Potassium Rich Foods? Confused with Doctors information...

[ToTired]

A bit of history on me. I am 36 years old, have had bulimia since I was 17, doctors and family have only known since 2006 when I was hospitalized. I have some cardiac damage from purging and use of laxatives, diuretics & ipecac. I'm on several medications for depression, anxiety, severe insomnia, GERD, bowel problems & edema (from heart issues) and recently diagnosed with osteopenia so I take pain medications and prescription supplements like magnesium, vit D, iron and a multivitamins. This week after having blood work done it came back that I have very low potassium (my doctor says its most likely caused by lasix (furosemide) & I recently relapsed into restricting. So today he started me on "Slow-K 600MG Potassium Chloride - 2 Tablets a day" (DIN#00074225) and he gave me a sheet with a bunch of foods listed on it that are high in potassium. Most of them I can't eat right now, like the meats (beef, pork, chicken, veal, turkey) I find meats hard to eat. Most of the fruit I can eat, some of the juices I can. My problem is the vegetables. There is a list of veggies like cabbage, lima beans, tomato, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and potato. All but the lima beans, tomato and potato says "cooked" in brackets. I cant stand cooked vegetables. I only eat raw, uncooked vegetables. I am wondering WHY would they have to be cooked. Wouldn't the vegetables lose the nutrients if they're cooked? So what I'm wondering is do they want it cooked so there isn't too much potassium with the supplements? Can I get too much potassium? Or does cooked vegetables have more potassium then raw? I'm attaching the sheet he gave me. Any input would be appreciated! Thanks.

[ToTired]

Hi Anacyde. I actually emailed my dietitan yesterday to get her opinion and this was her reply.

" Generally, yes I would say raw vegetables are 'better' for us because cooking them cause them to lose some of their nutritional content. Unfortunately that is no the case with potasssium, mainly because it is considered an electrolyte in the body. Our bodies are not able to easily extract the potassium from a raw vegetable because we are not able to break down enough of the raw fibres in the food. Cooking breaks down the fibres to make them more easily digestable. Vegetable drinks might be a good choice for you. Are they on your list?"

So apparently for potassium in vegetables, it is necessary to cook them to get the full benefit of them.

She also checked with my doctor (I have a team of doctors who all communicate with each other) and my potassium is low enough that I don't have to worry about getting too much with my restrictive diet, so I shouldn't worry about getting too much right now.

Thanks for your input though.

[anacyde]

Vegetables do not have to be cooked to deliver potassium.  I would assume cooking them does little to alter the potassium content, but I'm not 100% sure.  Yes, you can get too much potassium, and too much can kill you just as too little can kill you.