Nearly all foods contain some potassium, including healthy ones like fruits, vegetables, and dairy. If you have kidney disease, you need to control your intake of these foods. That could mean avoiding some fruits and vegetables altogether, or it may just mean reducing the amount of high potassium foods you eat. If your blood test showed that the potassium level in your blood was too high, this could be dangerous to your heart. Choosing foods low in potassium will help reduce the potassium in your blood. Foods that are high in potassium should not be eaten when your blood level is high.
Information on High Potassium foods - Click Here to access.
Information on Low Potassium foods - Click Here to access.
|
FOOD GROUP |
LOW POTASSIUM | HIGH POTASSIUM |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrate (Starchy) Foods Keep to one ‘fist’ sized serve of boiled potato, taro, cassava or yam each day. You may need to ‘top up’ your plate with other low potassium carbohydrates such as rice or pasta. |
Couscous, dumplings, noodles, pasta, rice, rice noodles, vermicelli. Bread, cabin bread, chapatti, Chinese steamed bun, Maori bread, pita bread, plain crackers. |
Green banana, hot chips, kumara. Baked, roast, fried or steamed potato, taro, cassava, yam. Bread that contains dried fruit or is made with potato flour. |
| Breakfast Cereals | Honey Puffs, Just Right Tropical, porridge/rolled oats made with water, Puffed Wheat, Weet-Bix. | Breakfast cereals that contain dried fruit, bran, nuts or chocolate e.g. All Bran, Coco Pops, Muesli, Sultana Bran, Sustain. |
| Meat, Meat Alternatives & Dairy | “Not too much, not too little” – you need to eat the right amount of protein foods each day. Choose palm sized portions at each meal. | |
| Fluids | Cordial, soft drink (choose diet versions if you have diabetes), tea, instant coffee, thriftee, water. | Fruit & vegetable juices, milky & espresso coffees. |
| Snacks | Plain biscuits, cakes, muesli or cereal bars, popcorn, unsalted rice cakes. | Biscuits, cakes, muesli or cereal bars that contain fruit, nuts, chocolate or coconut. |
| Miscellaneous | Aioli, garlic, ginger, herbs, honey, jam/marmalade, mayonnaise, mustard, nutella, spices, vinegar. | Baked beans, marmite/vegemite, peanut butter, salt substitutes (Losalt), soup, tomato puree. |
Ask your doctor or nurse to refer you to a Dietitian if you need more information.
Ownership of this material is vested in the Auckland Regional Renal Dietitians (arrd): Auckland DHB, Counties Manukau DHB, Waitemata DHB, Waikato DHB and Northland DHB. Reproduction of the whole or any part of this material for any purpose without the consent of arrd is prohibited.