Most people’s morning is incomplete without their daily cuppa coffee. However, is coffee high in Potassium, and therefore should you rethink the number of coffee cups you are drinking? Let us find out.
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Coffee is the most common drink worldwide. Many people drink a couple of cups of coffee every day to keep active and perform their tasks. Coffee is high in Potassium but not as high as a dried apricot.
Potassium has many health benefits, and people should maintain the potassium level in their bodies. A healthy male adult between the age of 19 to 50 should consume about 3400mg, and a healthy female should consume about 2600mg of Potassium per day. On average, one cup of coffee provides somewhere between 115 to 130 mg of Potassium in a cup.
Different coffee brands and different kinds of coffee have their own unique potassium levels in one serving. In this article, let’s find out how much coffee you should drink, especially when you have specific health problems like kidney disease.
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How Much Potassium Does Coffee Have? Is Coffee High In Potassium
On average, one regular-sized cup of coffee has 116 grams of Potassium. Some people drink a bigger serving size of coffee that might have a higher potassium level. If you use a 12-ounce big travel mug for coffee, you will consume 174 mg of Potassium per cup.
This value of Potassium is based on regular black coffee without any additives. With coffee additives, the level of Potassium may go up higher.
Potassium in other types of coffee includes:
Instant Coffee:
Instant coffee has less potassium concentration than black coffee. According to My Fitness Pal, 6 ounces of coffee has 72 mg of Potassium. In comparison, 96 mg of Potassium is present in 8 ounces of coffee.
You can drink more instant coffee without worrying about more potassium intake. Instant coffee goes through several processes that cause it to lose some of its nutrients, especially Potassium.
Decaf Coffee:
Decaf Coffee provides 216 mg of Potassium per brewed cup. It has a slightly higher potassium content than other types of coffee.
According to a study, decaf coffee has a 4.8% Daily Value of Potassium for adults. You should avoid drinking brewed coffee if you are concerned about your potassium intake due to a health issue. You can drink ordinary caffeinated coffee a couple of times or more a day.
The Amount of Potassium in Some Coffee Additives
Coffee additives also contain some potassium content which increases your coffee’s total potassium intake value. Some common coffee additives include:
Milk:
Many people add milk to their morning coffee. Milk contains high potassium content; adding it to coffee only makes it more potassium-rich. One cup of milk naturally contains 366 mg of Potassium.
It is more than a single cup of coffee! Generally, people add one cup of milk to their coffee, making it three times more potassium-rich than coffee alone.
You can also use milk alternatives with less Potassium, including soy milk and rice milk. Individually packaged milk also has less Potassium, typically 17 mg of Potassium per package.
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Granulated Sugar:
You can add sugar to the coffee according to your preference, and remember that one teaspoon contains 5.6 mg of Potassium. You should add sugar based on its potassium content.
According to a study, 100 grams of sugar has 133 mg of Potassium. One teaspoon of sugar weighs roughly 4,2 grams. You should avoid consuming more sugar as overconsuming sugar can lead to health risks.
Coffee-Mate:
The Original Coffee-Mate has zero Potassium; you can use as much as you want. It also doesn’t have any nutrients, minerals, or antioxidants.
Coffee Cream:
Half and Half cream provide 15 mg of Potassium per creamer. However, the potassium content may vary in different creamers. 30 ml of half and half cream has 39.9 mg of Potassium. Most coffee cream brands don’t put Potassium on the product’s nutritional information.
However, you can look for Potassium on the ingredient list of creamer to check whether it contains Potassium or not.
Honey:
The potassium level is highly variable in honey because it comes from different sources that affect its nutrient composition.
One hundred grams of honey contains between 40mg to 2500 mg of Potassium. One tablespoon weighs 21.25 grams, so one tablespoon of honey contains Potassium between 8.5 and 743.75 mg. You can add suitable honey to your coffee based on your need or preference.
Molasses:
Molasses have 308 mg of Potassium in a tablespoon. It has a more pungent taste than brown sugar; you can add molasses to alternate it with sugar in coffee. One hundred grams of molasses contain 1464 mg of Potassium.
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Why Should I Maintain Adequate Potassium Levels?
Maintains The Nervous System
Potassium is an essential electrolyte that helps maintain the functioning of the nervous system. The nervous system of our body relays messages between the brain and body.
Sodium and potassium ions carry electrical impulses through the nerves. These signals help to regulate muscle reflexes, muscle contractions, and other neurological functions.
Neurons generate nerve impulses by entering sodium ions into the cells and exiting the potassium ions from the cells.
Maintains Fluid and Electrolyte Balance
Our body consists of 60% of water. Out of this, 40% is present inside the cells in intracellular fluid (ICF). In contrast, the rest of the water is present in blood outside the cells in the extracellular space known as Extracellular fluids (ECF).
Electrolytes such as Potassium and sodium regulate the ICF and ECF. Without adequate regulation and balance, the cells will shrink or burst. You should consume proper electrolytes, especially Potassium and other fluids, to maintain organ health.
Reduce blood pressure:
Potassium helps eliminate excess sodium from the body. Excess sodium can increase blood pressure. Therefore, the elimination of excess sodium helps keep blood pressure in check.
Prevents osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones, in which your bones become brittle and susceptible to fractures. In this disease, lack of calcium makes your bones porous. Potassium helps reduce the elimination of excess calcium from the body and thus helps your bones remain strong.
Reduces the risk of stroke:
Lower blood pressure means a lower risk of heart disease. People who are at risk of heart stroke should increase their potassium intake.
Reduce fluid retention:
Potassium increases urine production, which helps reduce fluid retention in the body. If you eat more salt, you should also eat more potassium-rich foods.
Prevents kidney stones:
Potassium helps lower the calcium concentration in the urine. A higher concentration of calcium in the urine can lead to the formation of kidney stones. If you have had kidney stones or are at risk of having them, a potassium-rich diet will help you avoid them.
Controls muscle contraction:
Potassium helps in the process of muscle contraction in the gut and heart muscles.
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What Are the Risks Related to High Potassium Levels?
Potassium is essential for our body to function correctly. However, there are some risks of consuming too little and too much Potassium.
If a person gets a poor potassium diet, they will likely suffer from hypokalemia. If they get a high-potassium diet, they will suffer from hyperkalemia. If you don’t treat these conditions, you can get into life-threatening situations. Look for the symptoms of imbalance in potassium level in a person and get treatment as soon as possible.
Hypokalemia
Hypokalemia happens because of rapid fluid loss in the body due to low potassium levels. some symptoms of hypokalemia include:
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Muscle cramps
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Constipation
- Mood changes
- Unusual heartbeat
- Breathing difficulties
- Cardiac arrhythmia
- Abdominal distension
HyperKalemia
Consuming too much Potassium can lead to kidney disease, hyperkalemia, and specific drug toxicities. Some symptoms of hyperkalemia include:
- Irregular heartbeat
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Tingling
- Shortness of breath
- Numbness
- Muscle cramps
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How Much Coffee Should You Drink?
According to the NIH, a person should intake Potassium between 2,300 and 3,400 mg each day. However, this value may vary in age and gender. You should consume adequate Potassium based on your age, weight, level of activity, and gender. The below table depicts how much Potassium you may need at various stages of your life:
| Age | Male | Female | Pregnancy | Lactation |
| Birth to 6 months | 400 mg | 400 mg | ||
| 7 to12 months | 860 mg | 860 mg | ||
| 1 to 3 years | 2,000 mg | 2,000 mg | ||
| 4 to 8 years | 2,300 mg | 2,300 mg | ||
| 9 to 13 years | 2,500 mg | 2,300 mg | ||
| 14 to 18 years | 3,000 mg | 2,300 mg | 2,600 mg | 2,500 mg |
| 19 to 50 years | 3,400 mg | 2,600 mg | 2,900 mg | 2,800 mg |
| Above 50 years | 3,400 mg | 2,600 mg |
Source: Potassium – Health Professional Fact Sheet
You can achieve the appropriate potassium intake by drinking coffee and consuming other potassium-rich foods. For example, you can drink three cups of coffee with additives in a day.
You can drink up to five cups of coffee as long as you are not overdoing other potassium-rich foods. More than that is not safe because coffee contains caffeine that needs to be controlled.
You can consume other potassium-rich foods such as dried apricots, orange juice, milk, or bananas to maintain a healthy potassium level in your body.
If you have kidney disease, should consume a higher level of potassium than a healthy person. If you are suffering from renal impairment, you should limit your potassium intake to 2,000 mg in your diet. You can consume low-potassium foods like coffee but in limited amounts.
FDA considers foods that contain more than 20% Daily Value of potassium as high and with less than 5% of Daily Value as low potassium food.
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Some Final Words About Potassium and Coffee
Potassium is an essential micronutrient necessary for cellular function. As per FDA, 100g of coffee contains 49 mg of potassium. It is lower than other high potassium foods. However, if you drink more than three cups of coffee, the concentration of potassium in your body will significantly rise.
If you have kidney disease, drinking 2-3 weak cups of coffee is a good choice. Regulate the appropriate level of potassium in your body. A potassium-rich diet helps lower the risk of kidney stones stroke, lower blood pressure and prevent muscle cramps.
We hope this article gave you the right information that you needed about coffee and Potassium. If you have further queries, feel free to drop us a comment and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
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