You may have heard of the many benefits of potassium for your overall health and wellness, but did you know that this mineral has quite a few benefits for your skin and hair as well? Yes, that's right. Potassium, when coupled with sodium, helps your body regulate its water content, and thereby prevents your skin and hair from feeling dry, parched and dehydrated.
But how do you ensure that your body is getting its regular requirement of potassium? The answer to this is fairly simple, add more potassium rich foods. It is really easy to get enough potassium into your body through the foods you eat. This mineral is very easily available in a lot of common fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. A potassium-rich diet is really useful to regulate and maintain several bodily functions, which has a direct impact on your skin and hair to make them look super healthy and lustrous.
If you are clueless about what foods to include in your diet, then don't worry, because your friends at BeBe are here to help. Here are six potassium-rich foods that are easily available all year round and can be included in your everyday diet. Read on...
01Benefits of potassium for skin and hair
1. Prevents dry skin –
If your skin constantly feels dry and parched despite applying topical moisturisers and skincare products, then there is a chance that you might be deficient in potassium. Potassium helps regulate the water storage in your body and prevents moisture loss, and in turn keeps your skin healthy and glowing. This is one of the best potassium-rich food benefits.
2. Promotes faster cell renewal –
Another benefit of potassium for skin is that it supports the rapid growth of new cells. This function helps your skin look young, healthy and glowing. Additionally, newer cell growth is really useful to quickly eliminate scars and blemishes from the surface of your skin.
3. Helps maintain skin’s pH balance –
If you have really dry skin, then your skin's pH balance could be disrupted. This could lead to several skin problems, dryness and a compromised skin barrier being the most prevalent. But since potassium is an excellent way to prevent dry skin, it works really well in maintaining your skin's pH balance and keeping it healthy for a longer period of time. Potassium skin benefits also include its ability to support overall skin hydration and nourishment.
4. Maintains blood sugar levels –
Potassium deficiency affects your body by lowering its blood sugar levels. This leads to several problems such as hormonal imbalance, which can in-turn cause skin problems such as cystic acne apart from constant headaches, sweating, trembling etc. What does potassium do for the body? It helps maintain proper nerve and muscle function, regulates fluid balance, and supports heart health. A simple way to avoid this major issue is to eat potassium-rich foods to increase and maintain your blood sugar levels.
5. Restricts hair fall –
If you suffer from unprecedented hair fall and nothing seems to be helping, then there is a high chance that your body requires more potassium. Potassium helps deliver vital nutrients to your hair and prevents your scalp from drying out. This is what strengthens your follicles and prevents hair fall.
6. Promotes hair growth –
We already saw that potassium helps in the cell renewal process and this is why it is extremely beneficial to regrow hair as well. Potassium helps in stimulating dormant hair follicles by improving the cell renewal process in your scalp, thereby promoting faster and healthier hair growth.
02Potassium rich foods to include in your diet
After looking at the stellar benefits of potassium for your hair and skin, we are sure you are excited to find out how to ensure your body meets its regular requirements of this essential mineral. To make things easy for you, here are six potassium rich foods you can include in your diet today for better hair, skin and overall health...
Seriously, is there anything that avocados don't do? From being rich in omega-3 and 6 fatty acids , antioxidants, vitamin K and folates to now even potassium, including avocados in your diet is extremely beneficial for overall health and wellness. Eating one avocado a day delivers about 20 percent of your daily potassium requirement in one go itself. And one of the main reasons why we love avocados is because there are so many fun ways to consume it. From adding it to your smoothies, salads, sandwiches or even having it just by itself, the options are truly endless.
If you are a health junkie, we are sure you have already replaced your normal potatoes with sweet potatoes. Apart from being super healthy and nutritious, this root vegetable is an excellent source of potassium as well. A small to medium sized vegetable delivers up to 12 percent of your daily requirement. Foods high in potassium like bananas, spinach, and avocados can also be included in your diet for better overall health. Make a salad, curry or simply boil a few, sprinkle some salt and pepper, and your healthy lunch or dinner is ready!
Can you think of a vegetable that packs as many nutritional and health benefits as spinach? Apart from delivering several other essential nutrients and vitamins, one cup of spinach is enough to deliver about 12 percent of your daily potassium needs. The easiest way to consume spinach is to add it to your smoothies every morning and drink it fresh. But if you don't prefer that, then simply toss a few leaves in a pan and sauté it with some butter for a quick and yummy salad.
We can't imagine our summers without biting into a large slice of juicy and crunchy watermelon, right? Well, apart from being extremely refreshing, the high water content of watermelon is also a rich source of potassium. Can you believe that just two small wedges of this yummy fruit deliver over 14 percent of the daily potassium needs of your body. Apart from this, watermelon also contains vitamins A and C and magnesium, all of which are amazing for healthy skin and hair.
All the forms of white beans such as white kidney beans, lima and pea beans are all really great sources of potassium. Simply adding one cup of cooked beans to your meals is enough to give your body 18 percent of the daily potassium requirement. Additionally, it is so simple to include white beans in your diet. Simply boil them, add them into a curry and have it with a bowl of rice for a delicious, complete meal.
Bananas are probably the most common source of potassium. One banana contains about 10 percent of the body's daily potassium requirement. Apart from this, bananas are also a rich source of good fats, vitamins A and C, making it super useful for healthy skin and hair. The best time to consume a banana is in the morning along with breakfast.
03FAQs potassium rich foods
Q. What are the signs of potassium deficiency?
A. Potassium deficiency needs to be quite major for the symptoms to show up. But the most common symptoms of a potassium deficiency are constipation, palpitation, constant fatigue, muscle pain, headaches, dizziness and spasms.
Q. What meat is high in potassium?
A. Even though meat isn't really a great source of potassium in general, there are certain meats that do contain some. Lean beef and turkey provide a good amount of potassium, but seafood such as salmon and mackerel are much better sourced in general.
Q. How much potassium does an adult need?
A. The required amount of potassium for both adult men and women is 4700 mg. But if you have any sort of kidney problems, then your requirements may vary, and in that case, it is best to speak to a doctor.
