Potassium Diet -- Help needed!

elkingo
elkingo Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all.

I have kidney stone disease, and analysis revealed I was chronically dehydrated and have too much calcium in my blood. So, my doctor put me on a water pill that removes calcium from my blood, and sends it out through my urine.

My problem has become I am low on potassium in my blood now, because it also removes potassium. I am trying to eat a higher amount of potassium, and aside of eating a boat load of potatoes or a can of lima beans a day, I can't quite figure out how to reach my goal of 4700 mgs of potassium daily with out eating a ridiculous amount of carbs or sugar. For instance, banana day was bad, because I only barely cleared 3800 mg and have consumed nearly 90g of sugar.

Or am I looking at sugar wrong?

Advice or suggestions would be helpful!

Replies

  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    Oh yea.. and banana day is not followed by a happy day at all. Lol.
  • yustick
    yustick Posts: 238 Member
    For potassium, by calorie, my favs are Roma tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and low fat cottage cheese. You are probably getting more potassium than you know since it isn't always listed.

    Best wishes in finding a healthy balance.
  • MermaidTX
    MermaidTX Posts: 352 Member
    Avocados, spinach & beef are high in potassium.

    Has your doctor said it's OK to use something like Morton's Lite Salt (it's salt & potassium, I cook with it) or NoSalt?

    I get leg cramps if I don't keep up my potassium so I supplement with Lite Salt or NoSalt.
  • Morninglory81
    Morninglory81 Posts: 1,190 Member
    Kiwi 100g
    Cal 57
    Potassium 480mg
    Sugar 8.8g
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    Coconut water is one of the highest. Meat, fish, mushrooms, raisins, dates, apricots. Almond milk, cows milk, coffee.
    Most veggies. Tomatoes are great.
    Check here:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    Has your doctor said it's OK to use something like Morton's Lite Salt (it's salt & potassium, I cook with it) or NoSalt?

    I get leg cramps if I don't keep up my potassium so I supplement with Lite Salt or NoSalt.
    This was my thoughts as well.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
    Are there even potassium pills? I don't know, they make pills for all other vitamin deficiencies it seems.

    Bananas was the only thing I could think of, but bananas are a binder, so yes, not followed by a happy day at all! Maybe just a multivit, and yes with any other fruit or veggies you can find that has potassium in them. Also, with the sugars... my fitness pal doesn't differentiate between processed sugar and natural sugar. I don't even track sugar, because my doctor says I don't have to, not for any health reasons. I lost most of my weight exercising, cutting carbs A LITTLE, and cutting back on fat A LITTLE. So it's really your call with the sugar counts.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    Are you relying on MFP to tell you how much potassium you're getting? Many entries in the database don't include potassium values, either because it's omitted from package labels or because the person who made the entry only tracks calories and macros and left out other info.

    As for sources, beans, grains, and veggies are all good sources without much sugar. Milk, although lactose is sugar -- not sure how much sugar you're willing to have.

    Don't think about trying to get it all from one food ("a boat load of potatoes" or "a can of lima beans"). You're pretty much going to get sick of any one food if you try to get all of your potassium from that one source. Think a cup of black beans (611 mg potassium) and a half cup of canned tomatoes (250 mg) or a 6 oz glass of tomato juice (417 mg) -- tomatoes are a great "payoff" for potassium -- for each gram of naturally occurring sugar in a tomato product, you're going to have about 10 calories and roughly a hundred mg of potassium or a little more. But even though I love tomatoes, I wouldn't want to eat 470 calories worth of tomatoes every day. Work a cup of cooked greens (e.g., kale, mustard greens) into your meals and get another 200 to 300-ish mg of potassium for just 35 to 40 calories and a gram or two of sugar. Or a cup of cooked asparagus for another 400 mg of potassium and about 2 grams of sugar. Have a salad. A cup of arugula has more than 400 mg of potassium. And you'll get potassium in your animal proteins, too, but generally the ratio of mg of potassium to calories is going to be less than 2 to 1, so you're probably going to get the majority of your potassium from plant sources. But add 4 ounces of sliced steak to that arugula salad, throw in a decent sized tomato, and a half cup of roasted or canned beets, and you have a tasty dinner salad with a thousand milligrams of potassium.
  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    Avocados, spinach & beef are high in potassium.

    Has your doctor said it's OK to use something like Morton's Lite Salt (it's salt & potassium, I cook with it) or NoSalt?

    I get leg cramps if I don't keep up my potassium so I supplement with Lite Salt or NoSalt.

    Well, not really.. but I don't have to worry too much with salt intake. I could probably switch to it, I didn't even know there was a such thing as salt and potassium mixed lol. I will look for it in the grocery today! Thanks for the tip!
  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    Are there even potassium pills? I don't know, they make pills for all other vitamin deficiencies it seems.

    Bananas was the only thing I could think of, but bananas are a binder, so yes, not followed by a happy day at all! Maybe just a multivit, and yes with any other fruit or veggies you can find that has potassium in them. Also, with the sugars... my fitness pal doesn't differentiate between processed sugar and natural sugar. I don't even track sugar, because my doctor says I don't have to, not for any health reasons. I lost most of my weight exercising, cutting carbs A LITTLE, and cutting back on fat A LITTLE. So it's really your call with the sugar counts.

    There are.. I take three 99mg pills a day to try and boost it, as well as a centrum .. that gives me around an extra 400 mg daily. My doctor talked to me last visit about a RX supplement, that I may need to add. I was just hoping to add it via diet first. =)

    I was thinking there was a difference between like fructose and processed sugar, but I wasn't sure where the difference lay or even if I should worry about it. I don't have to track sugar either, I was just suspicious of it. Lol.
  • dawnsjourney
    dawnsjourney Posts: 80 Member
    I have to take a potassium supplement as well as what I get in my diet. I actually have an OTC one by Nature Made that works well and keeps me going. Potassium is tricky tho. Too much or too little can also damage your heart. What does the doctor recommend?
  • bigalfantasy2004
    bigalfantasy2004 Posts: 176 Member
    I've been eating potatoes for potassium. Baked with no extras.
  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    Are you relying on MFP to tell you how much potassium you're getting? Many entries in the database don't include potassium values, either because it's omitted from package labels or because the person who made the entry only tracks calories and macros and left out other info.

    As for sources, beans, grains, and veggies are all good sources without much sugar. Milk, although lactose is sugar -- not sure how much sugar you're willing to have.

    Don't think about trying to get it all from one food ("a boat load of potatoes" or "a can of lima beans"). You're pretty much going to get sick of any one food if you try to get all of your potassium from that one source. Think a cup of black beans (611 mg potassium) and a half cup of canned tomatoes (250 mg) or a 6 oz glass of tomato juice (417 mg) -- tomatoes are a great "payoff" for potassium -- for each gram of naturally occurring sugar in a tomato product, you're going to have about 10 calories and roughly a hundred mg of potassium or a little more. But even though I love tomatoes, I wouldn't want to eat 470 calories worth of tomatoes every day. Work a cup of cooked greens (e.g., kale, mustard greens) into your meals and get another 200 to 300-ish mg of potassium for just 35 to 40 calories and a gram or two of sugar. Or a cup of cooked asparagus for another 400 mg of potassium and about 2 grams of sugar. Have a salad. A cup of arugula has more than 400 mg of potassium. And you'll get potassium in your animal proteins, too, but generally the ratio of mg of potassium to calories is going to be less than 2 to 1, so you're probably going to get the majority of your potassium from plant sources. But add 4 ounces of sliced steak to that arugula salad, throw in a decent sized tomato, and a half cup of roasted or canned beets, and you have a tasty dinner salad with a thousand milligrams of potassium.

    I noticed that. I have been using MFP to keep a log yes, but I check foods by googling dietary information. You are right, many don't have potassium listed.

    I appreciate the feedback. I also don't think I have ever ate arugula... I live in a rural area in SE KY and I don't think any of the grocery stores around here carry it! I will look though!
  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
    I got into eating almonds and pistachios which are both high in potassium, also helped with my protein and stuff
  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    I have to take a potassium supplement as well as what I get in my diet. I actually have an OTC one by Nature Made that works well and keeps me going. Potassium is tricky tho. Too much or too little can also damage your heart. What does the doctor recommend?

    I don't have to worry about it too much right now according to the doc. I do take OTC supplements, I take 3 99mg phamassure and a centrum silver that has 89 mg in it. My last blood test showed that I was 1 standard deviation lower than normal.. so nothing much to worry about, I was simply trying to hit the FDA recommended 4700 mg daily to boost it. Nothing too extreme. =) I was hoping to avoid a RX for it next visit (which is in about 2 months).
  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    I got into eating almonds and pistachios which are both high in potassium, also helped with my protein and stuff

    Oooh! Godo idea.. I do like almonds and pistachios!
  • elkingo
    elkingo Posts: 8
    I guess i should say... there are some foods I can't eat because they cause kidney stones for me. The worst culprits are:

    Spinach D= I loved it too!

    Fish of any kind.

    Vital organs -- liver, chicken gizzards, etc.



    I really do miss spinach. I loved that stuff.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,659 Member
    Hey all.

    I have kidney stone disease, and analysis revealed I was chronically dehydrated and have too much calcium in my blood. So, my doctor put me on a water pill that removes calcium from my blood, and sends it out through my urine.

    My problem has become I am low on potassium in my blood now, because it also removes potassium. I am trying to eat a higher amount of potassium, and aside of eating a boat load of potatoes or a can of lima beans a day, I can't quite figure out how to reach my goal of 4700 mgs of potassium daily with out eating a ridiculous amount of carbs or sugar. For instance, banana day was bad, because I only barely cleared 3800 mg and have consumed nearly 90g of sugar.

    Or am I looking at sugar wrong?

    Advice or suggestions would be helpful!

    Ten foods that are good for Potassium are:

    White beans
    Spinach
    Baked potatoes with the skin
    Dried Apricots
    Baked Acorn Squash
    Non fat Yogurt
    Salmon
    Avocado
    White mushrooms
    and Bananas
  • mommyvo23
    mommyvo23 Posts: 22 Member
    Well, I am definitely not an expert, but sodium has always been one of my struggles when trying to lose weight so I have been trying to watch my intake and increase potassium to counteract the sodium. My new favorite trick is a can (11.5oz) of reduced sodium V8 daily = 1180mg potassium, 70 calories, 0 fat, 3g fiber, 12g sugar, 3g protein.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    why not just add a potassium supplement?
  • Andybeth
    Andybeth Posts: 18 Member
    Do a search on the internet for "potassium food list". A very good printable chart exists. Good for those who need to add or limit potassium..

Categories