Re: Potassium buildup--- ????

Low potassium foods
Ask your dietitian about the amount you can safely eat. Portion size is important. Eating too much or too often can result in high potassium levels even when eating low potassium foods.

Laboratory ranges for CKD Low range less than 3.5 mEq/L Safe range 3.5 - 5.5 mEq/L Unsafe range 5.6 - 6.0 mEq/L Dangerous more than 6.0 mEq/L

How to leach vegetables to lower potassium
Peel the vegetable, cut into small pieces and place in a very large pot of water.
Rinse the vegetables.
Fill the pot with water and let the vegetables soak for at least four hours at room temperature (or you can let them soak over night in the refrigerator).
After soaking, rinse the vegetables with clean water.
Cook vegetables as desired.
Limit portion to one serving, usually 1/2 cup.

To keep your potassium levels normal try these suggestions:

Food type Tip
Fruit Choose apples, berries or grapes, instead of bananas, oranges or kiwi.
Select a small piece of watermelon, instead of cantaloupe or honeydew.
Eat a peach, plum or pineapple, instead of nectarines, mangos or papaya.
Choose dried cranberries, instead of raisins or other dried fruit.
Drink apple, cranberry or grape juice, instead of orange juice or prune juice.
Use lower potassium canned pears, peaches or fruit cocktail, instead of fresh fruit.

Vegetables Choose green beans, wax beans or snow peas, instead of dried beans or peas.
Prepare mashed potatoes or hash browns from leached potatoes, instead of eating baked potato or French fries. (Be sure to leach your potatoes to lower potassium content.)
Use summer squashes like crookneck or zucchini, instead of winter squashes like acorn, banana or hubbard squash.
Cook with onion, bell peppers, mushrooms or garlic, instead of tomatoes, tomato sauce or chili sauce.
Drink ice water with sliced lemon and cucumber, instead of drinking vegetable juices.

Dairy Use nondairy creamer or unenriched rice milk, instead of milk.
Prepare pudding with nondairy creamer, instead of eating yogurt or pudding made with milk.
Enjoy sherbet, sorbet or a Popsicle®, instead of ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Miscellaneous Choose vanilla- or lemon-flavored desserts, instead of chocolate desserts.
Eat unsalted popcorn or pretzels, rice cakes, jelly beans or hard candies, instead of nuts or seeds.
Season with pepper, lemon or low sodium herb and spice blends, instead of salt substitutes.



Foods low in potassium.
LOW potassium (less than 125 mg per serving)
They should be a major part of the menu plan for people limiting their intake.
Apples

Bell peppers

Blueberries

Cabbage

Cranberries

Cranberry juice

Cucumber

Fruit cocktail

Grapes

Green beans

Iceberg lettuce

Mandarin oranges, canned

Mushrooms

Peaches, canned

Pineapple, fresh

Plums

Foods high in potassium.



Patients on potassium-restricted diets should avoid them, or eat them sparingly, as advised by their nutritionist.

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HIGH potassium (more than 225 milligrams per 1/2 c. serving)

All meats, poultry and fish are high in potassium.

Apricots (fresh more so than canned)

Avocado

Banana

Cantaloupe

Honeydew

Kiwi

Lima beans

Milk

Oranges and orange juice

Potatoes

Prunes

Spinach

Tomatoes

Vegetable juice

Winter squash

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MODERATE (125 - 225 mg per serving)

These foods can be a large part of most people's balanced nutrition plan. Persons restricting their potassium might be cautioned to include no more than one or two servings from this list per day, depending on their medical restrictions.

Apple juice

Asparagus

Beets

Blackberries

Broccoli

Carrots

Cherries

Corn

Eggplant

Grapefruit

Green peas

Loose-leaf lettuce

Mushrooms, fresh

Onions

Peach

Pears

Pineapple

Raisins

Raspberries

Strawberries

Summer squash, including zucchini

Tangerines

Watermelon

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