Double Boiling Potatoes Will Reduce This Nutrient

Natural remedies for major health issues abound, and so do ones for lesser-known maladies involving vitamin and mineral imbalances. We all hear about the need for calcium, B vitamins, and iron — but what about potassium? It happens to be a pretty crucial mineral that affects primary organs in the body, including the heart, muscles, nerves, and kidneys. However, too much is not a good thing for those with kidney problems.

The National Kidney Foundation stresses the importance of potassium for a healthy heart and muscles while also acknowledging the dangers of excessive potassium in your system. It's the kidneys that help regulate sufficient levels of potassium, so what happens if you have kidney disease and can't eliminate any extra potassium that builds up inside you? Cleveland Clinic explains that it can lead to a dangerous condition called hyperkalemia, which can happen if potassium levels rise above the normal 3.5 to 5.0 millimeters per liter.

Since potassium primarily comes from the foods we eat, it pays off health-wise to learn about cooking methods that can help. This doesn't always require purchasing new kitchen gadgets or following restrictive diets. It can be as simple as changing the way we cook certain food staples. That's where potatoes enter the picture, particularly the way we boil them.

Potatoes naturally contain a high amount of potassium, with one small potato harboring about 700 milligrams, per DaVita Kidney Care. But there's no need to avoid potatoes altogether when living with kidney disease or other related health concerns, per Kidney Community Kitchen. In the past, patients were told to soak raw potatoes before ingesting them, but newer evidence points to double boiling the potatoes for a higher potassium reduction as much as 50%. It's not a cure-all, but it does allow you to fit potatoes into a controlled diet.

Slicing, grating, or cutting potatoes into squares or strips can also help leach potassium, especially before boiling. Various forms of prepared potatoes are a good way to get your potato fix, with canned versions losing potassium through the liquid in the can, per DaVita. The processing of instant potatoes leaves them with lower potassium as well. But double boiling is by far your best bet if you're on a low-potassium diet. So keep track of the milligrams and boil those tubers before mashing them up!