Go Potassium!

Since Marina wrote about sodium last week, I thought a nice follow up topic should be about potassium. As runners, we often hear about the importance of getting enough potassium, but what does it really do? Potassium, like sodium, is an electrolyte. Most of us hear about electrolytes in the context of sports drinks, like Gatorade, where they claim to aid in activity and recovery. What exactly is an electrolyte and why is it so important? An electrolyte is a substance that dissolves into charged particles in a solution which makes it capable of conducting electricity. This factor becomes important in our bodies because sodium and potassium help maintain membrane potentials. Basically, this means that sodium and potassium are both important in the functions of muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, and heart functionality. It also plays a role in numerous other functions in our bodies. Because sodium and potassium are lost through sweat during exercise, we need to replenish it.

We all know that it’s fairly easy to maintain a high intake of sodium, but many of us have trouble getting enough potassium. So the balance between sodium intake and potassium intake is heavily balanced on the sodium side (Americans often eat as much as 3 times the amount of sodium as potassium!). This imbalance can lead to high blood pressure as well as other problems such as stroke and kidney stones. The adequate intake for potassium (the amount most adults should aim to consume) is 4700 mg/day. Now we all have heard that bananas are a good source of potassium, but did you know each banana only has a little over 400 mg each? You would have to eat almost 10 bananas to get a day’s worth of potassium! Luckily, many of the foods we eat every day contain as much or more potassium than bananas. These include beets, artichokes, potatoes (1 potato has over 1000 mg!), sweet potatoes, winter squash, beans, orange juice, broccoli, dates, tomatoes, milk, and the list goes on.

Here is an easy and healthy recipe that includes plenty of potassium in the form of acorn squash, tofu, and pineapple:

Stuffed acorn squash
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 acorn squash
1 package firm tofu, drained
1 can crushed pineapple in its own juice (8 oz)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Cut each squash in half lengthwise and discard seeds. Place facedown in a baking dish. Cook for 30 minutes. While squash is cooking, cut tofu into small cubes. Combine with pineapple (including juice), cinnamon, vanilla, butter, and walnuts. Remove squash from oven and turn over. Divide tofu mixture among the 4 squash halves and place into squash hollow. Return to oven and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes, until mixture is heated through and squash is tender.

Enjoy!

-Marcy

(illustration by Inna Komarovsky)