don’t our bodies need equal amounts of potassium as sodium?

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I recall in science class learning about valuable biological processes, within the nerves, that are regulated by a balance of sodium and potassium flowing in and out of cells.

A vice of mine is eating probably more sodium than I should, definitely multiples higher than the potassium I consume. How is this not messing up those processes?

In: Biology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

yes, you are correct. It is actually even more than that, the recommended daily value of potassium from the FDA is 4,700 mg, while sodium is just 2,300 mg.

though really, if you are eating a somewhat balanced diet, chances are you are getting your potassium needs without even recognizing it. For example, a 150 gram serving of broccoli has about 50 mg of sodium in it, but also 500 mg of potassium. 100 grams of banana has about 400 mg of potassium. An apple has only 2 mg of sodium in it, but over 150 mg of potassium.

Hell, even ground beef. 1 pound of ground beef has about 300 mg of sodium, and about 900 mg of potassium.

TL:DR, potassium is very prevalent in our food, more so than people realize. it is not just bananas.

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