Patient Nutrition Guide

Dietary restrictions are very individualized depending on your laboratory values and your situation. Some of the more common limitations are listed below. A more comprehensive guide can be found at AAKP’s Nutrition Counter.

An important component of kidney treatment is nutrition that promotes kidney health and overall well-being. This means maintaining the proper balance of key electrolytes such as potassium and sodium which can be hard to regulate for those with kidney disease. Fortunately, the guide below can help you achieve this. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your diet, call us at 706-278-3430.

Maintaining Optimum Potassium Levels

Potassium’s key role in the body is to keep your heart beating. Potassium helps initiate heartbeats which circulate blood throughout your entire body. Potassium maintains fluid, electrolyte and PH balance, promotes muscle growth, and maintains a healthy nervous system and brain function. Furthermore, potassium is an essential electrolyte that allows your muscles to move easily, allows your brain to send nerve impulses and helps your kidneys filter blood. Because of this, it is important to maintain healthy levels of potassium in the blood. Potassium levels in the blood should be between 3.5 – 5.0 mEq/L.

Kidney disease makes the kidneys less effective at removing potassium from the blood. This combines with the fact that some medications can result in potassium retention, which would be removed otherwise through urine. High potassium levels in the blood is known as hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia symptoms can include weakness, tiredness, muscle cramps, irregular heartbeat, nausea, slow pulse and/or heart failure.

Many things can also lead to low potassium. Malnutitrition, excessive vomiting or diarrhea, or taking certain medications such as diurectics can cause potassium deficiency or hypokalemia. Symptoms of hypokalemia can include muscle weakness, cramping, fatigue, confusion, problems with muscle coordination, irregular heartbeat and/or heart failure.

High Potassium Food

Potassium is a mineral found mostly in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The following is a list of high-potassium food to limit if you are on a low potassium diet. Avoiding these foods will help control potassium levels in the blood. Remember, dairy products (milk, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) are high in potassium and phosporus. Limit dairy intake to 1/2 cup serving per day.

Artichoke
Avocado
Banana
Bamboo Shoots, fresh
Beans* dried, cooked, canned: kidney, lima, lentils, navy, pinto, soy, great northern
Beets, fresh
Bok Choy
Chinese
Carrot Juice
Chard, Swiss
Chocolate*
Dried Fruits: figs, prunes, raisins, dates, apricots
Guava
Greens: beet
Kiwi

Kohlrabi
Mango
Melons: cantaloupe, casaba, honeydew
Milk & Soy Milk*
Nectarine
Nuts, Peanuts*
Orange, orange juice
Parsnips
Papaya
Peas, mature, cooked*: split peas, black-eyed, chickpeas, pigeon
Peppers, sun-dried
Persimmons
Potato: (unsoaked), French fries, boiled, hash brown, baked
Potato Chips
Prune Juice

Pumpkin canned, fresh
Refried Beans*
Rutabaga
Salt Substitute
Savoy Cabbage
Seeds*: pumpkin, squash, sunflower
Spinach, cooked, canned
Succotash*
Squash, winter
Sweet Potato*
Tomato and tomato juice
Tomato paste- 3 Tbsp., sauce 1/4 cup
Vegetable Juice
Water chestnuts fresh
Yams

It is not that you cannot ever eat these foods again, but that you may eat them differently, in very small quantities.

*Foods are high in phosphorus, Check with your Dietitian before including these foods in your diet.

Acceptable Low Potassium Foods

Below is a list of low potassium fruits and vegetables that are “acceptable” to eat if you are on a low potassium diet. Although these foods are low in potassium, they still need to be limited. Remember to limit dairy products (milk, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) to 1/2 cup serving per day. Limit to 2-3 servings of Fruit and 2-3 servings of Vegetables daily. Serving size is 1/2 cup or 4 ounces, unless specified otherwise. (A low potassium food has less than 250 mg of potassium per serving.)

Apple with skin, applesauce, apple juice
Apricots, fresh, 2 small
Asparagus, 4 spears fresh
Bamboo Shoots, canned
Beets, canned only
Blackberries
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Cherries
Coconut, shredded or fresh
Collards
Corn*
Cranberries, sauce, juice

Cucumber, 1 cup
Eggplant
Figs, 2 small fresh, canned figs
Fruit Cocktail
Grapes, grape juice
Grapefruit
Green Beans
Kumquats
Kale
Leeks
Lemon, Limes, Lemonade
Lettuce, all kinds, Endive
Mandarin Oranges, canned
Mushrooms*
Mustard greens
Okra
Onion
Peaches & Pears, canned or small fresh
Peas, green, fresh, frozen*

Peppers, bell
Pineapple
Plum
Radishes
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Snow peas
Spinach, raw only
Sprouts: alfalfa, bean
Strawberries
Squash: summer, zucchini, spaghetti
Tangerines
Turnips & turnip greens
Water chestnuts, canned
Watermelon, 1 cup

*Foods are high in phosphorus, Check with your Dietitian before including these foods in your diet.

Low Sodium Diet

Like potassium, those with kidney disease can have a harder time removing excess sodium from their blood. Sodium is another one of the essential electrolytes and plays a role in regulating blood pressure and blood volume, helping transmit nerve impulses, and regulating PH balance. Too much sodium can lead to a number of health issues including high blood pressure, edema, heart failure and shortness of breath.

Low sodium foods are abundant and many are natural, organic, and can be easily found. They can be found in every food group and there are many different possibilities for a low sodium meal.

Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta

Most rice and pastas are very low in sodium. Compare labels to find products with less salt when cooking. The following are also all viable low sodium food items:

Whole grain bread
Granola
Puffed Rice
Rolled Oats
Shredded Wheats
Unsalted Popcorn
Bagels and English muffins
Crackers and breadsticks without salted tops

Fruits

Any kind of fruit or fruit juice (fresh, frozen, or canned) is low in sodium if it does not contain sauces. Fruits particularly low in sodium include:

Apples
Bananas
Blackberries
Cherries
Peaches
Pears
Raspberries
Watermelons

Protein

Choose fresh meats when possible, Some fresh meat has added sodium, so always check the label.

6 ounces daily of any fresh or frozen beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish without salt or sodium in the preparation and without skin
Low sodium, water packed tuna or salmon
Eggs and egg substitutes
Unsalted nuts and seeds
Low sodium nut butter

Vegetables

As with fruits, all fresh vegetables are low in sodium. Vegetables may also be frozen or canned if, like fruits, they do not contain sauces.

Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chickpeas
Cucumber
Green peppers
Lima beans
Sweet potatoes

Dairy

Milk is a healthy dairy product that contains virtually no sodium. Choose fat free or low-fat milk and yogurt more often than cheese, which can be high in sodium. Milk and yogurt are also good sources of potassium, which can help lower blood pressure.

Low sodium cottage cheese
Fat free or low fat yogurt
Skim or 1% milk
Soy-based drinks with added calcium
Cream
Non-dairy creamers
Sour cream
Ice cream

Fats

Olive oil and other cooking oils
Low sodium mayonnaise
Unsalted butter or margarine
Low sodium salad dressings

Condiments and Extras

Choose condiments that are low in sodium or have no sodium at all, and try seasonings instead of salt to flavor food.

Spices and herbs without sodium or salt
Vinegar
Lemon
Fresh horseradish or prepared without salt
Baking soda and powder
Cream of tartar, Mustard
Tabasco sauce or low sodium chili sauces
Mrs. Dash and other sodium-free seasonings
Yeast
Jams and jellies
Low sodium ketchup
Low sodium tomato sauces and vegetable juices without salt or sodium added

High Sodium Foods to Avoid

Buttermilk, malted milk
Bacon (all types), sausages or hot dogs, all lunch meats unless low sodium
Breaded meats (such as chicken parmesan)
Meats koshered by salting
Canned or frozen vegetables if processed with salt
Anchovies and other smoked fish; caviar
Anything pickled such as sauerkraut, pickles, olives