Low Potassium Recipes Archives - The Kidney Dietitian (2024)

FAQs

What is a good dinner for low-potassium? ›

Vegetables: 2-3 servings of low-potassium vegetables like carrots or corn. Dairy/calcium-rich foods: 1-2 servings of low-potassium choices like cottage cheese. Meat/plant-based meat: 3-7 servings of low-potassium choices like turkey or shrimp. Grains: 4-7 servings of low-potassium grains like rice or noodles.

If you have kidney disease, you are at risk for high potassium because your kidneys cannot remove the extra potassium in your blood. Managing high potassium is important if you want to protect your heart. Having too much potassium in your blood can be dangerous. High potassium can even cause a heart attack or death!

When following a low potassium diet, the dietitian will explain that pasta, rice and noodles are useful alternatives to potatoes as they are lower in potassium.

If you need to limit potassium maybe reduce your fruit intake on that particular day. Pasta dishes made with lots of garlic, parsley pesto and olive oil are generally a good choice.

Some of the best sources of potassium are dark, leafy greens such as spinach, which when cooked has an astounding 839 mg potassium per cup, per USDA data. Swiss chard has even more, with 961 mg of potassium per cooked cup, and even bok choy has around 631 mg per cup shredded.

The lowest in potassium are feta and goat cheese. The lowest sodium options are ricotta, cottage cheese with no salt added, and Swiss cheese. If you're looking for overall CKD-friendly cheeses, your best bets are cream cheese, goat cheese, ricotta, and parmesan.

Hypokalemia can affect your kidneys. You may have to go to the bathroom more often. You may also feel thirsty. You may notice muscle problems during exercise.

What nuts are bad for kidney disease? ›

If you have a history of calcium oxalate stones, talk with your doctor or kidney dietitian about the need to limit oxalates. Almonds, mixed nuts without peanuts, and sesame seeds are high in oxalates.

Limit or avoid high-potassium foods such as milk, and milk products (like cheese and yogurt), nuts and seeds, whole grains, legumes, bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, avocado, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and tomato products (like sauce and paste), broccoli, cooked greens, and sweet potatoes.

The bottom line

To help protect your kidneys, drink beverages like plain water, coffee with low-fat milk, and unsweetened cranberry juice.

One large egg contains about 63 mg of potassium. 11 Eggs are considered a low-potassium food but check with your doctor or dietitian to find out how often you should eat them. What meats and fish are best for a low-potassium diet?

Regular white pasta - typically lower in potassium, protein, and fiber. Whole wheat or whole grain pasta - typically higher in potassium, protein, and fiber. Bean-based pasta (black bean, chickpea, edamame, lentil, etc.) - typically highest in potassium, protein, and fiber.