Foods High in Potassium and When Potassium Needs Limiting

Kidney disease and some medicines: read this first

For most people, potassium-rich foods are part of an ordinary healthy diet. The kidneys remove extra potassium. But when they cannot do that well, blood potassium can climb too high. MedlinePlus lists poor kidney function and common heart and blood pressure medicines (ACE inhibitors, ARBs and potassium-sparing "water pills") among the causes of too much potassium, which can cause abnormal and dangerous heart rhythms. [1] The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) says that in people with kidney disease or on some of these medicines, even intakes below the usual adequate level can cause high potassium. [2]

If you have kidney disease, a dietitian or clinician sets your potassium goal from blood tests. [3] Do not start, stop or change any medicine because of a food list; ask your clinician or pharmacist (see How interactions work). For the medical side, see Hyperkalemia and Minerals and kidney disease.

Foods with the most potassium per serving

The table copies the ODS list of selected foods. Amounts are milligrams (mg) of potassium per the serving shown, and the serving matters: half a cup of dried apricots and a medium banana are very different amounts. [2]

Foods with less potassium per serving

From the same ODS list, these servings are lower. This is not a ranking of healthfulness, and a large portion adds up. [2]

The ODS table is a short selection, not a complete list. A full food-by-food list with serving sizes would need a food-composition database; we did not read one for this page, so people on a restricted diet should ask a dietitian for a list that fits their goal.

Cooking and label points for people limiting potassium

NIDDK (a US National Institutes of Health institute) says people told to limit potassium may be advised to: [3]

• Limit serving sizes, remembering that a large serving of a lower-potassium food can contain more than a small serving of a higher one.
• Drain canned fruits and vegetables and discard the liquid.
• Use boiling and leaching methods that can lower potassium in some vegetables.
• Use herbs and spices instead of salt substitutes, which can be high in potassium, and limit foods listing potassium chloride.

ODS adds that whole-wheat flour and brown rice are much higher in potassium than white flour and white rice. [2]

Official intake levels

These are for healthy people, not for those with kidney disease or on potassium-raising medicines. [2]

The NHS says most adults can get all the potassium they need from a varied diet, and that older people should not take potassium supplements unless a doctor advises it. [4] If your blood potassium is low, treatment is planned by your provider. [1] For salt substitutes see Salt substitutes and potassium chloride; for the nutrient itself see Potassium. Product quality: Quality testing and certifications.