Posts Tagged ‘dialysis’

How to Never Cheat on Your Diet for Kidney Failure

Friday, March 12th, 2010

As a nurse for many years now, a lot of people complain to me that their diet for kidney failure is so hard to follow. They tell me that this type of diet has too many restrictions and that it is so rigid and unforgiving.

My reply to the above statement is that maybe you haven’t considered other possibilities to your diet? Or maybe you haven’t researched enough to realize that this diet is in fact easy to follow.

Before I start talking about the diet for kidney failure, I will first talk a little about the kidney. The kidneys play key roles in body function, not only by filtering the blood and getting rid of waste products, but also by balancing levels of electrolytes in the body, controlling blood pressure, and stimulating the production of red blood cells.

Now, renal failure results when the kidneys cannot remove the body’s metabolic wastes or perform their regulatory functions. The substances normally eliminated in the urine accumulate in the body fluids as a result of impaired renal excretion, leading to a disruption in endocrine and metabolic functions as well as fluid, electrolyte and acid-base disturbances.

Renal failure is a systemic disease and is final common pathway of many different kidney and urinary tract diseases. Each year, the number of deaths from irreversible renal failure increases. Kidney disease diet is an important consideration for those with impaired kidney function. Consultation with a dietician may be helpful to understand what foods may or may not be appropriate. Various kidney disease recipe are available in the market right now.

Since the kidneys cannot easily remove excess water, salt, or potassium, they may need to be consumed in limited quantities. Foods high in potassium include bananas, apricots, and salt substitutes. Phosphorus is a forgotten chemical that is associated with calcium metabolism and may be elevated in kidney failure. Too much phosphorus can leech calcium from the bones and cause osteoporosis and fractures. Foods with high phosphorus content include milk, cheese, nuts, and cola drinks.

This diet is usually done with other treatments for kidney failure. The two major treatments for kidney failure are dialysis and transplantation. The former has two kinds of procedures-hemodialysis (accessed via IV route) and peritoneal dialysis (done via the abdomen). The latter, on the other hand, involves a more complex pre-operation and post-operation interventions.

The kidney has a remarkable ability to recover from insult. That is with this diet for renal failure, the objective is to repair kidney tissue so that restoration of renal function can take place.

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The Renal Diet Can Take Many Types

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Kidneys assist in keeping up with the quantity of fluid that departs the body. Kidney diseases may result in restricting the quantity of fluid coming into the body. Having too much fluid in your system causes shortness of breath, high blood pressure and swelling. A renal diet may be required.

Fluid is considered to be any food that is liquid or melts. Some of the foods are: Tea, coffee, sodas, Popsicles, soups, ice cream, ice cubes, sherbet, gelatin, liquid creamer, milk, beer, water and wine.

To decrease your fluid intake follows these steps. Only drink if you are thirsty. Decrease your salt intake. Suck on ice chips or lemon wedges. Keep your mouth moist by brushing your teeth four times a day. Keep blood sugar under control. Chew only sugarless gum or candy. Take medications with sips of fluid. Drink from child sized glasses when eating out. Know how much liquid your favorite glass can hold. Measure what you can drink for the day and put it in a container.

Do not make changes to your diet before talking to your doctor.

Varieties of Renal Diets include: Potassium, phosphorus, sodium and protein.

The balance of calcium and phosphorus is thrown off when kidneys begin to shut down. An overload of phosphorus in the body decreases the amount of calcium the body absorbs. This results in the body taking calcium from the bones, thereby making them weak. For healthy bones, these two minerals must work together. These two minerals also keep nerves and muscles working properly.

Soda, peanut butter, cheese, sardines, chicken or beef liver, nuts, caramels, beer and ice cream are high in phosphorus.

Broccoli, sherbet, non-dairy milk substitutes, zucchini squash, non cola soda and hard candy are low in phosphorus. Big quantities of these foods result in high phosphorus food.

Being put on a phosphate binder is a possibility if your levels are high. Phosphate binders attach to food keeping phosphate from being absorbed by your body.

Another mineral that keeps muscles and nerves working right is potassium. Many foods contain potassium. The kidneys regulate how much potassium is in your body. Potassium in high amounts is hazardous. The result is an irregular heart beat or stopping completely.

High potassium foods include: Fruits, vegetables, bananas, broccoli, chocolate, oranges, potatoes, coffee, cantaloupe, tomatoes, salt substitute, prunes, mushrooms, bran, raisins, greens, nuts & dried fruit, collard, dandelion, mustard, beets and apricots.

Low-potassium foods include: Fruits, vegetables, apples, beans, rice, grapes, cucumber, noodles, pears, onions, cake, watermelon, lettuce, cereal, cranberries, carrots, bread and cherries.

The majority of food has potassium. Serving sizes are determined by the amount of potassium in the food.

For kidney disease, your diet will be a key factor in managing it. The diet you are placed on will depend on how well your kidneys are functioning and other vital information. Following the diet can prolong the period of not needing dialysis.

For a body to be considered healthy, protein is required.

Protein that is eaten is reduced to waste. The waste builds up over time in your blood stream if the kidneys are not working right.

Less protein consumption means less waste build up.

Foods high in protein are: Meat, poultry, dairy and eggs.

Foods low in protein is: grains, vegetables and fresh beans.

Your body requires low and high quality protein.

Muscle contractions, fluid balance and blood pressure are controlled by sodium intake. The kidneys are supposed to remove excess sodium. When kidneys are not working right, this does not happen. It causes fluid retention.

High sodium foods include: Table salt, bouillon cubes, potato chips, nuts, bacon, cold cuts, cheese, canned, dehydrated, or instant soup, canned vegetables and processed dinner mixes.

Foods low in sodium are: Garlic, lemon and oregano.

Renal disease is not easy to handle but it can be managed with a renal diet. Minimize your need for dialysis by minimizing your intake of fluids, proteins and salt. Find out how to manage kidney disease today!