For a low-potassium diet, focus on fruits like apples, berries, grapes, and pineapple; vegetables such as cabbage, cucumbers, cauliflower, and lettuce; grains like white rice, pasta, and bread (not whole grain); and proteins like tofu or small portions of chicken/fish, while swapping high-potassium items like potatoes for cauliflower and avoiding high-potassium fruits/veggies. A serving is typically 200mg potassium or less, with 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw as a standard serving size.
Depending on your needs, a low-potassium diet plan might look like this:
Some low-potassium options include:
Low–Potassium Meats and Fish
Another sign of hyperkalemia to look out for is tingling or numbness in your hands, feet, or around your mouth. Too much potassium can affect your nerves, leading to a sensation called paresthesia, which feels like pins and needles. You shouldn't ignore any unexplained tingling or numbness in any part of your body.
Difficulty breathing. Extreme muscle weakness. Severe abdominal pain. Heart attack symptoms, including chest pain or a weak pulse.
How to stop pins and needles in hands and fingers. If you experience pins and needles in your hand, try stretching or shaking your arms and hands to improve blood flow and relieve pressure on the nerves. You could also try massaging the affected area or heating it with a warm towel, heating pad, or warm bath.
Kidney-friendly snacks at the grocery store
Potassium and phosphorus content varies with the fish variety–catfish, cod, orange roughy, sea bass and sole are among the lowest. Salmon contains higher amounts of potassium and phosphorus but can still be worked into a kidney diet by combining it with lower potassium sides and adjusting phosphorus binders if needed.
Refined white bread (made from wheat flour) is generally low in phosphorus and potassium. The more bran and whole grains in bread, the greater the potassium and phosphorus content (and higher fiber content).
There's still plenty you can put on a salad. Load up on low-potassium veggies, such as lettuce, cabbage, beets, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, onions, green peas, sprouts, and sweet peppers. Ask for dressing on the side, but steer clear of mayonnaise-based ones like Caesar, ranch and Thousand Island.
The following medications may increase your potassium level:
Be cautious – Soul food is often high in potassium. Avoid black-eyed peas, dried beans, cooked greens, spinach, yams, and sweet potato pie. All are high in potassium.
Healthy travel snacks: unsalted nuts, avocados with crackers, unsweetened dried fruit, hummus with veggies, plain popcorn, and nut butter banana sandwiches.
Your best sources of protein are unprocessed animal foods such as fish, poultry, eggs, pork, and beef. These foods are high in protein and low in potassium and phosphorus. Other foods high in protein are milk products, beans and lentils, nuts and nut butters, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), tofu, and nutrition supplements.
The Top 10 Healthiest Fish to Eat and Their Benefits
Broccoli is a medium potassium food, low in sodium and phosphorus, and suitable for all the following kidney conditions and treatments: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Transplant.
Because phosphorus and potassium aren't always listed on nutrition labels, refer to this list of some candies that are kidney-friendly.
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, eggplant, bean sprouts, Gai choy (mustard greens), Gai lan (Chinese broccoli), Pe tsai* (Nappa cabbage) and snow peas are lower potassium options. Order dishes served over rice instead of chow mein noodles as noodles often contain sodium in the list of ingredients.
Infections. These include Lyme disease, shingles (varicella zoster), cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex, and HIV and AIDS. Autoimmune diseases. These include chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Guillain-Barre syndrome, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
There is no clear treatment for neuropathy that will improve nerve damage, but a combination of pain medications, vitamins, lotions and exercise can help you manage symptoms.
People need vitamin B-12 for the brain to work well. If not treated, vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to issues with the nerves, brain or spinal cord. These might include lasting tingling in the hands and feet or trouble with balance.