what is a practical way for me to consume my recommended daily
allowance of potassium (3500 mg)?

apricots are billed as one of the most potassium rich foods, so what
if i tried to get my potassium by eating them? i'm getting the
nutritional information for apricots from
http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/Apricot.html
i would have to eat 3500mg/(312 mg potassium/serving)=11.2 servings to
get my rda, which gives me 11.2*11 g carbs/serving=123 g carbs. that's
almost 500 calories of sugar, which is way more than i want to be
consuming daily.

if i try to supplement potassium i run into a similar problem, the
standard supplement seems to run 99 mg potassium/tablet, so that's
around 35 tablets a day to get my rda. perhaps i just have an
irrational opposition to popping that many pills, but it certainly
doesn't seem like an ideal solution. if nothing else it would be
pretty expensive, if i went with gnc's product which is 100 (99 mg)
tablets for $3.99 i would go through a bottle every three days and be
spending almost $1.50/day on supplementing just this one mineral. is
there a supplement out there that i'm missing that provides
substantially more than 99 mg of potassium per serving?

i read somewhere on the web that most people aren't deficient in
potassium, which surprised me since calculations like the above make
it seem to me that it's hard to get the recommended amount (even if
you're trying which most people probably aren't). could it be that a
lot of "regular foods" have substantial amounts of potassium, so just
by eating normally i'm getting quite a bit? i find it hard to quantify
this, it sort of seems like overkill to track down the potassium
content of everything i eat...

Studies have shown that there is a relationship between low levels of
potassium and high blood pressure.   High intake of potassium may
protect against developing high blood pressure, and low intake may
increase blood pressure. Also, it potassium can have an effect on
lowering the sodium in your diet.  In actuality, there is no
Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for potassium.  There is what is
called a recommended daily intake, which is what you are referring to
with the number of 3,500mg.  As you have discovered, several foods
that are high in potassium are also high in fats and sugars.  Here is
an additional list of foods with their potassium content.   By
combining a good mixture of these foods in your daily diet and the
addition of supplements, you should be able to maintain the
recommended intake of potassium.  The chances are very good that you
are getting enough potassium in your daily diet that a supplement (not
35 pills worth :) ) would get you to that level.  The number to the
right is the milligram content of potassium content.  You can see this
chart at http://livingheart.com/dietresources/high_potassium.asp:

White beans, cooked (3/4 cup) 745 
Salt substitute containing potassium (1/4 tsp) 715 
Potato, baked (1 medium) 510 
Pinto beans, cooked (3/4 cup) 600 
Yogurt, low-fat, plain (1 cup) 625 
Baked beans, vegetarian, canned (3/4 cup) 640 
Lentils, cooked (3/4 cup) 550 
Lima beans, cooked (3/4 cup) 520 
Kidney beans, cooked (3/4 cup) 535 
Tomato juice, low sodium (1 cup) 535 
Cantaloupe, cubed (1 cup) 495 
Orange juice, frozen, reconstituted (1 cup) 480 
Yogurt, low-fat, w/ fruit (1 cup) 475 
Black beans, cooked (3/4 cup) 475 
Honeydew melon, cubed (1cup) 460 
Tomatoes, low sodium, canned (3/4 cup) 410 
Apricots, dried, uncooked (9 halves or 1/4 cup) 450 
Banana (1 large) 540 
Milk, low-fat, protein-fortified (1 cup) 445 
Spinach, frozen, cooked (3/4 cup) 460 
100% bran ready-to-eat-cereal (3/4 cup) 410 
Brussels sprouts, frozen, cooked (3/4 cup) 540 
Grapefruit juice (1 cup) 400 
Milk, low-fat (1 cup) 380 
Pork, tenderloin, cooked (3 ounces) 370 
Watermelon, cubed (2 cups) 350 
Carrot juice (1/2 cup) 345 
Prune juice (1/2 cup) 350 
Prunes, dried (5 medium) 345 
Avocado (1/4 medium) 260 
Apple juice (1 cup) 290 
Flounder, cooked (3 oz) 290 
Nectarine (1 medium) 290 
Beef, round, cooked (3 oz) 300 
Blackberries (1 cup) 280 
Pink salmon, unsalted, canned (3 oz) 275 
Beets, sliced, low sodium, canned (3/4 cup) 170 
Tomato, fresh (1 medium) 273 
Strawberries, sliced (1 cup) 275 
Carrot, raw (1 medium) 197 
Orange (1 medium) 235 
Cherries, fresh (15) 230 
Turkey, unprocessed, roasted (3 oz) 205 
Chicken, roasted (3 oz) 205 
Tuna, water-packed, unsalted (1/2 cup) 180 
Grapefruit (1/2 medium) 190 

Another tool you may find of value is the Goals for Potassium Intake
Calculator at http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/dietetics/research/potassium/goals/goals.html.
 Here you can put in what you eat and it will give you an idea of how
much potassium you will intake.  As with anything regarding your
health, be sure and speak with your doctor or medical professional
before making any radical changes in diet or exercise regimen.

Thank you for your question and if you need any further clarification,
please let me know.

Regards,

-THV

References and additional information:

Potassium Intake Information
http://www.epinions.com/content_60092681860

American Heart Association - Potassium
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4680

Potassium and Blood Pressure
http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/dietetics/research/potassium/pohome.html

Living Heart
http://livingheart.com/dietresources/high_potassium.asp

Awesome answer, tar_heel_V !  I have a few comments from personal
experience.

Here are a couple of reasons one might want to supplement dietary
potassium or monitor it carefully.  Arduous exercise, e.g. in
preparation for a marathon, that involves a lot of sweat can deplete
the body's potassium reserves faster than they are resupplied by a
normal diet.  Sports drinks help with this, but usually contain a high
carb burden as well.

In some people the Atkin's diet will cause potassium levels to fall. 
An early warning sign is often leg cramps ("Charley horses"),
frequently coming on at night/early morning.

Since potassium is a critical element in how nerves fire, it is
possible to be harmed by excessive potassium.  This is probably the
thinking behind regulations that limit the amount of potassium
provided in the GNC tablets you looked at; they are really negligible
contributions in the scheme of things.

If your diet and exercise are combining to cause a problem in this
regard, your best bet may be to get a physician to prescribe a more
substantial supplement.

best wishes, mathtalk-ga