Potassium

Question
My husband has just  been released from the hospita after acute renal failure.  I am now trying to figure out what I can and cannot feed him! I have copied lists from the internet and some say that asparagus is low and the next site says medium or high.........  There seems to be so much  contriadictory  info on the web and I'm afraid to cook the wrong thing for him.

Answer
Hi Kelly

I know it can be confusing but it's simply different databases list different information regarding potassium content in asparagus. The matter is, most sources list such units as "cup" or "spear (large, medium, etc.) -- but who know how one cut or chops so the real weight in one cup can be different. Also, one can consider a spear small or medium depending on what she compares it with. Because of that, 1 cup can contain 365.82 mg (fitday.com database mg and another cup -- as little as 270.680 mg (netrition.com database.)

USDA food database is more solid: according to it, 100 grams of asparagus contains 202 mg of potassium -- but deviation is rather high: it can be 8.357 mg mor or 8.357 mg less.

Potassium content depends also on ripening stage, spear diameter,  and the distance from the tip, so if your asparagus is cut short, it can be lower in potassium because the apical part has less of it. Another condition influencing mineral content is asparagus dryness. Completely dried asparagus has 373 mg of it in 100 grams of dry matter.

Read more:

Food high in potassium
http://dietandbody.com/FAQ/2006/05/what-are-good-sources-of-potassium-for.html

Low Carb Diets and Potassium
http://bestlowcarbs.com/article1018.html

Nutrients in foods
http://bestofweightloss.com/recipes/2006/10/nutrients-in-fruits-apples.html

= TZ

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