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Eat more potatoes, they are super high in potassium.

40% more than a banana by weight.

Doesn't that get destroyed when they get fried?

Interesting because when you have end stage kidney disease on dialysis, you must avoid potassium.

Frying is recommended to preserve the potassium. Boiling is what will lessen it, actually.

But mashed potatoes still have over 600 MG of potassium per cup, which is 13% of the daily recommendation.

Banana has 422 mg.

Don't misunderstand, you do not need to salt your food unless you got a weird diet. Most people meet their salt needs from the food they eat. WHO, on salt reduction.

Isn't potassium an element? How could frying destroy it?

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Super high in carbs and starch which is not good for you

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Doesn't everybody fry their potatoes at 10^9 K?

Likely 400% more cancer by weight too.

Eh wheats a plant. It’s not that bad for you. It’s not like it [insert moral opinion cloaked as scientifically objective].

Wheat has fiber and nutritive value. Like potatoes, it’s totally fine in a balanced diet (unless allergic).

This is more due to most people not getting enough potassium. Unfortunately most public health bodies realize the problem is more that people don’t eat enough potassium as you need sodium and potassium in balance. They’ve opted for the path that it’s easier to urge people to reduce sodium than for people to eat actual good food sources rich in potassium.

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Chicken breast, beef, and salmon are all loaded with potassium as well. And 8oz serving or chicken breast will have 885mg of potassium.

Most meat has potassium. Chicken breast is loaded with potassium and beef is also a rich source.

I agree, but also want to point out that if you are trying to have a very clean diet, it’s very easy to end up with low blood sodium. I did this.

I switched to a diet of only one meal a day, and only these ingredients:

Proteins: steak, fish, chicken, shrimp, oysters, eggs, bacon

Veggies: lettuce, cabbage, tomato (yes I know, technically a fruit including a few others on this list, but we eat them as vegetables and they are low sugar), peppers, onion, olives, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, broccolini.

Oils: extra virgin olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil, organic virgin avocado oil, grass fed butter.

Once I hit my goal weight I will add back whole milk, plain yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese… I’m just trying to avoid the carbs for now.

I’ve been really enjoying the diet, it’s been very easy to follow and I’m losing a ton of weight very fast and retaining muscle…. But I had a blood test and came by low blood sodium and had to start putting salt on everything to correct it.

The amount of salt in processed food and restaurant food is crazy high… and as soon as you start only having unprocessed food, it’s very very easy to end up low sodium.

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I'm not anti-meat but let's be real, bacon is one of the worst meats you can put into your body.

>They’ve opted for the path that it’s easier to urge people to reduce sodium than for people to eat actual good food sources rich in potassium.

Interesting.

Usually because you drain the water out after boiling. If you cook everything in a stew all trace elements will be preserved. This is why a lot of 'poor' meals are soups and stews, to preserve all the nutritional value and calories.

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Can you define clean as it relates to diet? What field is that a term of art in?

Usually it just means everything is fresh

Lean meat has about as much potassium by weight as banana or potato. Fun fact that people rarely tell you when they recommend getting more potassium (I notice that the picture associated with the article is all plants and fungi)

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Clean = no processed foods. No man made chemicals. No seed oils. Oils that can be extracted by cold expeller pressing or churning are okay.

Everything you eat is as close to the way it was when it was living at the time you eat it. Obviously cooking is okay, but best to bake instead of fry when practical.

Using lite-salt (1:1 mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride) to season your food isn't particularly difficult, and will bring your intake closer to balanced. I don't see why it isn't recommended more. Pure potassium chloride tastes bad, but mixed with sodium chloride it's just salty.

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I looked this up because I wasn't sure. Frying actually just condenses the nutritional value. the Potassium is still very much available regardless of cooking method.

Although apparently boiling is the worst

Not sure how this works that's why i asked the stupid question

Thank you for answering me and providing context. Have a terrific day.

Because meat is real human food.

steaming might be better than boiling insofar as dilution goes.

So what does the term "clean" offer over the more descriptive "unprocessed foods" which was part of the given definition?

fry it in a cyclotron.

Potato, po-ta-to.

There are also some foods which would probably meet the definition of unprocessed for many people which wouldn’t necessarily be considered clean by most people following they sort of diet … eg: fresh squeezed apple juice.

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Good thing I’m drinking coconut water by the litre then!

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Because meat has higher nutrient density. Quit drinking the plant based kool-aid. Literally all of our health problems started in the 70's when they introduced the food pyramid telling people to reduce their meat and saturated fat intake and making breads and grains the entire base of the pyramid. Since the introduction of the food pyramid, obesity and diabetes exploded exponentially. Literally reducing meat intake and replacing fat with sugar for flavor is why we're in this health mess.

In addition, just because plants have a nutrient doesn't mean we absorb it well. There's a reason for example plant based iron is inferior to heme iron, our ability to absorb and use it is so much poorer. Humans are foregut digesters, not hindgut digesters. We have very small large intestines and we lack a cecum. Meanwhile we have extremely acidic stomachs (pH 1.5) and very long small intestines. This ultimately means humans are primed to eating meat, fruit, and tubers, in that order of prioritization. We evolved to eat foods we could absorb quickly and efficiently to provide the energy and nutrient density to fuel our power hungry brains.

Eating less meat isn't the answer at all, cutting out grains, sugar, and seed oils is the answer.

Actually, potatoes and chicken breast have approximately the same potassium content but chicken provides a lot of high quality protein so you're getting far more nutrients eating the chicken than the potatoes which is just starch and a few micronutrients.

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Yes, the potassium itself doesn’t get destroyed or anything regardless of what you do. The point is that when you just boil it it seeps out into the water and since you don’t tend to drink the water you lose the potassium.

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You mean don’t put extra salt on a dish that already has salt in it, right? Because if you cook for yourself, pretty much every dish calls for some salt.

Are you a nutritionist by any chance?

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You just eased my mind, thank you.

I actually will frequently add a teaspoon of lite salt to my water at work. I notice the electrolytes really help with my mental focus and clarity.

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So what you are saying is honey I shrunk the kids lied.

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How do you know you are low in potassium?

Within the past 2-3 year I've salted a handful of meals, just of curiosity - each time confirming to myself that it was unnecessary ^^

Go without long enough and it becomes a mostly unwelcome addition. I once had to throw away 3/4 of a pizza I ordered, every slice was liking swallowing a teaspoon of salt. That was the one time I was unable to eat salty processed food though, otherwise it's perfectly tolerable.

Alternatives to salt, for me, is eating raw onion or chilli. It fills that type of craving. And those 1/100 days when I bother to make a nice salad, I'll add a bit of balsamico, which is hefty on salt I assume.

Unless you use the boiled water in the gravy :)

Muscle cramping and weakness. Sometimes heart arythmyia.

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Can I just take the daily supplement of potassium?

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I put KCl in my fruit smoothies. It boosts the flavor quite a bit. Banana, KCl, beet juice, strawberries, kale, yogurt, and a scoop of chocolate protein powder makes for an amazing breakfast.

I've been eating a predominantly low carb diet for over five years. Potassium and magnesium are always an issue, and if I'm not getting enough of the former, my heart will feel like it's beating out of my chest. Big, heavy thumps. A couple hundred mg of Potassium supplements, and I'm back to normal in like thirty minutes.

Electrolytes are important! They're also what plants crave.

Except you absolutely need salt in your diet, both the mineral salts (sodium, potassium, magnesium) and the iodine that's a part of table salt. You literally can't live without it.

That's great you confirmed it to yourself. No culinary institute would pass you, but that's the hill you freely die on. Bravo.

No, unless recommended by a doctor

What if you work outside in the tropics and sweat all day in the heat?

Low sodium v8 has a ton of potassium too. 1250 mg in a single can I think. I drink a can whenever I have muscle twitching/cramps.

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Certain drugs that treat high blood pressure can cause the body to retain potassium so it's necessary to have a low potassium diet.

There is literally no reason you can’t supplement if your diet doesn’t contain enough. An easier way to supplement than a pill, however, is by using NoSalt or LiteSalt on your food, or in water.

All these idiots in here forgetting that your goddamn NERVES need salt. People: if you are tired, sluggish, and have headaches all the time, but you avoid salt like it were poison: THATS WHY. YOU NEED SALT.

this has been happening to me, i barely eat as i’m on stimulants and have heard my whole life “drink more water eat less salt!!!” finally starting to realize that i blast through water everyday without putting any sort of sodium in my system

Now im confused. I have kidney disease.... should I eat the banana or no? Ive been told to lower protein but nothing about potassium.

Those are literally causing heart disease by clogging arteries

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Thats probably a better question for your nephrologist

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How dare you assault Rick Moranis. That man is my childhood hero, and now into adulthood.

I'm not due for my measurements until July!! Guess I cram in all the good food until then. Here for a fun time, not a long time.

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You can literally die from hyponatremia — not enough salt. And drinking too much water can do this to you.

For example, this woman who died in a water drinking contest trying to win a Wii.

Boiled or baked, not fried potatoes.

Neither of those are bad for you in moderation.

People need to stop acting like carbohydrates are evil. Sure if you eat a half loaf of bread and 4 potatoes a day you aren't going to be healthy but a potato with some leafy greens and roasted veggies and lean protein is a perfectly healthy meal, you can even throw some bread in there.

Very few things found in unprocessed foods are bad for you when eaten in rational amounts.

Eat the potatoes as leftovers the next day. The starch becomes resistant starch. Digestion is slowed such that glucose is controlled. Also much better for your gut microbiome.

Avoiding grains (particularly refined ones) and sugar is a great idea. limiting meat intake (particularly red meat and processed meats) is also associated with better health outcomes. The food pyramid is junk, but eating meat only occasionally in small portions is also a good idea.

And it's covered with a varied diet

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I thought so too, but as the article states, we lose little salt through sweating.

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Can you drinl coconut water daily?

So does this study actually tell how much potassium to have? It’s easy to tell someone to eat a banana or potato’s.

Beet Greens 909mg Avocado has the highest amount 345 mg. But I may try to incorporate Sweet potatoes into my diet. The bananas as of late- tasted gross. I’m not into bananas that much but in a smoothie can be okay. I think the data needs new info.

https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php

I need to get a better diet.

Ironically chronically ingesting high rates of potassium can cause kidney damage too… so…

Depends on what level CKD you have. Ask your nephrologist.

Only chicken breast or chicken in general?

Came here just to say this. I’m not end stage, thankfully. 3b and no longer on dialysis. But about 30% kidney function. That photo is a list of all the foods I’m told to avoid!!

But grapefruit especially because of my meds.

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I'm on heart meds an can sadly no longer eat grapefruit

Potassium is definitely one to consult with a doctor about. Hyperkalemia can lead to abnormal heart rhythms taking you to the ED. Better to decide on a dose with your doctor to do it safely.

Yes, beer has pottasium

Damn that’s a lot of sugar

You got a sneak peak

I'm sorry

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>The DV for potassium is 4,700 mg for adults and children age 4 years and older.

Just maintain your daily values and you won't have this problem.

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Webmd - “Do not take potassium supplements without talking to you doctor” link

Health.Harvard.edu - “you should not take potassium supplements unless your doctor prescribes them … To start with, you're much better off getting potassium from foods instead of potassium supplements… Keeping your blood potassium level in the correct range is important, because this mineral also plays a key role in the function of nerves and muscles, including heart muscle. Your kidneys help regulate potassium levels in your blood. But age, diabetes, heart failure, and certain other conditions may impair kidney function. As a result, potassium levels can rise to high levels, leading to dangerous heart rhythm problems and even cardiac arrest.” link

I wasted part of my lunch break to counter your misinformation doing research you should have done before making a potentially harmful comment like that. I’ll send you an invoice.

Also potassium salts can be even potentially worse. “The potassium content of Nu-Salt® is 656 milligrams per 1/4 tsp.” - nusalt website, reddit doesn’t like the link find source yourself.

“Because of this [previously mentioned harvard sourced] potential danger, the FDA limits over-the-counter potassium supplements (including multivitamin-mineral pills) to less than 100 milligrams (mg). That's just 2% of the 4,700 mg recommended dietary intake for potassium. You'd have to take lots of potassium supplements to get close to that amount—another reason to get the nutrient from your diet.

However, grocery stores carry salt substitutes that may contain much higher amounts of potassium. People trying to curb their sodium intake may try these products. A mere one-quarter teaspoon of one brand contains about 800 mg of potassium. If you take a potassium-sparing diuretic, such as spironolactone, you should avoid salt substitutes and limit high-potassium foods.” health.harvard.edu link

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Just got out of the hospital with low, low potassium. Been on a diet of sweet potatoes, spinach, and bananas. It's actually insane how much better I feel now than I did earlier today.

There is a difference between what is healthy for your kidneys and what they can process without overloading when you have kidney disease.

Also new findings give more insight what the best approach is. Low phosphorus with medium protein (contains phosphate but muscle function) could be a better approach in early stages of kidney disease for example. With further stages that could change.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-kidney-disease/expert-answers/food-and-nutrition/faq-20058408

You can also take 'phosphate binders'

Damn, now I'm more confused than ever.

I think that was “honey, we shrunk ourselves”

Yeah I think it actually makes total sense that the things that maybe are good for your kidney can become too much if your kidney isn’t working properly anymore.

Not sure I go for that. I used to never salt anything, till one day I noticed I was sweating fresh water. Now I salt the eff out of stuff and I feel a lot better. I think I was chronically salt deficient.

Sir, would you like that steak medium, well-done, or plasma?

Potatoes are a lot better food than they get credit for, but in a world where the majority of people are overweight we need to look at micronutrient density relative to calories before food weight.

A modest bunch of spinach packs almost 2g of potassium for under 100 calories. That sounds like a lot of spinach until you cook it--it shrinks a ton. You'd need like 500 calories worth of potatoes (or 700+ calories from a nice bunch of those overrated bananas) to match.

In general, all those leafy green and cruciferous vegetables that people hate are very favorable in micronutrient density to macronutrient content, potassium included.

Meat, beans, and potatoes are all "decent" potassium sources, but particularly in the context of sodium/potassium balance (which seems to have at least as much bearing as raw intakes do) and how hard it is to keep sodium intake down, it's hard to get enough potassium without at least a little bit of veggie love.

Do you know which meds?

The reason potassium supplements are limited in pill form is because they will burn a hole in your gut. You can buy a humongous jar of potassium chloride powder and the recommended serving size can be much higher, mine is 365mg. The aforementioned Lite Salt really is the best idea though because it has the right balance of sodium and potassium to prevent high potassium syndromes if you have healthy kidneys.

Obviously you should talk to your doctor before any dietary change or supplement regime and your yearly physical should include a kidney screen like egfr, and your total potassium intake shouldn't exceed 4000mg or so (unless you have some unique scenario that a doctor has advised). This means that if you supplement potassium significantly, you have to have a tightly controlled diet since food have highly various amounts of potassium.

Personally I would be passing out if I didn't have my 2tsp of lite salt (which is 2800mg of potassium) per day. I'm on a highly restricted medically supervised diet though.

Lisinopril for high blood pressure can aggravate hyperkalemia (high potassium). But then, it turned out I was eating a very high potassium diet; lots of chicken, broccoli, bananas, and nuts. I cut out bananas. My cardiologist was funny, he said, "You got to eat brocolli, right? Its good for you." and told me to drink more water before the blood test and in general. Mine was on the edge of being high.

Ace inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers and spironolactone are the most common. But others like hydrochlorothiazide and loop diuretics like furosemide can lower your potassium. Most people on these medications will get lab work once every 6 months to a year to ensure good kidney function and normal electrolytes.

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Can you maybe meet with a renal dietitian who works with your nephrologist? They should have someone to refer you if not part of their group. It might be worth a referral. I have a family member who’s worked in this area for many years.

I do too for workouts, the sugar helps with some quick energy and metabolizing the electrolytes but it really isn't all that high in potassium. It gives bare minimum but a banana is better.

This is because of the cytochrome system and grapefruits interaction with it, more than the electrolytes in grapefruit

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Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the methods say a "high salt/ low K+" diet is bad. I don't see where they figure out K+ is definitely the problem.

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Just to clarify, you are now on this diet after you got out of the hospital? And if so, what were you eating before? Just curious, as I am trying to eat better myself. Thanks.

After the visit.

I eat relatively healthy. Rice, beans, ground turkey. A banana a day. Whole wheat bread with peanut butter (100% peanuts.) I am hypokalemic though. I intend on eating sweet potatoes as part of a main dish going forward. It's surprising how much potassium is in there

At this point, “Eating ‘BLANK’ will lead to ‘BLANK’”.

That's because kidney disease damages the mechanisms that your kidneys use to excrete potassium, causing it to build up in the body to life threatening levels.

There is a literal potato diet you can go on and lose weight.

I am sick and tired of all the demonizing of random foods.

I eat all these foods and am not overweight or in bad health, and i am in my mid 40s.

Good to know, makes me glad I like sweet potatoes. Thanks again.

It gets dissolved in water

They will most certainly not burn a hole, but they would strongly irritate the stomach in some people

https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/puarticles/march2014drugmetabolismcytochromep4503a4.htm#:~:text=Potent%20inhibitors%20of%20CYP3A4%20include,John's%20Wort%20and%20glucocorticoids.

I found this article about that interaction, interesting!

The only way to know is a blood test. An electrolyte or metabolic panel includes potassium.

It’s not a bad idea to get this information with a physical, even if you’re feeling okay, so that if you become unwell, you have a baseline for what your blood looks like in good health.

Sweet potato is also really good, and bizarrely has less sugar than regular potatoes.

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And so would be bananas.

Potassium supplements are a placebo. Food sources are much more potent.

Oh that’s interesting because I’ve been on that for a bit now and my K was lower but I was also doing keto sometimes and that messes me up. I can never get the electrolytes right!! Thanks for your response!

Ohhhh that’s interesting! Thank You!!

With a huge asterisk here; some people have trouble digesting meat over plants, at least anecdotally. My partner cannot eat meats without getting a very upset stomach, though admittedly this occurred in the last year or so, so it could be something else.

I've heard others say they've been vegetarian their whole life because they simply can't process meat normally - perhaps more research is needed on it.

It’s almost like potassium is something we need.

Any diet that keeps your energy intake lower than your energy expenditure will make you lose weight, even if that diet consists of twinkies.

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