Food Groups for Low Potassium and Low Phosphorus Diets When you have kidney disease, you may need to follow a diet low in sodium, potassium and phosphorus. This diet is sometimes called a renal diet. You may need to follow this diet if you are on dialysis or are not on dialysis, but you have kidney disease and need to follow special diet guidelines. Talk to your doctor or dietitian to see how many servings from each of the food groups you should eat each day and if you should be following a fluid restriction. Milk Group servings per day; one serving = ½ cup, 4 grams protein, 200 milligrams potassium Milk: whole, 2%, 1%, fat-free (skim), buttermilk, chocolate flavored, soy milk Plain yogurt (count the fruit if flavored) Pudding and custard Cream soups Ice cream Cream (coffee cream, half & half) Protein Group servings per day; one serving = 1 ounce (oz) or ¼ cup, 7 grams protein, 120 milligrams potassium Meats (beef, pork, veal, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, organ meats) Fish, 1 oz Tuna or salmon, 1/8 cup or 1 ounce (oz) Learn more about your health care. More on next page Copyright 2002 - March 7, 2013. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center - Upon request all patient education handouts are available in other formats for people with special hearing, vision and language needs, call (614) 293-3191.
Page 2 Shrimp or scallops, 4 medium Oysters, 4 medium Clams, 5 small or 2 large Eggs or egg substitute, 1 medium or ¼ cup Peanut butter or other nut butters, 2 tablespoons Cottage cheese, ¼ cup Cheese, 1 oz only on days of no milk use Beans and peas, ½ cup Tofu, ¼ cup Avoid these high salt and processed meats and cheeses: Meat or poultry enhanced with chicken broth Bacon, 4 strips 300 milligrams (mg) of sodium Sausage, 2 small links 250 mg of sodium Ham, 1 oz 215 mg of sodium Frankfurter / hotdog, 1 500 mg of sodium Luncheon meat, 1 oz 370 mg of sodium Processed cheese such as Velveeta, 1 oz 270 mg of sodium Canned meats, 1 oz 250 mg of sodium Turkey ham, 1 oz 280 mg of sodium Bread, Cereal and Grain Group servings per day; one serving = varies by food, see below, 3 grams of protein, 50 milligrams potassium Bread, 1 slice Pita bread pocket, ½ Bagel, ½ Biscuit or roll, 1 Muffin, homemade, 1 Bun (hamburger or hotdog), ½ Cereals, cold (such as cheerios, corn flakes or puffed rice) 1 cup Cereals, hot (such as oatmeal, grits, farina, cream of wheat/rice) ½ cup Cake (angel food, white, yellow, pound), one 3-inch cube Cornbread, homemade, one 2-inch cube
Page 3 Cookies (butter, sugar, shortbread, sugar wafers), 4 Cookies (vanilla wafers or animal crackers), 10 Crackers (unsalted or graham crackers), 6 Doughnut, 1 small Pancakes or waffles, homemade, one 4-inch diameter Pasta or rice, cooked, ½ cup Popcorn (unsalted), 3 cups Tortilla, 1 Fat Group servings per day; one serving = varies by food, see below Margarine, 1 pat Salad dressing, 1 tablespoon Gravy, 2 tablespoons Cream cheese, 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil or shortening, 1 tablespoon Sour cream, 2 tablespoons Whipped topping, 3 tablespoons Low calorie margarine, 1 tablespoon Fruit Group (Low Potassium) servings per day; one serving = varies by food, see below, 0.5 gram protein, 0-200 milligrams potassium Apple juice, ½ cup Apple, raw, medium Applesauce, ½ cup Apricots, canned, 4 halves Blueberries, raw, ¾ cup Cherries, sour only, ½ cup Cranberries, 1 cup Cranberry juice, 1/3 cup Dates, 2 dried Fruit cocktail, ½ cup Grape juice, 1/3 cup Grapefruit juice, ½ cup Grapes, Thompson, 15 Lemon or lime, 1 Logan berries, ¾ cup Peaches, canned, ½ cup Pears, canned, ½ cup Pineapple juice, ½ cup Pineapple, raw, ¾ cup Pineapple, canned, 1/3 cup Raisins, 2 tablespoons or snack size box Raspberries, 1 cup
Page 4 Fruit Group (High Potassium) servings per day; one serving = varies by food, see below, 0.5 gram protein, 200-275 milligrams potassium Banana, ½ medium Blackberries, ¾ cup Boysenberries, 1 cup Cherries, sweet, 12 large Figs, 2 Grapefruit, ½ Kiwifruit, 1 medium Mandarin oranges, ¾ cup Mulberries, 1 cup Orange, 1 medium Orange juice, ½ cup Peach or nectarine, fresh, 1 medium Pear, fresh, 1 medium Plum, 2 medium Prune juice, 1/3 cup Prunes, dried, 3 Strawberries, 1 ¼ cup Watermelon, 1 ¼ cup Avoid these fruits: Avocado Cantaloupe Honeydew melon Plantain Tangelo Raw apricots Starfruit Any fruit in excess of serving size Vegetable Group (Low Potassium) servings per day; one serving = ½ cup unless otherwise noted, 2 grams protein, 0-200 milligrams potassium Bean sprouts, canned Broccoli Beans, green and wax Carrots Cabbage, green and red Cauliflower Celery Coleslaw Cucumbers Eggplant Escarole Hominy Greens, mustard, turnip Lettuce Onion Peas, green, canned
Page 5 Peppers, green Rhubarb Shellie beans Summer squash Tomato, raw, ½ Vegetable Group (High Potassium) servings per day; one serving = ½ cup unless otherwise noted, 2 grams protein, 200-275 milligrams potassium Asparagus Beets Brussels sprouts Collard greens Corn, white kernel Corn, creamed Corn, yellow Cowpeas Mixed vegetables Mushrooms Parsnips Potato, mashed, boiled and leached* Spinach Stewed tomatoes Tomato sauce, unsalted, ¼ cup Tomato juice, unsalted Turnips Zucchini * To leach potatoes, both white and sweet, peel potato and cut into small pieces. Cover completely with water and soak in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse well. Cook in fresh water. Leaching potatoes will remove much of the potassium, but not all. Count ½ cup of leached potatoes as one high potassium vegetable serving. Avoid these vegetables and beans/legumes: Artichoke Butter beans Canned vegetables unless they have no added salt Dried beans and peas, lentils Potato, baked, French fries, chips Sweet potato, unleached (see above) Swiss chard Tomato paste or puree Any vegetable in excess of serving size
Page 6 Miscellaneous Avoid these condiments and foods: Salt and lite salt Salt substitute TV dinners Pickles Soy sauce Nuts Olives Sauerkraut Coconut, coconut milk, or coconut water Molasses, blackstrap If you have any questions or concerns about your health condition and eating foods that meet your dietary needs, please talk with a dietitian for help. Talk to your doctor or others on your health care team if you have questions. You may request more written information from the Library for Health Information at (614) 293-3707 or email: health-info@osu.edu.