Top 10 Foods Lowest in Potassium For People with Kidney Disease

Essential electrolytes like potassium are typically regulated in your body by your kidneys. For those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) you may have to limit consumption of potassium and other electrolytes.

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.

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.

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 they are cooked in can help reduce their potassium and electrolyte content. Further, you can also leech more minerals out by soaking vegetables in water prior to 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

1 Refined Oils (Flaxseed Oil)

• 0% DV (0mg) potassium per tblsp
• Calories: 120 | Weight: 14g (0.5oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Rice Bran Oil.

2 Soft Goat Chese

• 0% DV (7mg) potassium per oz
• Calories: 75 | Weight: 28g (1oz)

1 oz of soft goat cheee contains 130mg of sodium, 73mg phosphorus, 5mg magnesium, and 40mg calcium.

See the ranking of all dairy foods low in potassium.

Nutrition Facts for Soft Goat Cheese.

3 Cornmeal (Grits)

• 1% DV (51mg) potassium per cup cooked
• Calories: 151 | Weight: 233g (8.2oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Yellow Cornmeal (grits).

4 White Rice

• 1% DV (55mg) potassium per cup cooked
• Calories: 205 | Weight: 158g (5.6oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Cooked Long-grain White Rice.

5 Eggs

• 1% DV (63mg) potassium in 1 large egg
• Calories: 78 | Weight: 50g (1.8oz)

1 large egg contains 62mg of sodium, 86mg phosphorus, 5mg magnesium, and 25mg calcium.

Nutrition Facts for Hard Boiled Eggs.

6 Napa Cabbage (Boiled and Drained)

• 2% DV (95mg) potassium per cup cooked
• Calories: 13 | Weight: 109g (3.8oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Cooked Napa Cabbage.

7 Leeks (Boiled and Drained)

• 2% DV (108mg) potassium per leek
• Calories: 38 | Weight: 124g (4.4oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Cooked Leeks.

8 Whole Wheat Pasta

• 2% DV (112mg) potassium per cup
• Calories: 174 | Weight: 117g (4.1oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Whole Wheat Pasta.

9 Blueberries

• 2% DV (114mg) potassium per cup
• Calories: 84 | Weight: 148g (5.2oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Blueberries.

10 Chia Seeds

• 2% DV (116mg) potassium per oz (~2 tblsp)
• Calories: 138 | Weight: 28g (1oz)

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.

Nutrition Facts for Chia Seeds.

See All 200 Foods Low in Potassium