patient education : 16019--Potassium and Chronic Kidney Disease

Potassium and Chronic Kidney Disease

What is Potassium?

Potassium is a mineral found in many of the foods we eat.  It is needed to regulate your heart beat and muscle contraction. When your kidneys do not function normally, you may need to limit certain foods that can increase potassium in your blood.  A high potassium level can cause an irregular heartbeat, heart attack, or death. Other symptoms may include weakness and numbness in your arms or legs.

What Can You Do to Control Your Potassium?

• Talk to your renal dietitian about what amount of potassium is appropriate for you.
• Limit foods that are high in potassium and potassium additives and pay attention to serving sizes.
• Read food labels, potassium content can be found on most Nutrition Facts labels.
• Avoid salt substitutes (such as NuSalt, Lite Salt) and other seasonings with potassium.
• Do not skip or shorten dialysis treatments so that your blood can be sufficiently cleaned.

What Foods are High/Low in Potassium?

FRUITS (1 serving = ½ cup or 1 small fruit or ½ cup of juice)

VEGETABLES (1 serving=1 cup leafy greens or ½ cup fresh/cooked/canned)

Other High Potassium Sources

• Chewing tobacco
• Some herbal supplements, drinks, and herbal teas
• Caffeinated energy drinks with additives
• Sports drinks such as Gatorade®,  Powerade®, Body Armour®
• Low or reduced sodium soups that use salt substitutes with potassium chloride

Leach Your Vegetables

You can leach potatoes and sweet potatoes before you cook them to reduce the potassium in the food. It is still important to limit the amount of these vegetables. Follow the simple steps below:

1. Peel potatoes and chop into small chunks.
2. Place in large volume of water and bring to a boil, immediately drain water. Repeat boiling procedure, then prepare potato as desired.

Alternative leaching procedure: If time allows you may also soak potatoes in large volume of water overnight in the refrigerator. Prepare potatoes as desired.