I want a Top 10 list.

[jbeany]

I've seen lots of lists of what to avoid, what has too much potassium, too much sodium, too much phosphate, too much fluid, blah, blah, blah. . .  There are plenty of places to print off renal diet menus, but they alway include half a dozen things I don't like and refuse to eat now that my parents aren't forcing me to clean my plate anymore.  The charts on the wall at the center are enormous, and list so many foods that I can't possible keep track of what is in what food. 

I know I'll start to remember eventually.  I don't have to look up carbo counts anymore for the diabetic diet that I'm on, but I would like something to simplify menu choices in the first few months.  I want a cheat sheet for the days I just don't have the ambition to look up everything.  Doesn't anyone have something simple, like a Top 10 list of the best fruits, the best veggies, the best grains, the best meat, the best choices for a dessert, the ten healthiest soda pop brands, etc.?   A list that uses all the restrictions together, not just one concern at a time.

It seems like it would be easier if the dietitian would hand over a short list of fruit that took into account not only the potassium levels, but the fluid content at the same time.  Then, if I wanted a snack, I would know I could safely grab one off that list, without wondering if I should be eating it.  I know an apple is a better choice than an orange - less potassium and fluid.  But are grapes better than pears, or worse?  Even if I count the fluid from the watermelon, am I getting too much potassium at the same time?  Auuuuugh - I just want a short list of the best choices until I've done this long enough to know without looking it all up.  Has anybody got anything like that?

[angela515]

I will leave this to the experts, as I could use a list like that too!! Great idea. I always thought they should be giving me a list of foods I CAN eat, instead of so many lists of what not to eat. 

[BigSky]

Problem is you can eat anything you want as long as you stay within your dietary guidelines maintaining your protein intake first and then have anything you want as long as you do not go over your potassium, phosphorus and sodium levels.

Determine your core group of foods you like to eat and then compare them to the lists and work your diet around them.   Its all about a balancing act and what you like.  Give and take.

As to fluid content of fruits that is not worth worrying about IMO.  You will hit your potassium limit long before you hit your fluid allotment from the fruit.

Once again this program will also tell you what the fluid content is of fruit if that is your concern.

http://dietpower.com/

I know this list thing has been sorta talked about before and its kinda hard to nail down a true list considering the vast amount of foods out there and more specifically a persons tastes in food.

[Zach]

BigSky knows of what he speaks.
 

[jbeany]

Guess I'll start making my own then - I started with fresh fruit.  Here's my shopping "cheat sheet" for the produce section.  I started with the list of 45 fruits from the kidney school diet section.  They don't give actually potassium amounts, just approximates rated with a star for each 60 mg of potassium.   I then looked up all the fruits that only had one or two stars, did my best to make sure the portion sizes were the same, and put them in order from highest to lowest. I followed Big Sky's advice, and didn't worry about the fluid content.

Fruit      Serving      Potassium

Passion fruit   1 medium   62.6
Apricot      1 medium   90.6
Plum      1 medium   104
Blueberries   1 cup      114
Tangerine   1 medium   146
Apple      1 medium   148
Watermelon   1 cup, diced   170
Pineapple   1 cup, diced   178
Raspberries   1 cup       186
Strawberries   1 cup, halved   233
Blackberries   1 cup      233
Cherries, sour   1cup, pitted   268
Peach      1 medium   285
Grapes      1 cup      288
Grapefruit   1 cup, sections   320
Cherries, sweet   1 cup, pitted   322

I was surprised that tangerines were so high on the list - I would have guessed that they had a lot of potassium, just like oranges. 

[angela515]

Good job on the Fruit list. I plan on taking the fruits out that I eat and copy, pasting them into notepad to start my list. I will try to contribute to this thread tomorrow when I have more time. 

One quick question: Once I ask my dietician what my "limits" are for potassium and phosphorus then lets say I eat 1 apple...Below the chart says 1 medium apple is 148 mg, so lets say my limit is 1000mg/day, I would then subtract the 148 from the 1000 and I then have 852 mg of allowed potassium left to eat the rest of the day.  Do I understand this correctly?

[jbeany]

Sounds right to me, angela.

I started on a veggies list.  I think I'll end up doing a separate list for fresh and canned.  (Shopping for stir fry and salads vs. casseroles and cooked side dishes.) 

I must say I'm confused by the amount of times I've read/been told that tomatoes are a huge no-no.  This kidney school chart lists stars/per 60 mg.  A tomato shows up as one star for sodium, one star for phosphate, and 3 stars for potassium.  That's same amounts they have for green beans, which everyone keeps saying is a good choice.  So what's the deal with the tomato bashing?  And no one says much of anything about kidney, pinto, black beans, etc., which are off the charts on all three items.

[angela515]

I'm not sure what the reason is... the only thought I can come up with on why they would point out tomatoes is maybe because tomatoes are so popular in our everyday eating, and are in many things... idunno though, just my thought on it.

[BigSky]

I must say I'm confused by the amount of times I've read/been told that tomatoes are a huge no-no.  This kidney school chart lists stars/per 60 mg.  A tomato shows up as one star for sodium, one star for phosphate, and 3 stars for potassium.  That's same amounts they have for green beans, which everyone keeps saying is a good choice.  So what's the deal with the tomato bashing?  And no one says much of anything about kidney, pinto, black beans, etc., which are off the charts on all three items.

The thing to remember it is all about serving size.  A 3oz serving of raw tomato is roughly 188 mg of K.  Of course condensed tomato products like sauces and pastes have even higher amounts of K per serving.

[Panda_9]

Have a look through the various threads in the diet and recipes topic. You will get some idea. Most people have to work it out for themselves, and eventually it becomes second nature. You will soon learn what you can have and what you may need to avoid completely. Everyone is different, and everyones tolerances of certain foods is different. What may be an ok portion for one, is not ok for the other. Ask your dietition how much potassium, phosphate, and fluid you can have in one day, and go from there.
I dont really worry about fluid content in fruit, because you cant eat alot of it anyway. One serving of grapes I think is 20 grapes. I dont know actual fluid content but perhaps set aside 100-150mls if you are having a slice of watermelon.