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Low-Potassium Diet by Maria Adams, MS, MPH, RD

What is Potassium?

Potassium is a mineral found in many different foods, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, dried beans, and peas. Potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure and also helps muscles, including the heart, to contract properly.

Why Follow a Low-Potassium Diet?

Your doctor may recommend following a low-potassium diet if you have kidney problems or are taking certain medicines. If you have kidney problems, excess potassium can build up to dangerous levels in your blood. This can lead to confusion, irregular heartbeats , or a heart attack .

Foods High and Low in Potassium

Food With High Potassium

The high-potassium foods on the table contain more than 200 milligrams of potassium per serving. This is considered to be high in potassium. In general, you should avoid these foods if you need to limit how much potassium you eat. However, you may be able to work with a dietitian to add small portions of your favorite foods.

Food With Low Potassium

The foods in the right-hand column are considered to be low in potassium. Remember, though, that eating more than one serving of any of these foods can make it a high-potassium food. All servings are ½ cup (unless otherwise noted).

Food Category	Food With High Potassium	Food With Low Potassium
Fruits	Apricots—2 medium raw, 5 dry halves Avocado—¼ Banana—½ Cantaloupe—½ cup Dates—5 whole Dried fruits—½ cup Figs—dried, ½ cup Grapefruit juice—½ cup Honeydew—½ cup Kiwi—1 medium Mango—1 medium Nectarine—1 medium Orange—1 medium Orange juice—½ cup Papaya —½ whole Pomegranate—1 whole Pomegranate juice—½ cup Prunes—½ cup Prune juice—½ cup Raisins—½ cup	Apple (1 medium), apple juice, apple sauce Apricots—canned in juice Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries Cherries Fruit cocktail Grapes, grape juice Grapefruit—½ whole Mandarin oranges Peaches—1 small fresh, ½ cup canned Pears—1 small fresh, ½ cup canned Pineapple, pineapple juice Plums—1 whole Tangerine—1 whole Watermelon—limit to 1 cup
Vegetables	All portions are ½ cup. Acorn squash Artichoke Bamboo shoots Baked beans Butternut squash Beets, fresh then boiled Black beans Brussels sprouts Chinese cabbage Carrots, raw Dried beans and peas Greens, except kale Hubbard squash Kohlrabi Lentils Legumes Mushrooms, canned Parsnips Potatoes, white and sweet Pumpkin Refried beans Rutabagas Spinach, cooked Tomatoes, tomato products Vegetable juice	Alfalfa sprouts Asparagus—6 spears Beans, wax or green Cabbage, green and red Carrots, cooked Cauliflower Celery—1 stalk Corn—½ ear fresh,½ cup frozen) Cucumber Eggplant Kale Leached potatoes * Lettuce Mixed vegetables Mushrooms, fresh Okra Onions Parsley Peas, green Peppers Radish Rhubarb Water chestnuts, canned Watercress
Other Foods	Bran/bran Products—½ cup Chocolate—1.5-2 ounces Granola—½ cup Milk, all types —1 cup Molasses—1 tablespoon Nutritional supplements Nuts and seeds —1 ounce Peanut butter—2 tablespoons Salt substitutes —½ cup Salt-free broth—½ cup Yogurt—½ cup	Bread and bread products (not whole grains) Cake—angel food cake, yellow cake Coffee—limit to 8 ounces Cookies (without nuts or chocolate) Noodles Pasta Pies (without chocolate or high-potassium food) Rice Tea—limit to 16 ounces
Other	Snuff or chewing tobacco

*To leach potatoes: Peel and cut them into small pieces. Soak them in a large amount of water for at least two hours. (Use at least 5 cups of water for every 1 cup of potatoes.) Drain, rinse, and cook as desired.

Suggestions

Eat a variety of low-potassium foods. Limit or avoid high-potassium foods.
Be aware of the foods that you eat. You may want to keep a food log.
Most food has some potassium. Read food labels to find out how much potassium a food has per serving.
Do not drink juice from canned fruit, canned vegetables, or cooked meat.
Work with a dietitian to come up with an individualized food plan.

RESOURCES:

American Dietetic Association http://www.eatright.org/
Nutrition.gov http://www.nutrition.org/

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Dietitians of Canada http://www.dietitians.ca/
The Kidney Foundation of Canada http://www.kidney.ca/

References:

American Dietetic Association. Nutrition Care Manual website. Available at: http://www.nutritioncaremanual.org . Accessed January 20, 2010.
Potassium and your CKD diet. National Kidney Foundation website. Available at: http://www.kidney.org/atozPrint.cfm?id=103 . Accessed January 20, 2010.

Last reviewed March 2013 by Dianne Scheinberg Rishikof MS, RD, LDN

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