Potassium is a mineral that assists in maintaining normal blood pressure and proper contraction of the heart. The nervous system, digestive system, muscles and heart are kept healthy. It is found in whole grains, vegetables, milk, fruits, peas and dried beans.
Need of a low potassium diet
If an individual has kidney problems, excess potassium can accumulate up to dangerous levels in the blood. This causes irregular heartbeats, confusion or a heart attack. In this case, a low potassium diet is recommended. If the diet contains less than 2000 mg of potassium per day, then it is called as a “low potassium diet”.

Low potassium foods
1 serving of the following can be considered to be low potassium food. 1 serving implies ½ cup. More than 1 serving of the following can make it high potassium food.

General foods

• Bread (bread products)
• Cake – angel, yellow
• Coffee ( maximum 8 ounces)
• Cookies (without nuts or chocolate)
• Noodles
• Pasta
• Pies (without chocolate or high-potassium foods)
• Rice
• Tea (maximum 16 ounces)

Vegetables

• Alfalfa sprouts
• Asparagus – 6 spears
• Beans (wax or green)
• Cabbage (red and green)
• Canned Chestnuts
• Carrots (cooked)
• Celery (1 stalk)
• Corn (Fresh – ½ ear, Frozen – ½ cup)
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Fresh mushrooms
• Green Peas
• Kale
• Leached potatoes
• Lettuce
• Mixed vegetables
• Okra
• Onions
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Radish
• Rhubarb
• Water
• Watercress

Fruits

• Apple – 1 medium/juice/sauce
• Apricots, canned in juice
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Cranberries
• Fruit cocktail
• Grapes (juice)
• Grapefruit, ½ whole
• Mandarin oranges
• Peaches – Fresh (1 small), Canned (½ cup)
• Pears – Fresh (1 small), Canned (½ cup)
• Pineapple (juice)
• Plums – 1 whole
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Tangerine – 1 whole
• Watermelon – 1 cup

High potassium levels
If the potassium level in the blood becomes high, hyperalemia occurs. It implies that the input of potassium is more than that of the kidney to eliminate it. The symptoms are tingling in the hands and feet, muscular weakness and sometimes paralysis. A very serious complication is the development of cardiac arrhythmia that may lead to cardiac arrest.

A “high potassium diet” means eating 2000 to 4000 mg of potassium per day. One serving of the following contains more than 200 milligrams of potassium and hence can be classified as “high potassium foods”.

General foods

• Bran (products) – ½ cup
• Chocolate – 1.5 to 2 ounces
• Granola – ½ cup
• Milk – ½ cup of any type
• Molasses – 1 tablespoon
• Nutritional supplements
• Nuts and seeds – 1 ounce
• Peanut butter – 2 tablespoons
• Salt substitutes – ½ cup
• Salt free broth – ½ cup
• Snuff or chewing tobacco
• Yogurt – ½ cup

Vegetables (½ cup)

• Acorn squash
• Artichoke
• Bamboo shoots
• Baked beans
• Butternut squash
• Beets (fresh or boiled)
• Black beans
• Brussels sprouts
• Chinese cabbage
• Carrots (raw)
• Dried beans and peas
• Greens (excluding Kale)
• Hubbard squash
• Kohlrabi
• Lentils
• Legumes
• Mushrooms (canned)
• Parsnips
• Potatoes (white and sweet)
• Pumpkin
• Refried beans
• Rutabagas
• Spinach (cooked)
• Tomatoes (products)
• Vegetable juices

Fruits

• Apricots (Raw – 2 medium, Dry – 5 halves)
• Avocado – ¼ whole
• Banana – ½ whole
• Cantaloupe – ½ cup
• Dates – 5 whole
• Dried fruits – ½ cup
• Figs (dried – ½ cup)
• Grapefruit juice ( ½ cup)
• Honeydew (½ cup)
• Kiwi (1 medium)
• Mango ( 1 medium)
• Nectarine (1 medium)
• Orange ( 1 medium or ½ cup juice)
• Papaya (½ whole)
• Pomegranate (1 whole or ½ cup juice)
• Prune (½ cup or ½ cup juice)
• Raisins (½ cup)