Taking the Kale out of Hyperkalemia: Plant Foods and Serum Potassium in Patients With Kidney Disease

Traditionally, diets for kidney disease were low in potassium. This recommendation was based on outdated research and often wrong assumptions that do not reflect current evidence. In fact, studies conducted over the past decades show patients with CKD, including kidney failure, do not benefit from the restriction of plant foods relative to control. Generally, dietary potassium does not correlate with serum potassium, and we posit that this is due to the effects of fiber on colonic potassium absorption, the alkalinizing effect of fruits and vegetables on metabolic acidosis, and the bioavailability of dietary potassium in plant foods. Also, consumption of plant foods may pro-vide pleiotropic benefits to patients with CKD. Emerging dietary recommendations for kidney health should be devoid of dietary potas-sium restrictions from plant foods so that patient-centered kidney recipes can be encouraged and promoted.

Automated summary

Traditionally, diets for kidney disease restricted potassium intake from plant foods, but current evidence shows that this restriction is unnecessary. The correlation between dietary potassium and serum potassium is not significant, likely due to the effects of fiber, alkalinizing properties of fruits and vegetables, and the bioavailability of dietary potassium in plant foods. Consumption of plant foods may have multiple benefits for patients with CKD. Therefore, emerging dietary recommendations for kidney health should not restrict potassium intake from plant foods.