Potassium Management 

Lesson

Potassium is a fairly common nutrient which can be found in almost any food. It is responsible for the following:

  • keeping nerves and muscles healthy,
  • maintaining your body’s pH level,
  • regulating fluid and electrolyte balance, and;
  • maintaining the normal rhythm of your heart beats.
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So, what happens if I have too much potassium in the body?

It can cause significant heart problems, such as:

  • irregular heartbeats or a slow pulse,
  • a heart attack, or;
  • your heart could just stop beating altogether.

Other, less severe, symptoms include:

  • weakness,
  • numbness, and
  • nausea.

To avoid these complications, you need to keep your blood potassium
level in the normal range.

The secret to maintaining potassium levels?

Moderation

According to The National Kidney Foundation, the normal amount in a typical healthy American is 3,500 to 4,500 milligrams per day. For patients with a potassium-restricted diet, they can go low as 2,000 mg per day. However, it depends on what your physician or dietitian advises you to take based on your health.

You’ll need a blood test to confirm whether your current potassium levels
are high or not and you can use these values as a general reference:

Blood Potassium Level
(mmol/L)

Description

3.5 - 5.0

your blood potassium is normal

5.1 - 6.0

your blood potassium is elevated

6.0 and above

your blood potassium is exceedingly high

But don’t worry, with the right strategies and tips, you can do it 🙂

Speaking of…here’s two:

1. Be picky with your produce

You have to be careful with what you eat, as well as how much, is the
most important point in a low-potassium diet.

In general, any food that contains more than 200 mg potassium per serving is high in potassium. So, you’ll have to start watching out for
high-potassium foods, such as:

Item

Sodium
(mg)

Protein
(g)

Potassium
(mg)

Phosphorus
(mg)

Potatoes

6

2.05

425

57

Banana

1

1.09

358

22

Spinach, Raw

79

2.86

558

49

Avocados, Raw

7

2.00

485

52

Brussels Sprouts

25

3.38

389

69

USDA values per 100 g

Find lower potassium foods such as:

Item

Sodium
(mg)

Protein
(g)

Potassium
(mg)

Phosphorus
(mg)

Cabbage

18

1.28

170

26

Apple

1

0.27

104

12

Cucumber

2

0.65

147

24

Blueberries

1

0.74

77

12

Onions, Raw

4

1.10

146

29

USDA values per 100 g

2. Practice leaching

Leaching is a process that helps reduce the potassium content of food.
It means that you don’t have to give up high potassium vegetables, you
just need more time to prepare them. Here’s how you can do it:

For beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, and winter
squash:

  1. Peel and place vegetables in cold water (to avoid darkening)
  2. Slice into 1/8 inch thick pieces
  3. Briefly rinse in warm water
  4. Soak in warm water for a minimum of 2 hours. Use ten times the amount of water to the amount of vegetables. For example, 10 cups of water for 1 cup of vegetables.
  5. Rinse in warm water again for a few seconds
  6. Cook vegetables. Use 5 times the amount of water to the amount of vegetables. For example, 5 cups of water for 1 cup of vegetables.

Now remember, although leaching is an effective process, it only reduces
potassium but DOES NOT eliminate it entirely.

For this reason, it’s always better and safe to take in foods that are low
in potassium.

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