Potassium is Extremely Important for All Athletes
Potassium is extremely important for anyone who plays sports. Here we’ll tell you all about the benefits this mineral gives you. We’ll also let you know which foods have the highest percentage of potassium.
As you’ll see for yourself, it’s very easy to consume the daily amount of potassium that experts recommend. What’s more, you can do this naturally without having to use any dietary supplements.
Essential for recovery
When you exercise, you lose a large number of nutrients through sweat. If your exercise session is very intense or long, it’s important to replace these nutrients. Sometimes, it might even be necessary for you to rest in order to recover the minerals you lose during the session.
The best way to recover these minerals is to eat or drink things that are rich in potassium. If you don’t do that, your muscles will lose the capacity to generate nerve impulses. As such, they won’t be able to adequately perform for your fitness needs.
You can consume potassium in one of two ways: naturally or through dietary supplements. We recommend that you choose the first option whenever possible. That’s because your body absorbs potassium better when it comes from a food source.
It’s good for muscle cramps
When your exercise routine is very intense and you do it for a long time, cramps are common. These occur frequently in tennis matches, for example. At some point, we’ve all seen a famous tennis player discontinue a match because of a cramp, before eating food, such as a banana.
Bananas are one of the best foods to eat if you want to include more potassium in your diet. This is a natural way to prevent cramps and relax your muscles so they can keep producing nerve impulses.
Foods that are rich in potassium
Now that you know the benefits of potassium for athletes, you have to know which foods contain it.
As you’ll be able to see for yourself, it’s very easy to consume your daily potassium requirements. That’s because you can find this mineral in a wide variety of versatile foods that you can easily include in your daily meals.
Bananas
If we ask any person to think about a food that has a lot of potassium, the first answer you’ll get is probably “bananas.” The truth is that there are foods with a higher concentration of potassium than bananas. Bananas contain 358 milligrams of the mineral per 100 grams.
Despite its modest potassium count, it’s one of the potassium-rich foods people consume the most. That’s because it’s convenient to carry around in any backpack or sports bag. Just look at how many elite athletes eat this fruit in the middle of their matches and you’ll see how popular it is.
Cardoon
This vegetable contains 400 milligrams of potassium per 100 grams. It’s a winter plant that’s both healthy and delicious. Best of all, you can cook it easily. All you have to do is sauté it in a frying pan. Add some salt and ham and you’ve got yourself a balanced meal.
Potatoes
Many people don’t know that potatoes are very high in this mineral. In terms of numbers, 100 grams of potato contain 420 milligrams of potassium. We don’t even have to talk about how versatile this food is in the kitchen! Everybody knows that it’s an ingredient that works in an endless variety of dishes for any meal of the day.
Brussels sprouts
Brussels sprouts are one of those vegetables you either love or hate! We don’t know which group you fall into, but the fact of the matter is that if you’re looking for a good potassium fix, you should keep them in mind. Brussels sprouts contain about 450 milligrams of this mineral per 100 grams.
Avocados
Along with bananas, avocados are part of the group of fruits that are rich in this mineral. With almost 490 milligrams of potassium per 100 grams, it’s the perfect food to have on toast, salads, or even just plain.
If you play a sport regularly, potassium is a mineral that you have to include in your diet. Keep some of the foods we mentioned here in your daily nutritional plans. If you do, your performance and recovery time will improve. It may get so much better, in fact, that you’ll notice results soon.