High Potassium

Question
Dear Ms. Sarah,

My father was advised by his doctor to control on potassium intake as his levels were high due to some medicines he had been consuming. Form my search in the internet I understood that there is nothing which is free of potassium which he can consume without restriction.
Kindly provide advice on a diet plan for him which will provide healthy and at the same time low potassium levels.
Thanks in advance for your time and advise.

Regards

Girish

Answer
It is true that there is nothing that does not contain potassium.  However, there are foods that contain more potassium that should be avoided and foods that contain less that can be eaten more often.  Foods high in potassium include avocado, artichoke, bananas, kidney beans, lima beans, beets, black-eyed peas, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, brussel sprouts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, prunes, raisins, spinach, tomatoes/tomato products, soy products, winter squash, and whole grains.  Dairy should be limited to one serving of milk, cheese, or yogurt per day.  Meat is not really high in potassium, but should be limited to 3-5 ounces per day.  Foods low in potassium include green beans, cucumber, cabbage, carrots (except carrot juice), celery, eggplant, fresh mushrooms, green peas, iceberg lettuce, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, onions, apple, apricots (canned), fresh grapes, fruit cocktail (canned), cherries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, pears, mandarin oranges, and white rice.  Even foods low in potassium should be limited to 1 serving fruit and 1 serving vegetable per meal.  (1 serving = 1/2 cup cooked or canned or 1 cup raw)  The list is in no way a complete list; you can look up the amount of potassium a food contains on the internet...there are plenty of lists and printing a list containing both high and low foods may be helpful, especially as your father is getting used to the new diet.  The goal is usually no more than 4grams of potassium per day.  You can also leach high potassium vegetables, such as potatoes, in order to reduce the potassium content so they can still be eaten.  You can learn how to leach vegetables and print a list of high/low potassium foods at www.kidney.org/atoz/content/potassium.cfm

I wish you and your father the best of luck.  This is a hard diet to follow, but if he concentrates more on what he can eat than what he can't it should be much easier.

1. Prev:Tamoxifen and Weight Loss
2. Next:Beef hormones