High potassium levels, also called hyperkalemia, is a very serious condition that causes potentially fatal heart arrhythmia and tachycardia. The good news is that you can bring high levels down by following a low potassium diet. This diet is effective even when your kidneys can no longer perform the job of removing excess potassium from your blood.
Recommended Limits
The National Kidney Foundation, or NKF notes that nephrologists suggest that hyperkalemic patients should limit their daily potassium intake to less than 2,000 to 3,000 mg per day. Specific recommendations don't exist for managing hyperkalemia among infants and very young children. The NKF suggests that dropping potassium intake to 40 to 120 mg per day might be an appropriate first step for this age group.
High Potassium Foods
The NKF classifies foods with more than 200 to 250 mg of potassium per serving as high-potassium foods. If you have high-potassium levels, you should eliminate these foods or eat them very sparingly. A 1-cup serving of orange juice has 503 mg potassium. One cup of milk has 348 mg and 1 cup broccoli has 332 mg. Some of the highest potassium foods are acorn squash and spinach, both of which have more than 800 mg in 1 cup serving. Potatoes also have prohibitively high amounts of this mineral.
Meal Planning
Good low-potassium breakfasts include omelets with peppers and mushrooms, pancakes and French toast. Good low-potassium lunches and dinners can be based around noodles, rice, chicken and low-potassium vegetables. Fruit desserts, including as pies and cakes made from apples or pineapple are good choices. Explore making custards with non-dairy creamer. Apple and cranberry juice are healthy low-potassium beverages.
Tips
If potassium is not listed on a food package, it does not mean that the food doesn't contain potassium. Be sure to check a good potassium counter such as the one provided by the USDA.
Presoaking root vegetables, including potatoes, effectively lowers potassium content by 50 to 75 percent. Cut the vegetables in small pieces and soak them for four hours in a volume of hot water ten times greater than the volume of the vegetables. Rinse them well before cooking in boiling water.
Avoid salt substitutes and other seasonings that contain potassium. Foods that claim to be "low sodium" or "low salt" need to be scrutinized because these often use potassium salts.
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