Diet plan to lower potassium is usually recommended by medical doctors to prevent or treat high blood pressure and as a cardiovascular health measure. It is pretty much the same procedure as weight loss plan, but the focus is on reducing potassium rather than losing your weight.
What is a low-potassium diet and who might need to follow one?
Potassium is an essential mineral that plays an important role in proper kidney and heart function, muscle contraction, and nerve transmission.
Many fruits and vegetables contain high levels of potassium but it’s also present in many other foods like dairy, meats, and seafood.
Although diets rich in potassium are associated with many health benefits such as lower blood pressure, some people with advanced kidney disease may have to limit potassium in their diets.
Normally, your kidneys tightly regulate the amount of potassium in your blood.
But for people whose kidneys don’t function properly, potassium blood levels can increase to harmful levels, causing irregular heart contractions, and in severe cases, heart attacks.
As such, people with advanced chronic kidney disease may need to follow a low-potassium diet to maintain normal potassium levels.
People with diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and congestive heart failure are also at an increased risk of developing high blood potassium levels, or hyperkalemia.
Additionally, certain medications for blood pressure like potassium-sparring diuretics and ACE inhibitors can increase your risk for hyperkalemia.
A potassium blood test measures the potassium levels in your blood, but most people with hyperkalemia experience no symptoms.
A normal blood potassium level is 3.5–5.0 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) .
A low-potassium diet typically restricts potassium to about 2,000 mg per day, but your physician or dietitian will determine your specific level of restriction based on your blood potassium level and overall health.
For reference, the adequate intake of potassium for healthy adults is 2,600 mg per day for females and 3,400 mg for males.
The best foods to help lower potassium levels
A low potassium diet may reduce the burden on the kidneys and keep potassium levels in check, which is key for people with some chronic conditions.
Potassium is a mineral in a variety of foods, and it plays many important roles in the body, including keeping fluid levels balanced.
The kidneys usually filter the blood and help keep potassium levels stable, but some health issues limit their ability to do this.
This article looks at why and for whom monitoring dietary potassium is important. It also explores which foods to eat, which to avoid, and how to prepare foods so that they contain less of the mineral.
Why potassium levels matter
Potassium is a key electrolyte in the body. It helps with the function of cells generally, and it supports the function of the kidneys, nerves, heart, and muscles.
Potassium also interacts with sodium. Without enough potassium in the body, high sodium levels may lead to an increase in blood pressure.
A combination of low potassium and high sodium levels may increase a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke. Also, if potassium levels are too high or low, the risk of serious heart conditions, including cardiac arrest, rises.
Who should track their potassium levels
The kidneys help filter the blood, and in doing so they balance out levels of electrolytes — such as potassium — in the blood.
The average healthy person likely does not need to reduce their potassium levels. In the United States, for example, people tend to have too little potassium in their diets. And if a healthy person consumes too much, their kidneys typically excrete the excess through the urine.
However, diminished kidney function, due to an issue such as chronic kidney disease, can throw electrolyte levels out of balance. If potassium levels are too high, doctors call this hyperkalemia.
Meanwhile, certain medicines for kidney disease can also contribute to an imbalance.
Other health conditions that can affect potassium levels include:
- type 1 diabetes
- adrenal insufficiency
- congestive heart failure
- liver disease
A person with any of the above health issues should work closely with a healthcare professional to keep their potassium levels in check.
Dietary strategies
Healthcare professionals may recommend dietary changes to help reduce potassium levels.
This will require a person to become familiar with the potassium contents of various foods and choose low potassium options whenever possible. Also, it is important to limit the portion sizes of high potassium foods.
Meanwhile, doctors may also recommend medications that help remove the mineral from the body.
Foods High in Potassium
One of the top food sources of potassium may surprise you: dried apricots. Just half a cup has 1,000 milligrams of potassium. Other dried fruits are also rich in potassium. You’ll get 700 milligrams from half a cup of prunes and 618 milligrams from half a cup of raisins.
And while beans and legumes are great for you, some are high in potassium. A cup of cooked lentils gives you 731 milligrams of potassium. And a cup of canned kidney beans delivers 607 milligrams of potassium.
Veggies are good for everyone, but if you’re on a potassium-restricted diet, your doctor may want you to limit certain ones, such as acorn squash (644 milligrams in a cup of mashed acorn squash), potatoes (610 milligrams in a medium-sized baked potato), and spinach (344 milligrams in 2 cups of raw spinach).
Potassium isn’t just in plant-based foods. You’ll get 332 milligrams of it in 3 ounces of chicken breast, 330 milligrams from nonfat yogurt, and 326 milligrams from 3 ounces of salmon.
Low potassium foods
Making dietary changes can help limit potassium levels, but it is important to keep in mind that the nutrient is crucial for health. The goal is to choose foods that provide enough of the mineral without causing a problematic buildup.
The National Kidney Foundation report that a potassium-restricted diet should include about 2,000 milligrams (mg) of the mineral each day. However, a doctor may recommend a different target.
Low-potassium fruits:
- Apples (plus apple juice and applesauce)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cranberries
- Fruit cocktail
- Grapes and grape juice
- Grapefruit
- Mandarin oranges
- Peaches
- Pears
- Pineapple and pineapple juice
- Plums
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Tangerine
- Watermelon
Serving sizes
Low potassium foods contain about 200 mg of the mineral, or less, per serving.
Unless otherwise listed, the serving size of the foods below is 1/2 cup. Having a larger serving increases the potassium content of a meal.
Fruits
Low potassium fruits include:
- apples (1 medium) or apple juice or sauce
- blueberries
- blackberries
- strawberries
- raspberries
- cherries
- grapes or grape juice
- cranberries or cranberry juice
- pineapple or pineapple juice
- mandarin oranges
- grapefruit (1/2 fruit)
- watermelon (1 cup)
- plum (1 whole)
- tangerine (1 whole)
- peaches (1 small)
Vegetables
Low potassium vegetables include:
- green beans
- wax beans
- peas
- alfalfa sprouts
- green or red cabbage
- raw white mushrooms
- cucumber
- eggplant
- kale
- lettuce
- onions
- peppers
- parsley
- rhubarb
- radishes
- watercress
- yellow or zucchini squash
- asparagus (6 spears)
- celery (1 stalk)
- corn, fresh (½ ear)
Protein sources
Beyond vegetable sources, other low potassium sources of protein include:
- eggs
- canned tuna
- beef
- poultry
- some cheeses
Carbohydrate sources
Low potassium foods rich in carbohydrates include:
- white rice
- white bread
- white pasta
- corn products, such as polenta and cornmeal grits
Drinks and snacks
Some low potassium options include:
- rice milk
- coffee
- tea
- herbal tea
- sparkling water
- cakes and pies without chocolate or fruits high in potassium
- cookies without chocolate or nuts
What to limit or avoid
High potassium foods contain more than 200 mg of potassium per serving.
Below, we have listed some foods that anyone looking to reduce their potassium intake might want to avoid.
Unless a serving size is provided, the average serving is 1/2 cup. It is worth noting that simply reducing the serving size, and thus the amount of potassium, may make some of these foods acceptable.
Fruits
The following are fruits with more potassium and their average serving sizes:
- raw apricots (2 medium)
- dried apricots (5 halves)
- dates (5 whole)
- other dried fruits
- avocados (¼ whole)
- bananas (½ whole)
- cantaloupe
- honeydew melon
- grapefruit juice
- kiwi (1 medium)
- mango (1 medium)
- nectarine (1 medium)
- orange (1 medium)
- orange juice
- papaya (½ fruit)
- pomegranate (1 whole)
- pomegranate juice
- prunes
- prune juice
- raisins
Vegetables
Below, find vegetables with more potassium:
- acorn squash
- artichokes
- bamboo shoots
- butternut squash
- boiled beets
- cooked broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- Chinese cabbage
- raw carrots
- leafy greens, except kale
- hubbard squash
- kohlrabi
- okra
- parsnips
- potatoes
- pumpkin
- rutabagas
- cooked spinach
- tomatoes
- cooked white mushrooms
Nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes
Below, find legumes, beans, and seeds with more potassium:
- baked beans
- black beans
- nuts and seeds (1 ounce)
- peanut butter (2 tablespoons)
- dried beans and peas
- lentils
- legumes
Other foods to avoid
- bran products
- chocolate (1.5–2.0 ounces)
- granola
- milk, all types (1 cup)
- molasses (1 tablespoon)
- salt-free broth
- yogurt
People looking to limit their potassium levels may also need to avoid salt substitutes, which can contain higher levels of minerals, including potassium.
How to leach potassium from fruits and vegetables
Leaching is a technique to draw some potassium from foods. A person should contact a doctor about the best approach and how much to leach before trying it at home.
To leach potassium from some vegetables, for example:
- Peel and rinse the vegetables under warm water.
- Cut the vegetables into pieces that are 1/8 inch thick.
- Soak them in warm water for at least 2 hours. Use 10 times as much water as there are vegetables.
- Rinse them under warm water again.
- Boil them, using 5 times as much water as there are vegetables.
For some, this may be too time-consuming. Alternately, an older study, from 2008, found that simply boiling some potassium-rich foods, such as cubed potatoes, for 10 minutes can reduce their potassium contents by up to 50%.
For canned or potted fruits and vegetables, drain and rinse them to remove any excess minerals in the canning liquid.
1-Day sample low-potassium diet menu
Here is a 1-day sample low-potassium diet that contains less than 2,000 mg of potassium:
- Breakfast: 1/2 cup (40 grams) oats, 1 cup (140 grams) of blueberries, and 2 whole eggs
- Snack: 2/3 cup (170 grams) Greek yogurt and 28 almonds
- Lunch: mixed-green salad topped with canned tuna, sliced radishes, green onion, and shredded carrots, and dressed with rice vinegar and sesame oil
- Snack: apple slices with 2 tbsp (33 grams) of peanut butter
- Dinner: 4 oz (112 grams) chicken breast and 6 spears of asparagus
Remember that it’s still OK to eat foods high in potassium as long as your diet consists primarily of low-potassium foods.