It is a common sense that kidney disease patients should develop strict dietary restrictions in daily life. Here we will provide more info about vegetarian diet and proper potassium intake for people who are vegetarian with kidney disease.

Let’s see what are the functions of potassium.

Potassium is an important mineral that controls nerve and muscle function. And it can regulate the heartbeat and regulate high blood pressure through inhibiting the sodium. And potassium is also necessary for maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance and pH level. In order for potassium to perform these functions, blood vessels must be kept between 3.5 and 5.5mEq/L. The Kidneys help keep potassium at a normal level.

Potassium and Kidney Disease

Generally speaking, most kidney disease patients are prone to suffer from high potassium level due to kidney damage. In normal condition, the healthy kidneys are responsible to discharge extra creatinine level. When kidneys fail no longer remove excess potassium, so the level build up in the body. High potassium in the blood is called hyperkalemia, which may occur in people with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Some of the effects of high potassium are nausea, weakness, numbness and slow pulse.

Several tips which are obeyed as following:

Limit foods that are high in potassium

Limit milk and milk products or replace with nondairy substitutes

Talk to your renal dietitian about creating an eating plan.

How to prevent potassium levels from getting too high with vegetarian diet?

Choose apples, berries, or grapes instead of bananas, organs or kiwi.

Select watermelon, instead of cantaloupe or honeydew.

Eat peaches, plums or pineapple, instead of raisins or other dried fruit.

Drink apple, cranberry or drape juice, instead of orange.

Choose green beans, wax beans or snow peas, instead of dried beans or peas.

Prepare mashed potatoes or hash browns from leached potatoes, instead of eating baked potato or French fries.

Cook with onion, bell peppers, mushrooms or garlic, instead of tomatoes, tomato sauce or chili sauce.

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