Monday, January 4, 2010

Are bananas a good source of potassium; fact or myth?

Are banana's a good source of potassium, is a question people have been questioning for awhile now. This question was most likely created due to the low amount of potassium in banana's. Although in all technicality there is a good source of potassium in banana's. Some people might say “yes, banana's are good for you they have potassium in them” while others might say something along the lines of “yes, bananas do have potassium in them but not nearly as much as other foods do”. These two perspectives were then most likely slightly altered and exaggerated through time and the controversy then came to be if bananas did or did not have a good source of potassium in them.
Potassium is a mineral that helps keep a healthy blood pressure. Other foods that are high in potassium are sweet potatoes, orange juice, beet greens, potatoes, white beans, dates, yogurt, raisins and clams. Drinks with a high rate of potassium are apple juice, coffee, tea, grape juice, milk and orange juice.
So yes, bananas do in fact have have a good source of potassium. Unfortunately if you are strictly wanting a food that's high in potassium a banana is probably not going to be the first food to turn too. Kaitlyn Dreyling, a writer on The Daily green website, states “The big surprise is that bananas don't even make the top 10 list of superfoods with the most potassium!”. WHFoods, a website to help people live a healthier life style, writes that “Since the average banana contains a whopping 467 mg of potassium and only 1 mg of sodium, a banana a day may help to prevent high blood pressure and protect against atherosclerosis.”. Overall, the myth is, to an extent true.






Sources:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=7
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/potassium-superfoods-47020908