How to determine if a food is high or low potassium

Potassium isn’t always available on the food label or in a recipe, but when it is listed, what do the numbers mean? Here’s a general potassium guideline for interpreting potassium when available in a recipe (always check with your renal dietitian for individual guidelines):

• Very low potassium:  below 35 mg per serving
• Low potassium:  below 150 mg per serving
• Medium potassium:  150 to 250 mg potassium per serving
• High potassium:  above 250 to 500 mg potassium per serving
• Very high potassium:  above 500 mg potassium per serving

A consideration is how much of the food will be consumed in relation to the potassium content. For example a recipe for Glazed Chicken and Vegetables, the main entree for a meal, contains 450 mg potassium. This is considered acceptable for a diet limited to 2000 mg potassium a day because the recipe provides a main portion of the meal. Additional low potassium sides like rice, blueberries and sourdough bread complete the meal without exceeding 1/3 of the daily potassium goal.

A medium banana at 400 mg potassium is considered high in potassium, since it is only a small portion of the daily intake. A few banana slices or 1/3 piece is a more reasonable portion of banana for a lower potassium diet.

Learning which foods are high and low in potassium is a first step in understanding the best way to eat on a low potassium diet.