Bananas are widely known for their high potassium content. But how true is that? Is it just a myth? Are bananas the ultimate potassium bomb?

Are bananas even high in potassium? Let's put potassium content into perspective and pit them against other fruits.
Table of Contents
1. Avocado
Nutritional Facts: 3.5 oz (100 g) Avocado
- 160 Calories
- Total Fat 15 g 23%
- Saturated fat 2.1 g 10%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
- Sodium 7 mg 0%
- Potassium 485 mg 13%
- Total Carbohydrate 9 g 3%
- Dietary fiber 7 g 28%
- Sugar 0.7 g
- Protein 2 g 4%
- Vitamin C 16%
- Calcium 1%
- Iron 3%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 15%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 7%
Avocados are extremely high in potassium. This popular fruit, yes, avocados are a fruit, has more than double the amount of potassium in them than one medium-sized banana.
Although one medium-sized banana has roughly 422 mg of potassium, one average-sized avocado (200 g) has 975 mg of potassium.
Even a half of avocado has around 487 mg of potassium, which is more than a banana. By eating one banana and half of avocado per day, you're getting a quarter of recommended daily potassium intake.
Plus, that's around 40% of the daily fiber in that one meal or snack.

It's true that avocado is high in calories, but most of them come from healthy fats, which can contribute to heart health.
Apart from healthy fats, avocadoes are also high in omega-3 fatty acids that contribute to lowering blood pressure and delay the evolution of plaque in your arteries.
Can You Check Your Potassium Level at Home?
2. Watermelon
Nutritional Facts: 2 Watermelon Wedges (572 g)
- 174 Calories
- Total Fat 0.8 g 1%
- Saturated fat 0 g 0%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
- Sodium 5.8 mg 1%
- Potassium 640 mg 18%
- Total Carbohydrate 44 g 14%
- Dietary fiber 2.2 g 8%
- Sugar 036 g
- Protein 3.4 g 6%
- Vitamin C 76%
- Calcium 4%
- Iron 6%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 10%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 14%
Watermelon can't compare to a banana pound per pound, however, 2 wedges of watermelon can. Here's what I mean. One medium banana has 422 mg of potassium or 12% of your daily needs.
At the same time, two wedges of watermelon have 640 mg potassium which makes up for 18% of your daily needs.
Since watermelon is mostly water, it's easy to eat two wedges or even more and substantially boost our potassium intake.

3. Pomegranate
Nutritional Facts: 1 Pomegranate, 4" diameter (282 g)
- 234 Calories
- Total Fat 3.3 g
- Saturated fat 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Sodium 8.5 mg
- Potassium 666 mg 18%
- Total Carbohydrate 53 g
- Dietary fiber 11 g
- Sugar 39 g
- Protein 4.7 g
- Vitamin C 36%
- Calcium 3%
- Iron 6%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 17%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 9%
A single pomegranate supplies you with 666 mg of potassium. This is an impressive amount and a third more than what a medium banana contains. For that reason, eating pomegranates can help you quickly refill your potassium storage.
Apart from potassium, pomegranate is also rich in vitamin K, which is necessary for preventing blood clotting and bone strength.

By adding pomegranates to your diet you help decrease inflammation in your body, which, if left untreated, can lead to diverse chronic ailments.
Don't know which foods are high in potassium? Read our article, 15 Best Food Sources of Potassium. We also have a guide to this important mineral: Potassium 101: All You Need To Know About Potassium.
4. Dried Fruits
Dried Apricots
Nutrition Facts: 3.5 oz (100 g) Dried Apricots
- 241 Calories
- Total Fat 0.5 g 0%
- Saturated fat 0 g 0%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
- Sodium 10 mg 0%
- Potassium 1,162 mg 33%
- Total Carbohydrate 63 g 21%
- Dietary fiber 7 g 28%
- Sugar 53 g
- Protein 3.4 g 6%
- Vitamin C 1%
- Calcium 5%
- Iron 15%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 5%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 8%
Dried apricots are a traditional dried fruit that has nearly three times the potassium than bananas. A 3.5 oz serving of dried apricots contains 1,162 mg of potassium. That's a third of potassium we need in a day.
Apart from potassium, dried apricots are also high in fiber, iron, and magnesium, but also have a lot of calories, so be careful not to overindulge.
Dates
Nutrition Facts: 3.5 oz (100 g) Deglet Noor dates
- 282 Calories
- Total Fat 0.4 g 0%
- Saturated fat 0 g 0%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
- Sodium 2 mg 0%
- Potassium 656 mg 18%
- Total Carbohydrate 75 g 25%
- Dietary fiber 8 g 32%
- Sugar 63 g
- Protein 2.5 g 5%
- Vitamin C 0%
- Calcium 3%
- Iron 5%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 10%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 10%
A 3.5-ounce serving of dates contains 656 mg of potassium. That's much more than what banana has. Dates are also extremely nourishing and have many plant compounds that hold disease-fighting effects, including antioxidants.
Pregnant women can add dates to their diet, especially during the last few weeks of their pregnancy, to help reduce labor time and make it easier.

Dates are also very easy to add to any diet as they can be thrown into a salad, a larger meal, or eaten as a snack.
Prunes
Nutritional Facts: 3.5 oz (100 g) Prunes
- 240 Calories
- Total Fat 0.4 g 0%
- Saturated fat 0.1 g 0%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
- Sodium 2 mg 0%
- Potassium 732 mg 20%
- Total Carbohydrate 64 g 21%
- Dietary fiber 7 g 28%
- Sugar 38 g
- Protein 2.2 g 4%
- Vitamin C 1%
- Calcium 4%
- Iron 4%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 10%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 10%
A half-cup serving of prunes contains 387 mg of potassium. That's close to the amount of potassium in bananas. However, when we're at looking pound-per-pound content, prunes have much more potassium in them than bananas.
Prunes are dried plums and a great source of iron, copper, vitamin B6, and vitamin A. All of these nutrients contribute to a healthy body and prevent the development of diverse health conditions.
Prunes are also high in antioxidants that help flush out harmful free radicals out of our bodies, lowering the risk of oxidative stress and damage to our cells.
Raisins
Nutrition Facts: 3.5 oz (100 g), Seedless Raisins
- 299 Calories
- Total Fat 0.5 g 0%
- Saturated fat 0.1 g 0%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
- Sodium 11 mg 0%
- Potassium 749 mg 21%
- Total Carbohydrate 79 g 26%
- Dietary fiber 3.7 g 14%
- Sugar 59 g
- Protein 3.1 g 6%
- Vitamin C 3%
- Calcium 5%
- Iron 10%
- Vitamin D 0%
- Vitamin B6 10%
- Vitamin B12 0%
- Magnesium 8%
Just a one-ounce serving (around 60 raisins) gives you 212 mg of potassium. Eating raisins has also been shown to decrease blood pressure and enhance your blood sugar levels.
The fiber in raisins may also lower the ‘bad’ cholesterol levels in your body, which keeps your heart healthy and reduce the strain on it.

A 100 grams or 3.5 oz of seedless raisins contain 749 mg of potassium or 21% of the daily value. Pound per pound, that's almost double the amount of potassium than that in bananas.
What does potassium do in your body?
Potassium is a mineral that’s also an electrolyte that conducts electrical impulses throughout your body.
Because of that, potassium is vital for nerve impulses and muscle contractions since they link muscles and nerve cells with our brain.
Since potassium has such a substantial role in our bodies, it’s crucial to get sufficient potassium from the diet as our body doesn’t produce it naturally.
A diet rich in potassium-rich foods helps neutralize the adverse effects of dietary sodium. That's because potassium can also lower blood pressure and reduce your chance of having a stroke.
Apart from that, potassium also helps retain your heart rhythm stable, stemming arrhythmia and heart attacks.
As a result, retaining good levels of potassium is essential as a lack of this mineral can lead to transient but also long-term health issues.
While hyperkalemia – high potassium levels in your body – does happen, it’s generally not an issue for healthy people.
Those who should control their potassium intake carefully are those who have kidney issues since the excess potassium isn’t removed from their bodies, which is obviously bad for health.
What Makes Fruit High or Low in Potassium?
You might be wondering how experts categorize fruits and other foods as high, medium, or low in potassium. They don't just pull numbers out of thin air.
Experts use a standardized classification system. Foods that have less than 100 mg of potassium per serving are considered low in potassium.
Anything that has between 101 and 200 mg of potassium per serving is medium. Lastly, foods that have 201 to 300 mg of potassium per serving are high in potassium, and anything above 301 is very high.
Conclusion
Banana isn't the only fruit high in potassium. In fact, there are a good few fruits, fresh or dried that have more potassium. These high-potassium fruits include avocado, watermelon, pomegranate, and dried fruits such as dried apricots, prunes, dates, and raisins.
Source: USDA