Which of the following food item is low in potassium?

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2016

Explanation

Apples are classified as a low-potassium fruit, making them a safe and recommended choice for individuals on potassium-restricted diets.
Nutritional data confirms that 100 grams of apple contain approximately 75 mg of potassium.
This value is the lowest when compared to pears, carrots, and spinach, establishing it as the correct answer.

Option B: Carrots have a moderate potassium content, around 320 mg per 100g, which is significantly higher than that of an apple.
Option C: Spinach is a high-potassium vegetable, containing approximately 558 mg per 100g. It is one of the foods that should be strictly limited or avoided in a renal diet.
Option D: While pears are also considered a low-potassium fruit, they contain slightly more potassium than apples, with about 96 mg per 100g.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Dietary potassium levels in common foods as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses are responsible for educating patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) on dietary restrictions, including potassium, to prevent life-threatening hyperkalemia.
Hyperkalemia (serum potassium greater than 5.5 mEq/L) can lead to dangerous cardiac arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation, and muscle weakness, making dietary compliance a critical patient safety issue.
What if? If a patient with CKD is also prescribed an ACE inhibitor (e.g., lisinopril), the nurse must be extra vigilant. ACE inhibitors can increase potassium retention, raising the risk of hyperkalemia, so reinforcing a low-potassium diet is even more critical.

How to Approach the Question

Identify the core task of the question: to find the food with the lowest potassium content.
Recognize this as a factual recall question related to nutrition, a key area for patient education in nursing.
Mentally categorize the options. Leafy greens (spinach) and root vegetables (carrots) often have higher mineral content, including potassium, compared to many fruits.
Compare the two fruits, apple and pear. Both are known to be relatively low in potassium, but apples are commonly cited as one of the lowest-potassium fruit choices.
Based on this comparison, select Apple as the food with the least amount of potassium among the given options.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Nutrition Kumud Khanna 2e p. 428-430

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