What you should know about Potatoes and Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease

Potatoes contain a lot of potassium, and baked potatoes have almost 3 times as much as cooked potatoes because some potassium is flushed out in the water when boiling. Potassium is one of the most important minerals for body function. A proper level of potassium in the blood is essential to keep a regular heartbeat, fluid balance, to prevent muscle loss, preserves bone mineral density, and reduces the formation of kidney stones. It also decreases the risk of stroke, lowers blood pressure and it is said that good potassium intake can reduce the overall mortality by 20%. However too much or too little potassium is a health problem. The body gets its potassium supply through food and excretes it through the kidneys. However, in advanced chronic kidney disease, the kidney’s ability to excrete potassium and other minerals is limited, thus too much potassium can easily accumulate in the blood. Potassium is found in many fruits and vegetables, such as bananas, potatoes, avocados, and melons. Eating foods like potatoes, which are rich in potassium can, therefore, lead to an easy overdose of potassium. Too much potassium in the blood can cause abnormal heartbeats and even cardiac arrest. Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease are advised to stop taking more than one high-potassium food per day and to avoid taking potassium-rich foods for several days in a roll.