High Potassium Foods

The temptations of the season are difficult to avoid this time of year, with everyone wanting you to sample their latest baking success. For most baked goods there should not be a problem with potassium for those who require a low potassium diet. Most baked goods are low potassium foods, with only a few of the biscuits, rolls and muffins being high potassium foods. Those with a high amount of potassium will be the various baked goods that are made to include fruit, nuts, spice, chocolate, bran, whole grain or mixed grain.

Baked Goods And Sodium

Sodium will be high in all the biscuits, rolls and muffins, though. All baked goods have high sodium content unless they specifically mention that they are low sodium. Getting too much sodium will result in retaining extra fluid. Although consuming too much potassium will make the heart beat irregularly in those requiring a low potassium diet, too much sodium will make the heart work too hard, since it has to move the extra fluid in the blood stream, and supply blood to the muscles that move a body carrying extra weight from the fluid.

The table below includes most bagels, biscuits, rolls and muffins although there are too many products to include all the brand variations available. The commercial bakeries tend to prepare the baked goods with similar processing using baking soda or baking powder, which adds sodium.

If You Have A Medical Condition

People with medical conditions requiring a low potassium diet most often need multiple aspects of their diet regulated, and need the advice of a doctor and dietitian to help with their specific requirements. These tables will be inadequate for managing their health, and can only serve as a guide to show how foods that seem similar will vary significantly in important dietary elements.

The serving weight is grams, and the potassium and sodium weights are milligrams. The potassium and sodium values given are for 100 grams of food.

As usual, K is potassium, and Na is sodium.

Except for the potassium to sodium ratio, amount of potassium per serving, and sodium per serving (all of which we calculated), the source of data is: USDA National Nutrient Database Standard Reference – Release 22.