zlev11
Harmless
Posts: 2
Registered: 17-5-2015
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Potassium Extraction
Hi there,
Can anyone think of a way to remove potassium from a food product such as nuts or seeds? The food still needs to be edible and retain most of its
original flavour. Boiling in water is somewhat effective but is there another way?
The motivation here is that people suffering from end-stage kidney disease can't excrete potassium well and must go on low-K diets. This cuts their
food choices down considerably.
Thanks!
|
|
|
blogfast25
International Hazard
Posts: 10562
Registered: 3-2-2008
Location: Neverland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Quote: Originally posted by zlev11  | Hi there,
Can anyone think of a way to remove potassium from a food product such as nuts or seeds? The food still needs to be edible and retain most of its
original flavour. Boiling in water is somewhat effective but is there another way?
The motivation here is that people suffering from end-stage kidney disease can't excrete potassium well and must go on low-K diets. This cuts their
food choices down considerably.
Thanks! |
That's virtually IMPOSSIBLE.
DON'T try this 'at home'. The resulting food stuff could be very unhealthy for patients, not to mention NOT low-K at all.
Seriously, stick to medically approved low-K foods and brands. That's limiting, I understand that, but SAFETY FIRST.
Even in the few cases where K can be extracted from foods (quite difficult) you'd still need a means to determine K levels in those foods after
treatment. NOT At ALL EASY if you're not equipped for that type of analysis.
[Edited on 18-5-2015 by blogfast25]
|
|
|
Hawkguy
Hazard to Others
Posts: 326
Registered: 10-10-2014
Location: British Columbia (Canada eh!)
Member Is Offline
Mood: Body is Ready
|
|
You couldn't remove the Potassium, but maybe you could make food without it (from ground up, matrix style). Depends on what level of gruel you plan on
eating... As well, it would take so much effort for something that will ultimately lack nutrients that it will likely not be worth the bother...
|
|
|
zlev11
Harmless
Posts: 2
Registered: 17-5-2015
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Thanks for the replies. It was mostly a thought experiment, I should have been way more clear on that I guess. Rest assured I would never concoct
something like this at home and feed it to sick people. Saying it's impossible isn't all that helpful. This forum should be the place to brainstorm
ways this could be theoretically possible. If anyone has any ideas, please comment. You can dispense with the well-meaning don't-try-this-at-home
advise, I'll take it as implied.
Meet some patients in kidney failure and you might appreciate why something as small as chocolate or peanut butter that they can eat without hastening
their kidney failure would be so appreciated.
|
|
|
blogfast25
International Hazard
Posts: 10562
Registered: 3-2-2008
Location: Neverland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
| Quote: Originally posted by zlev11 |
Meet some patients in kidney failure and you might appreciate why something as small as chocolate or peanut butter that they can eat without hastening
their kidney failure would be so appreciated. |
A very lame argument that nonetheless has my sympathy.
Here we can only 'brainstorm' about specific cases of food. So choose one. There is no 'general' procedure to extract potassium from whatever.
[Edited on 28-5-2015 by blogfast25]
|
|
|
phlogiston
International Hazard
Posts: 1379
Registered: 26-4-2008
Location: Neon Thorium Erbium Lanthanum Neodymium Sulphur
Member Is Offline
Mood: pyrophoric
|
|
Even if I could think of any methods, I would be extremely hesitant to make any suggestions that you might then be tempted to try and feed the
products to already badly sick patients.
You would need to know exactly what you are doing, get appropiate permissions from medical ethics committee and have medical staff on standby should
anything go wrong.
I understand your sentiment but still have doubts whether the risks outweight the potential benefits (which is exactly the kind of question the
ethical committee should adress).
-----
"If a rocket goes up, who cares where it comes down, that's not my concern said Wernher von Braun" - Tom Lehrer |
|
|
Metacelsus
International Hazard
Posts: 2539
Registered: 26-12-2012
Location: Boston, MA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Double, double, toil and trouble
|
|
Sounds like a job for an ion-exchange resin!
Wait . . . that only works with liquids.
|
|
|
blogfast25
International Hazard
Posts: 10562
Registered: 3-2-2008
Location: Neverland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Can't drink apple juice all day either, can you? 
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
