The low potassium level in the blood as well as the high blood sugar level can lead to serious medical problems and health conditions if left unattended or untreated. If the blood sugar level in uncontrolled it can lead to some serious kidney problems and even risk of heart diseases. Whereas on the other hand, high level of potassium can lead to heart palpitations and in some rare cases, even death.
But the good news is that both the blood sugar level and the high potassium level in the blood can be controlled by following a healthy diet and some certain food recipes. Here’s a list of some tips that you can follow to adopt to a low potassium diabetic diet:
Carbohydrate and Blood Sugar Control
The best way to manage diabetes is by controlling the intake of the carbohydrates at the time of each meal. Some foods which have a lot of carbohydrates include grains, bread, starches, starchy vegetables and yogurt and milk.
Though the exact amount of carbohydrates which have to be taken by a person may depend upon the age, sex and other factors. Ask your doctor for the amount of carbohydrates you must have at the time of each meal.
Controlling the Potassium Intake
The main sources of potassium in a person’s diet are fruits as well as vegetables. If your potassium level in the body is high then you can try to reduce the level of fruits and vegetables that you eat. Or otherwise, you can have those fruits and vegetables which have lower level of potassium in them. You can reduce the serving size or the number of servings of the fruits as well as the vegetables which have higher level of potassium content.
Some low potassium foods include apples, fruit cocktail, applesauce, pears, grapes, canned peaches, canned pears and watermelons. Some vegetables which have lower level of potassium include canned beets, alfalfa sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, lettuce, green beans, cucumber and endive.
Other Things to Keep in Mind
You must have low potassium and carbohydrate centric meal at the time of breakfast and that could include ¾ cup portion of some cereal with a cup of nonfat milk. For lunch you can have a turkey sandwich with slices of whole wheat bread and mix it up with lettuce, mayonnaise, canned peers and cucumbers. At dinner time, have 3 oz of salmon with 1 cup of brown rice in cooked form. Have this with ½ cup of green beans with ½ cup of fresh grapes.