Hyperkalemia is characterized by increased potassium levels in a person’s bloodstream. For optimal health, maintaining adequate potassium levels is essential. Managing hyperkalemia by following a nutritious meal plan can help with this. As hyperkalemia can be deadly, it must be treated immediately after being diagnosed to prevent its symptoms. Below is a list of some of the nutritious foods that have helped lower potassium levels and some potassium-rich foods to avoid for managing hyperkalemia.

Hyperkalemia
Potassium is an essential nutrient, but excess potassium in the body can lead to conditions like hyperkalemia. It can cause serious heart problems, so it is crucial to be familiar with all the details of the conditions. Hyperkalemia symptoms are typically mild and non-specific and thus easy to miss. Muscle weakness, tingling, nausea, and numbness are the usual symptoms of the condition. When the potassium levels are high, one may experience shortness of breath, chest pain, and heart palpitations. Since sudden hyperkalemia can be life-threatening, it is better to seek immediate medical care if the symptoms arise.

Causes of hyperkalemia
One of the most prevalent reasons for hyperkalemia is kidney disease. The kidneys are tasked with the job of balancing electrolytes, including potassium. The kidney can compensate for high amounts of kalium when its functioning is only moderately impaired. But in the late stages of kidney disease, the kidney may lose this ability. Some drugs may interact with kidney functioning in such a way that it leads to inadequate removal of potassium. Another common cause is eating too many potassium-rich foods like cantaloupe, orange juice, bananas, honeydew melon, or other supplements. Less common causes of hyperkalemia include uncontrolled diabetes, Addison’s disease, and severe injuries or burn that cause the body to release extra potassium. 

The nutritional regime for hyperkalemia
Since one of the most common reasons for hyperkalemia is the excess consumption of potassium, the best way to control it is by following a balanced meal plan. Even when triggered by other reasons like kidney disease or diabetes, modifying the meal plan is the best way to manage this health condition. Bear in mind that it is not possible to have a meal plan free of potassium, and neither is it healthy. A lot of nutritious foods contain potassium. Hence completely eliminating potassium from one’s regular meal plan may cause constipation and deficiency of several other essential nutrients. However, temporarily adopting a low-potassium meal plan is ideal. The following tips can help a person follow this:

Avoid foods with the high potassium content
It is best to avoid canned vegetables since they contain more salts than necessary and hence may increase potassium content in the blood. Fresh fruits like bananas, grapes, kiwis, mangoes, apricots, and dry fruits like plums, papaya, and raisins have high potassium content. Also, avoid spinach, butternut squash, potato, sweet potatoes, avocado, beetroot, eggplant, cereals with bran, and nuts like pistachios. It is important to control the intake of milk, yogurt, nuts, fish, and chicken. Fruit juices tend to contain artificial salt that is rich in potassium. So try not to drink more than 150 ml of fruit juice a day. 

Reducing potassium from food
If one regularly consumes the foods mentioned above, eliminating these entirely may not be possible. So, one must try to reduce the amount of potassium intake. First and foremost, learning about foods and their nutritional values is important. It is helpful to be aware of the potassium content in foods. A person suffering from hyperkalemia should consume only 2,000 milligrams of potassium a day (as opposed to 2,600 to 3,400 milligrams recommended for a healthy adult). Potassium content from canned foods can be reduced by draining the water. In fresh vegetables, leaching is ideal. This process involves soaking vegetables in water and cooking them in 10x more water than vegetables. Wash the leached vegetables in cold water. Avoid large servings of tomato in all its forms (soup, sauce, puree, juice, etc.). Also, avoid foods like licorice, strong coffee, and chocolate.

Foods to manage hyperkalemia
Apart from steering clear of some foods, including foods low in potassium in one’s meal plan is important. Consider lean meats, shrimp, or eggs for proteins. Cauliflower, alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, white mushroom, zucchini, and carrots are ideal vegetables for people with hyperkalemia. Turn to high-fiber grains instead of those with bran. Blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, peach, grapefruit, apple and apple sauce, cherry, strawberry, tangerine, and pears are fruits that are low in kalium. 

Treatment for hyperkalemia
More often than not, a low-potassium meal plan is an ideal solution for hyperkalemia. But there are other alternative treatments. One’s healthcare provider will also likely modify the prescriptions apart from giving a person a meal plan with low-potassium foods. They might also ask a person to take specific pharmaceutical preparations to help the body eliminate extra potassium efficiently. These could be diuretics that make the kidney produce more urine, through which potassium is typically expelled from the body. Doctors may recommend certain prescription treatments for hyperkalemia. However, the same is not used for children and is usually more commonly prescribed when the potassium build-up is severe. 

Consult with the healthcare provider
One must always make modifications to the meal plan with the help of a nutritionist or a general practitioner. Firstly, if hyperkalemia is comorbid with other conditions, it is important to understand which foods will impact one’s health adversely. It is also possible that food is not a cause of this condition. If the reason is an underlying condition like diabetes, the meal plan must be low in potassium and carbohydrates. But if the cause is kidney disease, one must limit sodium, calcium, and phosphorus. Doctors are better equipped to create a meal plan that will suit a person. But remember, it is important to consult with a doctor before making any changes to the meal plan or if the symptoms aggravate further.