Potassium and food

Taken from here.

Foods to add to your diet

Foods are considered low in potassium if they contain 200 milligrams (mg) or less per serving.

Some low-potassium foods include:

• berries, such as strawberries and blueberries
• apples
• grapefruit
• pineapple
• cranberries and cranberry juice
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• eggplant
• green beans
• white rice
• white pasta
• white bread
• salmon

Foods to limit or avoid

Foods are considered high in potassium if they contain more than 200 mg per serving. These should be eaten in very small quantities, or avoided completely.

Limit high-potassium foods such as:

• bananas
• avocados
• raisins
• prunes and prune juice
• oranges and orange Juice
• tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato sauce
• lentils
• spinach
• Brussels sprouts
• split peas
• potatoes (regular and sweet)
• pumpkin
• dried apricots
• brown or wild rice
• whole wheat products, including pasta and bread
• milk
• bran products
• low-sodium cheese
• nuts
• beef
• chicken
• tuna

How to leach potassium from fruits and vegetables

If you can, swap canned fruits and vegetables for their fresh or frozen counterparts. The potassium in canned goods leaches into the water or juice in the can. If you use this juice in your meal or drink it, it can cause a spike in your potassium levels.

The juice usually has a high salt content, which will cause the body to hold onto water. This can lead to complications with your kidneys. This is also true of meat juice, so be sure to avoid this, too.

Foods with low potassium

Foods with low levels of potassium

Grains	Foods prepared with white flour (eg, pasta, bread), white rice
Beverages	Non-dairy creamer, fruit punch, drink mixes (eg, Kool-Aid), tea (<2 cups or 16 ounces per day), coffee (<1 cup or 8 ounces per day)
Sweets	Angel or yellow cake, pies without chocolate or high-potassium fruit, cookies without nuts or chocolate
Fruits	Apples (1), apple juice, applesauce, apricots (canned), blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, fruit cocktail (drained), grapes, grape juice, grapefruit (½), mandarin oranges, peaches (½ fresh or ½ cup canned), pears (1 small fresh or ½ cup canned), pineapple and juice, plums (1 whole), raspberries, strawberries, tangerine (1 whole), watermelon (1 cup), lemons
Vegetables	Alfalfa sprouts, asparagus (6 spears), green or wax beans, cabbage (cooked), carrots (cooked), cauliflower, celery (1 stalk), corn (½ fresh ear or ½ cup), cucumber, eggplant, kale, iceberg lettuce, mushrooms (fresh), okra, onions, parsley, green peas, green peppers, radish, rhubarb, water chestnuts (canned, drained), watercress, spinach (raw, 1 cup), squash (yellow), zucchini, scallions, turnips, turnip greens
Proteins	Chicken, turkey (3 ounces), tuna, eggs, baloney, shrimp (all 1 ounce), unsalted peanut butter (1 tablespoon)
Dairy products	Cheddar or swiss cheese (1 ounce), cottage cheese (½ cup)
Nuts, seeds, and legumes	Macadamia nuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds (all 1 ounce)

Unless noted, one serving is ½ cup (4 ounces). These foods have a low level of potassium (less than 200 mg potassium per serving on average). Be sure to measure the portion sizes of each food and calculate the total amount in each meal to maintain your low-potassium diet (eg, average of 2000 mg potassium per day).