Are Mushrooms High In Potassium? (Answered)

Mushrooms are undoubtedly one of the tastiest things that nature has ever produced, and their use in the kitchen has been present since ancient times.

There are a wide variety of mushrooms in the world, some more popular than others, but all of them share one thing in common; the fantastic taste and the vast quantity of benefits and nutrients for humans.

In today’s world, thanks to the increasing amount of knowledge, the risk of getting food poisoning has drastically decreased, and always more and more people look to integrate the mushrooms into their diets. For that reason, in today’s article, we will see the average amount of  potassium present in mushrooms , trying to go as deep as we can.

Are mushrooms high in potassium? The mushrooms have an average of 318 mg of potassium for 100g of it, and they can be considered medium to high in the quantity of potassium they contain.

The quantity of potassium that mushrooms have, depends mainly on the types of mushrooms you will consume. To give you a more precise overview of the quantity of potassium in mushrooms, in the next part of the article, we will see all the differences, by taking into consideration different types of mushrooms.

Are Mushrooms High In Potassium

Potassium Content In Mushrooms Types

Potassium is an essential source for our health; it relieves the pressure in the blood and lowers blood pressure numbers. Getting enough potassium during the day is an important task that we should remember to take care of.

Studies have shown that the average quantity of potassium needed for an adult person is around 4700 mg; since many foods have a high potassium rate, mushrooms can be considered a medium to high source of potassium.

As mentioned before, the types of mushrooms present are vast; they go from the portobello, oyster, porcini, morel, and so on ( if you want to have a more precise overview, see our list of mushrooms).

Depending on the types of mushrooms you are cooking, you might find differences in the potassium content. To give you a more precise overview, in the below part, we will list the potassium present divided by the types of mushrooms.

The mushroom with the highest content in potassium is the shiitake, where its quantity is calculated to be 1534mg per 100g.

  • Chanterelle quantity of potassium 506 mg per 100g
  • oyster 420 mg quantity of potassium per 100g
  • morel, 411mg quantity of potassium per 100g

Do mushrooms have more potassium than bananas?

Yes, considering that the quantity of potassium present in 100g of banana is 358mmg, and the potassium quantity of mushrooms is 318 mg for 100g, the banana has slightly more potassium than mushrooms.

For the same amount of serving, that for our case is 100g, we can observe that the bananas are slightly higher in potassium, exactly 40mg more. 

Anyway, let’s consider the mushroom with the higher potassium content, the shiitake, which has 1534 mg of potassium for 100g. We see that it will have a much higher value of potassium than the average standard banana.

Can you eat mushrooms on a low potassium diet?

Yes, you can eat mushrooms without any problem since the quantity of potassium in a mushroom is not high compared to other vegetables or fruit.

As mentioned early, the mushroom can be considered a low potassium food, and it will fit very well if you are following a diet that obliges you to consume food with a low potassium content.

It is also essential to consider the type of mushroom you are preparing because it could drastically change the potassium quantity. 

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Which mushroom has the most potassium?

The type of mushroom with the most potassium is the shiitake; in fact, only 100g of shiitake mushrooms contain 1534mg of potassium.

The shiitake mushroom is part of the edible category of mushrooms, and its primary influence is focused on the East Asian part, although USA and Canada. 

The shiitake mushrooms are used mainly to prepare dishes, especially in Japan and China. The taste of the shiitake is what differentiates the most from the other types of mushrooms; it has a firm and chewy texture mixed with an intense flavor.

The main reason for that, is hidden in its quantity of water, where it is around 75%. Many recipes present on the internet show the shiitake as the protagonist; it will depend upon your preferences which one to choose.

The only thing that you should take care of is that, as mentioned early, the shiitake has the highest quantity of potassium. If you are following a diet of low potassium, choosing the shiitake will not be the best choice.

Is cooked mushroom high in potassium?

Depending on the period of the year or the location where you live, you might have or not have the possibility to purchase fresh mushrooms. Anyway, if your desire for mushrooms is so strong, there is always the possibility to find canned mushrooms and canned mushroom soups in the supermarket.

If you decide to purchase mushrooms in canned for preparing a mushroom soup, the quantity of potassium for 100g is 31mg for most of the brands you will decide to purchase. 

The variations of potassium will depend upon the brands you have purchased and the typology of mushrooms used for cooking.

The same discussion if you decide to cook the mushroom by yourself. In that case, we can estimate that the quantity of potassium present will be almost the same as the prepared canned mushroom soup.

Final thoughts

Knowing the quantity of potassium for a person that is following a specific diet is very important; some types of mushrooms could be not the best if you are following a low potassium diet, but luckily the majority of mushroom that you will found will contain a low amount of potassium.