon, chicken....
mangoes, spinach, tomatoes, nuts, asparagus, yogurt...
The articles do mention that cooking can deplete some of the potassium present in the food. So can sodium, caffeine and alcohol...
So I think if I keep my focus on eating healthy I will find the potassium. And I have been good at noting needing hydration and potassium after hard workouts... So I guess I have few things here to add to the list of foods to eat.
Hmm - what to research next?
1 comment:
There is also some research that suggests that potassium is actually the mechanism behind lactic acid buildup as opposed to lactic acid itself. ie the lactic acid is fairly constant but when you run out of potassium to buffer it is when you get the burn and fatigue...
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