Top 10 Foods Lowest in Potassium For People with Kidney Disease

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Top 10 Foods Lowest in Potassium For People with Kidney Disease

The kidneys regulate potassium (and all electrolyte) levels in your body. For those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) you may have to limit consumption of potassium and other electrolytes. (2)

The list below serves as a suggestion of low potassium foods for your diet and is for informational purposes only. Please work with your primary care provider to establish a proper diet.

Note: The current daily value (DV) for potassium is 4700 milligrams (mg), recently raised from 3500mg by the FDA. (1) This is a target meant for healthy people and is the %DV you will see on product labels in the United States. People with kidney disease should eat less potassium. Please use the percent daily value in this article only as a guide to compare foods and not as a target!

Generally people with CKD should watch their protein intake, as well as intake of other electrolytes. Since other electrolytes should also be watched, the amounts of sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium are also listed below each food in this list.

Foods low in potassium include most refined fats and oils, grains like cornmeal, white rice, and pasta, cheeses like soft goat cheese, and blueberries, eggs, leeks, Napa cabbage, and chia seeds. Boiling vegetables in water and discarding the water can help reduce their potassium and electrolyte content. Further, you can also leech more minerals out by soaking vegetables in water before consumption.

For more information on a CKD diet see the article from Medline Plus and Kidney.org. For more low potassium food ideas see the nutrient ranking tool, nutrient ratio tool, and the list of low potassium vegetables.

List of Low Potassium Foods

Vegetable Oil1 Refined Oils (Flaxseed Oil)
Potassium
per Tblsp
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
0mg
(0% DV)
0mg
(0% DV)
0mg
(0% DV)
1 tbsp of cold pressed flaxseed oil contains 0mg of sodium, 0mg phosphorus, 0mg magnesium, and 0mg calcium.

See all fats and oils low in potassium.
Goat Cheese2 Soft Goat Cheese
Potassium
per Oz
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
7mg
(0% DV)
26mg
(1% DV)
20mg
(0% DV)
1 oz of soft goat cheese contains 130mg of sodium, 73mg phosphorus, 5mg magnesium, and 40mg calcium.

See the ranking of all dairy foods low in potassium.
Cornmeal3 Cornmeal (Grits)
Potassium
per Cup Cooked
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
51mg
(1% DV)
22mg
(0% DV)
68mg
(1% DV)
1 cup of cornmeal contains 5mg of sodium, 33mg phosphorus, 12mg magnesium, and 2mg calcium.*Amount of Potassium and other minerals will depend on the water used for cooking.

See all grains low in potassium.
White Rice4 White Rice
Potassium
per Cup Cooked
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
55mg
(1% DV)
35mg
(1% DV)
54mg
(1% DV)
1 cup of rice contains 2mg of sodium, 68mg phosphorus, 19mg magnesium, and 16mg calcium. *Amount of Potassium and other minerals will depend on the water used for cooking.

See all grains low in potassium.
Eggs5 Eggs
Potassium
in 1 Large Egg
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
63mg
(1% DV)
126mg
(3% DV)
163mg
(3% DV)
1 large egg contains 62mg of sodium, 86mg phosphorus, 5mg magnesium, and 25mg calcium.
Napa Cabbage6 Napa Cabbage (Boiled and Drained)
Potassium
per Cup Cooked
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
95mg
(2% DV)
87mg
(2% DV)
1450mg
(31% DV)
1 cup of boiled and drained Napa cabbage contains 12mg of sodium, 21mg phosphorus, 9mg magnesium, and 32mg calcium.
Boiling and draining the water of vegetables will help reduce the potassium and mineral content.

Few vegetables are low in potassium, but you can see the ranking of all vegetables low in potassium.
Leeks7 Leeks (Boiled and Drained)
Potassium
per Leek
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
108mg
(2% DV)
87mg
(2% DV)
561mg
(12% DV)
An average leek (boiled and drained) contains 12mg sodium, 21mg phosphorus, 17mg magnesium, and 37mg calcium.
Boiling and draining the water of vegetables will help reduce the potassium and mineral content.

Few vegetables are low in potassium, but you can see the ranking of all vegetables low in potassium.
Whole Wheat Spaghetti8 Whole Wheat Pasta
Potassium
per Cup
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
112mg
(2% DV)
96mg
(2% DV)
129mg
(3% DV)
1 cup of whole wheat pasta contains 5mg of sodium, 149mg phosphorus, 63mg magnesium, and 15mg calcium.*Amount of Potassium and other minerals will depend on the water used for cooking.

See all grains low in potassium.
Blueberries9 Blueberries
Potassium
per Cup
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
114mg
(2% DV)
77mg
(2% DV)
270mg
(6% DV)
1 cup of raw blueberries contains 2mg of sodium, 18mg phosphorus, 9mg magnesium, and 9mg calcium.

Few fruits are low in potassium, but you can see the complete ranking of fruits low in potassium.
Chia Seeds10 Chia Seeds
Potassium
per oz(~2 Tblsp)
Potassium
per 100g
Potassium
per 200 Calories
116mg
(2% DV)
407mg
(9% DV)
167mg
(4% DV)
1 oz (~2 tablespoons) of chia seeds contains 5mg of sodium, 244mg of phosphorus, 95mg of magnesium, and 179mg of calcium.

Nuts and seeds are high in most minerals, but you can still see the ranking of nuts and seeds low in potassium.

About the Data

Data for the curated food lists comes from the USDA Food Data Central Repository.

You can check our data against the USDA by clicking the (Source) link at the bottom of each food listing.

Note: When checking data please be sure the serving sizes are the same. In the rare case you find any difference, please contact us and we will fix it right away.

About Nutrient Targets

Setting targets can provide a guide to healthy eating.

Some of the most popular targets include:
  • Daily Value (%DV) - The daily value (%DV) is a general guideline for consumption that will prevent deficiency of a particular nutrient in most people. The %DV refers to the percentage of an amount that's found in a single serving of a food. It also accounts for absorption factors. It is set by the U.S. FDA.
  • Recommended Dietary Allowance (%RDA) - The RDA sets an average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97.5%) healthy individuals. It's more specific than the daily value, and varies by age and gender. The RDA is set by the US National Instutites of Health.
  • Reference Dietary Intake (%RDI) -The reference dietary intake is similar to the recommended daily allowance, but is specific to age and gender. The RDI for amino acids is set by the U.N. World Health Organization.
  • Adequate Intake (%AI) - This value is primarily used in reference to omega-3 and omega-6 fats. The Adequate Intake is set by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. Because there is less evidence to determine the ideal targets for consumption of these nutrients, the specific amount is considered to be less reliable. Using the term Adequate Intake, rather than one of the other terms, helps to emphasize that the ideal intake of that particular nutrient has not yet been scientifically determined.

See the Guide to Recommended Daily Intakes for more information.

Want to set your own targets? Sign up for an account and set custom targets in the daily meal planner.

Use the ranking tool links below to select foods and create your own food list to share or print.


View more nutrients with the nutrient ranking tool, or see ratios with the nutrient ratio tool.

Data Sources and References

  1. U.S. Agricultural Research Service Food Data Central
  2. Medline Plus Article on CKD
  3. National Kidney Foundation on Potassium and Your CKD Diet
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