So you think bananas are rich in potassium, right?
Well, the 5 potassium rich foods I have here with me today have two, three or even 4 times
the amount of potassium in bananas!
Incredible!
If you don't believe me... let's check, let's see what's inside!
Hello this is Katherine, welcome to 00kidney... with another grocery haul!
Today is all about foods high in potassium and...
I've put them in a top 5!
Some of them will surprise you!
But, in today's video I won't just show you the foods, I'll also tell you if you can eat
them and if they are healthy for your diet and if they will help with your renal function.
Because a lot of these foods can be really healthy.
And I know that a lot of people watching me right now cannot have potassium rich foods
in their diet.
Watching this video they will know what foods to avoid!
But this video is also for those not in a stage of kidney disease preventing them from
eating potassium rich foods.
Some of you guys maybe are just watching me to keep being healthy, right?
By the way, tell me in comment section... let me know if you are watching me to improve
your health!
So what I want to do today is not just show you the foods, I will also be explaining who
can eat them, in what quantity and what all this potassium will do to your body.
Can't wait to show you what the 5 foods which pack the most potassium are!
Let's start with our number 5!
This is a fruit with twice the potassium in bananas!
let's see what's inside!
And it is...
Avocados have become extremely popular and trendy.
But did you know that just one half of this avocado has more potassium than a banana?
One half of an avocado 100 grams contains 487 mg of potassium, or 10% of the AI, adequate
intake.
If you eat a whole avocado, you'd get 20% of your daily potassium needs at once.
These fruits are also Packed with good fats, and are also a particularly great source of
vitamin K and folate.
Avocados, like most fruit, are low in sodium.
Half an avocado provides 7 mg or just 0.5% of your recommended dietary intake RDI of
sodium.
What's more, avocados may help people with high blood pressure, who are often told to
increase their potassium and reduce their sodium intake.
Yes, these fruits are not just jam-packed with nutrients, half a fruit will give you
10% of your daily potassium needs.
They are also healthy... unless you need to lower potassium in blood.
Yes, for people with kidney disease all this potassium can be really dangerous.
Therefore, avocados, including guacamole, should be avoided on a renal diet, especially
if you have high potassium levels in blood.
But how do you tell if your potassium levels are too high?
The symptoms of high potassium depend on the level of the mineral in your blood.
You may not have any symptoms at all.
But if your potassium levels are high enough to cause symptoms, you may have:
Fatigue, a feeling of numbness, nausea and even trouble breathing and irregular heartbeats.
In extreme cases, high potassium can cause heart failure.
Kidney failure is the most common cause of high potassium.
This is why kidney patients are told to watch their potassium intake very closely.
More about potassium and kidney disease diet in a moment...
NOW, let's see what our number 4 high potassium food is!
This one packs more than the potassium of two bananas in just one cup!
Let's see what's inside!
Yes, Just this one small cup of kidney beans has more potassium than two bananas!
But are kidney beans dangerous?
Interesting fact about kidney beans: Raw kidney beans contain relatively high amounts of phytohemagglutinin,
a toxic plant protein.
So you have to pre-soak them and boil for at least 10 minutes to avoid this danger.
And what about the health of our kidneySs Are kidney beans good for kidneys?
Similar to the kidney in shape and color, kidney beans provide a variety of minerals
and vitamins, and so are generally beneficial for your health.
If your kidneys are healthy, kidney beans can -- when consumed as part of a balanced
diet -- contribute to your kidney health.
Being rich in protein, fiber, and slow-release carbs, kidney beans are very effective at
maintaining healthy levels of blood sugar.
A lot of people eat too much sodium and too little potassium.
This is very common, since healthy foods are rich in potassium while junk foods and processed
foods are full of salt and sodium.
But, if you are suffering from kidney disease, you might need to moderate your intake of
potassium and of potassium rich foods, like these kidney beans.
Why?
Potassium is very important, it's an essential mineral.
Essential means that the body cannot synthetize it by its own and it needs it from foods.
Potassium is also an electrolyte.
The body uses it to conduct the electricity needed for several vital functions, like nerve
signals and muscle contraction, including those of the heart.
When the kidneys cannot filter it from the blood anymore, the body will have an hard
time using it for all its important functions.
This means that a severe unbalance in the potassium levels can even cause the heart
to stop.
Potassium is also what regulates the intracellular fluid balance of the body.
The body needs a perfect balance of fluids, potassium and sodium to function.
This balance can also affect the health of the kidneys.
Time for our number 3!
This is something even richer in potassium than kidney beans that people consume on a
regular basis.
How to know if you actually eat this one?
Let's see what's inside!
Just one cup of tomato sauce contains the same amount of potassium of two bananas!
And tomato sauce will become more dense during cooking, so you really don't have to eat a
lot of it to get all this potassium!
Now, this is one of those foods usually not recommended for patient with kidney disease.
The very interesting part here is that you can still use tomatoes in your cooking, you
just need swap tomato sauce for a home-made sauce.
Yes, if you choose the right tomatoes, you can make an home-made sauce with very little
potassium in it.
The dish will be equally delicious, all while providing less potassium per serving.
Here is how you can make a delicious pasta dish using just low potassium tomatoes and
spices.
Put the water to boil.
While it's getting hot, mince the garlic and the pepper and put them in a large pan with
the olive oil, over medium heat.
Keep an eye on it because we want to saute garlic just until it starts to brown.
The water should be boiling now, as soon as it does, put the tomatoes in the water for
a couple of minutes.
Drain the tomatoes, keeping the boiling water that we will be using for the pasta, and put
them in the pan.
We are using Roma tomatoes because they are sweet and meaty
while cooking the sauce put the pasta in the boiling water.
mash the tomatoes with a wooden fork.
Cover with a lid Let it cook for 10-15 minutes, and keep stirring.
Put the pasta in the pan with the sauce, add some boiling water to get the right density
and let it cook this way until the pasta is al dente.
Our number two... this one packs more than the potassium of three bananas for a single
cup!
So it's one of the foods with the highest potassium content.
Be sure to never even go near it if you have kidney disease!
These are very rich in potassium!
Just this small cup, weighting less than a single banana, has the same amount of potassium
of three bananas!
Talking about nutrient dense foods, right?
This is because dates have 1.168 mg of potassium per cup!
This is really a lot of potassium, if you think that people with chronic kidney disease
should ingest between 1.500 and 2.700 mg of potassium each day.
People with functioning kidneys, on the other hand, need around 4.700 mg of potassium in
their daily diet.
So a single cup of dates is about 23% of the daily dose for an healthy person, and almost
the entire daily dose of a person with ckd.
So never eat dates if you have a potassium restriction!
But why do kidney patients need so little potassium?
Now, kidney patients are often told to limit the potassium intake, but this is only helpful
when the kidneys are not working enough to filter the potassium from the blood and the
person is still not on dialysis.
Usually people with CKD, chronic kidney disease, up to stage 3 and GFR above 40 or 50, are
still able to get rid of the excess of potassium through their kidneys.
So when the kidneys are still working at 40 or 50 percent the potassium is usually still
filtered well enough.
Unfortunately GFR numbers can fluctuate and potassium levels can go up or down in a short
amount of time, so if you have any doubts, get checked for your potassium levels.
Now, patients in stage 3 are not usually told to limit it.
This is because the kidneys are still able to filter it well enough in stage 3.
Now, I'm using the word "usually" here because not everyone is the same, so take this with
a grain of salt and, remember, talk to your doctor before making any significant changes
in your diet.
Your doctor will tell you if you need to limit potassium and other nutrients in your diet.
Patients in advanced stages of chronic kidney disease are always on a low potassium diet.
So, your doctor will tell you when to start managing your diet to reduce the potassium
intake.
But you should still getting informed so you can help your doctor or dietitian making the
perfect diet for your situation.
And remember that If you have CKD, you should have your potassium checked once a month and
you should always know what your GFR level is and what restriction you will have to follow.
Time for our number one now!
Very few people now about this vegetable.
But it is probably one of the vegetables with the highest potassium content in the world
... Let's see what's inside!
What are these?
Sweet potatoes?
Are sweet potatoes this rich in potassium?
Nope... these are yams!
And, incredibly enough, just this one medium sized yam contains the same amount of potassium
of not 2, not 3 but 4 entire bananas!
And they told us that bananas were rich in potassium.
What's the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?
The terms yam and sweet potato are often used interchangeably in grocery stores.
But they are two different starchy vegetables that deliver different nutrient profiles.
So, how can you distinguish between yam and sweet potatoes not to get the wrong one?
The sweet potato has orange flesh and its skin can be white, yellow, orange or purple.
Yams belong to the lily family.
The color of their flesh varies from ivory to yellow to purple.
They're long and cylindrical, and their skin has a rough and scaly texture.
While sweet potatoes are readily available in grocery stores, yams aren't.
This is all for today, watch this video if you want to know everything you need to know
about the kidney friendly diet for people with CKD!
See you there