These potassium-lowering foods might save your life!

Potassium is a mineral that can be found in various foods, and it plays many crucial roles in your body, such as keeping your fluid levels balanced. The kidneys aid in filtering fluids and excess waste products from your blood.

In doing so, they balance out electrolyte levels and blood potassium. Yet, certain health conditions can limit the kidneys from functioning as they should. This could lead to high levels of potassium and, in turn, cause your health to decline.

So, to help, Nutrition In USA has decided to look at why and for whom monitoring dietary potassium is vital. Keep reading to learn about which foods to eat and how you can prepare your foods so that they contain fewer minerals.

Low-potassium foods

The recommended serving size for the low-potassium foods we’ll recommend is 1/2 a cup. The main idea is to try and be mindful and as to not overdo it. Too much low-potassium food makes it high-potassium. We’ve broken it down into food groups:

Low-potassium fruits:

-Fruit cocktail
-Peaches
-Tangerine
-Pears
-Apples and applesauce
-Mandarin oranges
-Blackberries
-Strawberries
-Blueberries
-Watermelon
-Plums
-Cranberries
-Grapes
-Pineapple
-Raspberries

Low-potassium vegetables:

-Peppers
-Cucumber
-Lettuce
-Alfalfa sprouts
-Onion
-Asparagus
-Broccoli
-Cabbage
-Water chestnuts
-Carrots
-Yellow squash
-Cauliflower
-Eggplant
-Peas
-Celery
-Radish
-Corn
-White mushrooms
-Green beans
-Zucchini
-Kale
-Parsley

Other low-potassium foods:

-Bread (not whole grain)
-Cookies (no nuts or chocolate)
-Cake (angel or yellow)
-Rice
-Pasta
-Noodles
-Pies (unless it’s made with high-potassium fruits)

Low-potassium drinks:

-Certain fruit juices, including grape, apple, and pineapple
-Tea (no more than 16 oz)
-Coffee (no more than 8 oz)

Why do potassium levels matter?

Potassium is a critical electrolyte in the body that aids in supporting the function of an individual’s:

-Heart
-Kidneys
-Nerves
-Muscles

Blood potassium levels that are too low to too high can lead to severe complications, including cardiac arrest or heart disease. Hyperkalemia happens when an individual’s blood potassium levels increase above the healthy range of 3.5 and 5.0 mmol/L.

This might damage the muscles that control the breathing and heartbeat and could lead to the following:

-Numbness or tingling
-Muscle weakness
-Digestive problems

Hypokalemia is when a person’s blood potassium levels are too low. This can cause symptoms like:

-Constipation
-Muscle cramps
-Increased urination

Potassium also interacts with sodium. Without the appropriate amount of potassium in your body, high sodium levels can increase your blood pressure.

Who should eat more potassium-lowering foods?

Potassium is a type of mineral you get from food you consume, which your body uses to:

-Help keep your blood pressure under control
-Help balance fluid levels in your cells
-Keeps your muscles and nerves healthy

Your kidneys are the ones who are responsible for keeping a healthy amount of potassium. You might get too little or too much if they must be fixed. If there’s too little potassium in your blood, you might have an irregular heartbeat. Your muscles may also feel weak.

If you have too much potassium in your blood, it can cause muscle weakness, heart palpitations, paralysis, and a prickling or burning feeling in your hands, arms, legs, and feet. When kidneys work well, they balance the potassium levels in a body.

Any extra gets flushed into urine so you can get rid of it when you go to the bathroom. When you have high potassium levels in your blood, your kidneys can’t do this either. You can help your kidneys by lowering how much potassium you take in through your food.

Your doctor might recommend you limit your potassium intake if you have any of the following medical conditions:

-Type 1 diabetes
-Kidney disease
-Adrenal insufficiency or Addison’s disease
-Liver disease
-Congestive heart failure

Certain medications can also make it hard for your body to eliminate extra potassium. These can include:

-Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain.
-Angiotensin receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors that are used to treat heart failure, high blood pressure, and kidney disease.
-Certain kinds of diuretics, including amiloride, furosemide, spironolactone, and chlorothiazide, which are used to treat high blood pressure.
-Digoxin, which is used to treat heart rhythm abnormalities and heart failure.
-Succinylcholine, which is a muscle relaxer you might get before a surgery or if you have to be on a breathing machine.
-Potassium penicillin, which is used to treat severe bacterial infections, like pneumonia, other respiratory tract infections, and scarlet fever.

How can you lower the potassium levels in your foods?

Most of the ways you cook your food will lower its potassium levels. For example:

-Soaking decreases potassium levels in white and sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, and leafy and cruciferous veggies.
-Pressure cooking, cooking in water, and cooking in the microwave reduces potassium levels in meats, legumes, cereals, fruits, and leafy and cruciferous vegetables.
-Steam cooking and dry heating can also lower potassium levels, but less than cooking or soaking in water.

What does a low-potassium diet ACTUALLY look like?

While on a low-potassium diet, you should try to eat under 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams of potassium daily. Those without any health issues usually aim to eat roughly 4,700 milligrams.

The exact amount of potassium you’ll strive for depends on your weight and height. Depending on your particular needs, a low-potassium diet plan may look like this:

-Vegetables: 2 to 3 servings of low-potassium vegetables, like corn or carrots.
-Fruit: 1 to 3 servings of low-potassium fruits, such as apples or grapes.
-Meat/plant-based meat: 3 to 7 servings of low-potassium options, such as shrimp or turkey.
-Dairy/calcium-rich foods: 1 to 2 servings of low-potassium choices, like cottage cheese.
-Grains: 4 to 7 servings of low-potassium grains, including noodles or rice.

Bonus: Here are a few tips before you go on a low-potassium diet

Like any modification you make to your eating habits, a low-potassium diet might take some getting used to. Maybe some of these tips can help you:

-Plan: If you know you’ll be going out to eat for dinner and want to enjoy some foods that might be high in potassium, try to stick to low-potassium foods throughout the rest of the day leading up to your outing.

-Make a list: It might take you a bit to discover which foods are high in potassium. Speak to your doctor and ask for a list. That can help when you eat out or go grocery shopping.

-Reconsider your cooking methods: Boiling helps eliminate the potassium out of some veggies. You can also try your hand at blanching. Boil for 1 about a minute, then drain and rinse. Then use the veggies in a soup, stir-fry, or casserole.

-Pay attention to serving sizes: A low-potassium food can quickly become high if you overeat it. Pay attention to your portions. Some serving sizes might be much smaller than you thought. For example, a serving of chicken is about the size of your hand.

-Read food labels: Remember to check the “Nutrition Facts” on packages to see how much potassium your food has. Try to choose things that contain no more than 100 milligrams of potassium in each serving.

-Pass on the “fake” salt: If you’re on a low-potassium diet, you’ll need to skip low-sodium salt or any other “fake” salts, for that matter. Don’t worry, though. You can still add lots of flavor to your food with spices and herbs instead.

Here’s what we recommend from Amazon: Frontier Salt-Free Organic Seasoning, All Purpose, 2.5 Ounce

What do you think about these potassium-lowering foods? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Meanwhile, if you enjoyed this article, we think you may also like: Servers Won’t Eat These 11 Shocking Things at Their Own Restaurants!