High Potassium Foods to Avoid Eating in High Portions Shusree Mukherjee, February 9, 2021December 11, 2023 Potassium is a relatively essential mineral that your body requires. But if you suffer from any kidney ailments, it is best to check out the high potassium foods to avoid. We will not only tell you the foods high in potassium, but we will also highlight the low potassium foods. So, if you are in search of high potassium foods to avoid, look no further. Start scrolling down, and we will tell you possibly everything you need to know to keep your potassium intake low! Table of Contents ToggleWhy keep the potassium intake in check?How to limit the potassium build-up?High Potassium Foods to AvoidHigh-potassium vegetablesOther high-potassium foodsLow Potassium FoodsLow-potassium fruitsLow potassium vegetablesOther low potassium foodsWhy is leaching potassium from vegetables and fruits important?How to perform the process of leaching?How much is potassium safe to consume?Symptoms of High PotassiumHow can kidney ailments affect other nutritional requirements?Final Thoughts Why keep the potassium intake in check? Before we get into the details of the high potassium foods to avoid, let us check out why do you need to keep a check on your potassium intake. When you suffer from any kidney ailment, it is best to keep a close watch on your potassium intake. Your kidney is primarily responsible for dialysis nutrition the excess fluids and other waste from your body. During normal functioning, your kidney filters around 120 to 150 quarts of blood in one day. So, you can produce around one to two quarts of urine in a day. In this way, you will not allow your body to store any waste. Plus, you can keep the electrolytes like potassium, phosphates, and sodium levels normal. But when people suffer from a kidney dysfunctionality, the renal functioning gets diminished. Consequently, you are not able to help potassium regulation occur properly. As a result, it remains in your blood leading to several health problems. Doctors provide patients with kidney ailments with medications that raise the potassium level too. So, it also adds to your problem. When you get high potassium levels over a long time span, you may get nausea or fatigue. Plus, it can also cause chest pain, heart palpitations, and breathing difficulty. So, it becomes essential to consume low potassium foods if you suffer from kidney ailments. How to limit the potassium build-up? The best way to avoid any potassium build-up is to make necessary changes in your diet. And to do that, you need to know the high potassium foods to avoid. Even you need to include the low potassium foods to keep away from potassium build-up. Apart from making the necessary dietary changes, it is always essential you keep a close watch on the portions you eat. Controlling your portions can help you achieve healthy kidneys. That is because even if you consume low potassium vegetables and fruits, consuming large amounts of them can spike up your levels. High Potassium Foods to Avoid Now you know well how essential it is to keep your potassium levels in control. Let us check out the high potassium foods to avoid: High-potassium fruits: Here are the fruits that are high in potassium: Cantaloupe Apricots Dried fruits Bananas Honeydew melons Mangoes Kiwis Nectarines Papayas Oranges Orange juice Pomegranates Pomegranate juice Prunes Prune juice Raisins Pumpkins High-potassium vegetables Here is a list of the vegetables that are high in potassium: Artichokes Avocados Beets Hubbard squash Butternut Squash Acorn squash Baked beans black beans refried beans Brussels sprouts Broccoli (cooked) Kohlrabi Okra Lentils Parsnips Onions (fried) White Potatoes Sweet potatoes Spinach Rutabagas Tomatoes tomato paste tomato sauce Vegetable juice Other high-potassium foods Are you wondering the list of high potassium foods to avoid has come to an end? Well, no! There are many more foods that are rich in potassium. Which are: Chocolates Bran products Coconuts French fries Creamed soups Ice cream Granola Milk Milkshakes chocolate shakes malted milk soy milk buttermilk eggnog evaporated milk Molasses Miso Nuts Potato chips Peanut butter Seeds Yogurt Salt substitutes Tofu If you are asked to follow a potassium restricted diet, it is always best to keep away from potassium-rich foods. The typical intake for a person with a restricted potassium intake should be around 2000 milligrams in a day or even less. But it is always best to speak to your doctor about the exact food intake that suits your health. The intake of potassium mainly depends on your kidney function. So, your doctor is the best person to guide you with the right amount of potassium intake. Low Potassium Foods Are you thinking the high potassium foods to avoid possess all of your favorites? Well, there are plenty of low potassium foods that you can enjoy to keep this mineral in check. It is best to consume the low potassium foods in only half a cup to keep your mineral intake low. When you consume the low potassium foods in high amounts, it becomes a high potassium food. Low-potassium fruits Here are the following fruits that are low in potassium: Apples Applesauce Apple juice Blueberries Blackberries Cranberries Grapes Fruit cocktails Grapes juice Mandarin Oranges Grapefruit Pears Peaches Plums Pineapple pineapple juice Raspberries Tangerines Strawberries Watermelons Low potassium vegetables Here are the following low potassium vegetables: Asparagus (six raw spears) Alfalfa sprouts Broccoli (cooked or raw from the frozen form) Carrots (cooked) Cabbage Cauliflowers Corn (consume only half the ear, if you have put it on the cob) Celery (one stalk) Eggplants Cucumbers Wax beans Green beans Lettuce Kale White mushrooms (raw) Parsley Onion Peppers Peas (green) Water chestnuts Radish Watercress Zucchini Yellow squash Other low potassium foods Here are the following other foods that are low in potassium: Cakes (yellow or angel) Bread (not the whole grain bread) Coffee (eight ounces) Noodles Cookies (no chocolate or nuts) Pasta Noodles Rice Pies (no high potassium fruit or chocolate) Tea (16 ounces maximum) Egg whites Canned tuna As we finish the list of high and low potassium foods, let us check out some more tricks to lower the mineral level in fruits and veggies. Why is leaching potassium from vegetables and fruits important? The process through which you take out the potassium content from the vegetables and fruits is known as leaching. Some of the canned veggies and fruits have a low potassium content than the frozen or fresh ones. Are you wondering how? The potassium content present in veggies and fruits in the canned form travels into the juice or water. If you try consuming the juice or water from the canned veggies and fruits, your potassium levels are bound to spike up. More so, the juice in the can has a high salt content. So, it will lead to several kidney complications. It happens for the meat juice as well. So, if you are consuming the foods in canned form, it is always best to discard the water. It is best you also rinse the food from the can with running water. So, this will reduce the potassium intake in your diet. How to perform the process of leaching? At times, some recipes call for high potassium veggies, and there is no proper substitute. Will you do not make the recipe? Well, not at all! You can make the recipe using the same veggie and yet reduce its potassium content. To do that, you can try leaching, which can reduce the potassium content in the several high potassium foods. You can try out leaching in carrots, beets, rutabagas, winter squash, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. Here is the following way to reduce the potassium content: First, peel the desired vegetable. Then, put the veggie in cold water. If you do that, the starchy veggie will not get dark. Then, start slicing the veggie into thick parts. You can take an approximate size of almost 1/8 inches thick. Once you finish cutting, start rinsing the veggie in lukewarm water. You should wash the veggies for a few seconds. Then, soak the veggies in warm water for two hours. You should keep the level of water twice as the amount of the vegetable. If you wish to soak the veggie pieces for long hours, always change the water every four hours. Once you finish soaking, wash the veggies in warm water once again. Finally, you need to cook the veggies in water. Make sure you measure the amount of water five times more than the veggie. Once you finish this process of leaching, you can be sure to reduce the levels of potassium. And yet not replace the required veggie in your recipe! How much is potassium safe to consume? As we finish the leaching process and the right food inclusions you should make to control your potassium intake, let us check out how much potassium is safe to consume. According to various recommendations, healthy women and men who are more than 19 years of age, it is best to consume the following amount: A healthy man requires approximately 3400 milligrams of potassium. And a healthy woman would require around 2600 milligrams of potassium in a day. But if people suffer from kidney ailments, it is necessary to go onto a potassium-restricted diet. It is ideal to consume less than 200 milligrams of potassium a day. By doing a blood test, your doctor can easily determine the potassium level in your body. In the blood test, you will see your potassium level millimoles average monthly. The three levels of potassium determination are: 3.5 to 5.0 mmol/L is considered to be a safe zone. 5.1 to 6.0 mmol/L is considered to be at a cautious zone. 6.0 mmol/L or higher is considered a danger zone. Once your doctor performs the blood test, your doctor will know the potassium levels in your doctor. Then, the doctor will determine the amount of food you need to invest regularly. But the doctor also has to keep in mind providing you a diet with all the essential nutrients. Symptoms of High Potassium Not all the time people get symptoms of having higher potassium levels. But some of the common symptoms of high potassium level include: Weakness Fatigue Tingling numbness Vomiting nausea chest pain low heartbeat irregular pulse erratic heartbeat How can kidney ailments affect other nutritional requirements? Are you thinking that having kidney ailments might lead to other nutritional deficiencies? Well, it is not as tough as you think. The trick you need to keep in mind is keeping a check on the foods and removing them accordingly from your diet. Do you think meats are high in potassium? Well, yes, they are, but you must consume them in small amounts. You can eat beef or chicken in minimal amounts to give yourself the protein boost. If you consume a protein-rich diet, you might force your kidneys to work harder. So, you should control your portions. Speaking to your doctor is the ideal option if you are thinking about limiting your protein intake. He/she will give you the perfect amount ideal for your body. It is always best to keep yourself away from packaged foods as they contain large amounts of sodium. And this increase in the intake can lead to body swelling because the water content in your body increases. Instead of having salt in your diet, try to incorporate herbs and many more seasonings that do not have potassium or sodium in them. Your doctor might prescribe you a phosphate binder in your diet to avoid the levels of phosphates to get high in your body. That is because if these levels go high, it may lead to weak bones. Try to include veggies and fruits to avoid any deficiency of nutrients. It is always best to consume fresh foods rather than consuming foods that are packaged or frozen. Final Thoughts If you happen to suffer from any kidney-related ailment, you must keep a close watch on your potassium intake. It is a vital factor that you must monitor regularly. You should consult your doctor to provide you a diet chart that contains all the substitutes and gives your body the right nutrition. If you think about any packaged products, you need to read the label before consuming the foods. Also, try to control your salt intake if you are thinking about controlling your potassium intake. Some herbs and seasonings can prove to be great alternatives. And if your recipes still require high potassium foods, try out the process of leaching to reduce the mineral content. Food is garlic high in potassiumlow potassium vegetableswhat foods to eat to lower potassium levels?