bananas and potassium

Question
So far, you seem to be the most qualified to answer my question...  

My background:  

I'm 8 weeks pregnant with my 1st child and have had a lot of "growing pains."  I've been cramping 24/7 for 3 weeks - abs and low back - worse than PMS.  Two doctors (and a lot of women who think they're doctors) have told me it's nothing as long as I don't bleed, and that it will pass between 14-20 weeks.  The pain is so intense it's almost like the contractions themselves.  I used to eat bananas as a teenager when I'd get leg cramps, so I ate 2 bananas at lunch today and have felt GREAT for the past 4 hours.

My question:  

How much potassium is too much?  A couple of Tylenols 2-3 times per day is not making even a "dent" in the pain.  Would the same dose of bananas be too much?  (You may only be able to answer that from the non-pregnant perspective, I understand.)

Please help!

Answer
Hi Chrystal,

I'm sorry to hear you are experiencing such painful cramps during your pregnancy!

The Dietary Reference Intake for potassium for adults (the amount you should consume daily) is 4700 mg. There is about 350 mg of potassium in one banana, so there is no harm in eating several per day if you need to (most women get less than half the recommended amount of potassium, so it will likely be beneficial for your overall health to increase your potassium intake). Most fruits and vegetables, as well as dairy products, are good sources of potassium, so you may want to increase your intake of these foods as well to boost the total potassium content of your diet. While most nutrients have an "Upper Limit" determined for them (the maximum amount it is considered safe to consume daily), there is no such limit set for potassium as there is no evidence of chronic excess intakes of potassium in healthy individuals. In other words, it is considered to be extremely unlikely that you would consume an unsafe level of potassium through your diet.

Hope that helps!

Karen  

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