High blood pressure, medications

Should I avoid foods that contain potassium while taking Lisinopril? I hope not! I love bananas and green leafy veggies!

[jillbee7]

Hi,

You don't need to avoid them- just try to be consistent! It's much harder to monitor your potassium levels and see what effect the lisinopril is having if you go on "salad binges" or something like that. Haha. Fruits and veggies are great lifestyle choices- I don't think anyone would tell you to avoid them just because of their potassium content. I'd say just stay away from potassium supplements or salt substitutes like Mrs. Dash and you will probably be ok. If you start having muscle cramps though, it could be a sign that your potassium is too high. If that happens, go to the doctor and they will do bloodwork to test your levels.

Hope that helps!

Jill
Pharmacy student

[HipperTicker69]

Salad binge?! I eat salads every day. LOL! But I'm highly concerned about the advice your dishing out about Ms. Dash. Ms. Dash IS NOT a salt substitute it is merely a salt replacement. There's a WORLD of difference between Ms. Dash and Morton Salt Substitute (for example) which is loaded with Potassium Chloride. If you take the time to read the ingredients on ANY Ms. Dash flavors, you'll find nothing but herbs and spices, there's absolutely NO potassium chloride in it.  Point of reference:  http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/foodsalts/salt_sub.htm

[erijon]

Are you also taking a diuretic with your Lisinopril? If so, your potassium levels may be lower than normal, just something to think about.

[HipperTicker69]

No diuretics here.

[jillbee7]

That's great that you eat salad every day. What I mean is this- sometimes people get fully into making healthy changes and go a bit overboard. I'm just saying don't eat 10 bananas a day for weeks on end or something crazy (although I'm sure you weren't planning on it, haha).

As for the Mrs. Dash- my mistake. I've never personally bought any any have only been told in school to advise people to stay away from salt substitutes. An example they gave us was Mrs. Dash, probably because everyone is familiar with it. You're right, Mrs. Dash isn't the same as a potassium chloride product.

[HipperTicker69]

Sounds like your educator needs to go back to school....just sayin'

[jillbee7]

Haha...you might be right. Thanks for letting me know about the Mrs. Dash. Glad you knew that!