The diagnosis of a chronic illness can change your entire life. From your daily routine to the foods you eat, so much can change with the few simple words of a diagnosis such as kidney disease. Some of these changes not only change your life, but the people around you lives as well.

Kidney disease is one of those chronic illnesses that can affect the lives of your family as well, if only because of how much it changes mealtime. Mealtimes are often the main gathering of family togetherness, with everyone gathering around the table to share and talk about their days. While kidney disease may change the conversation very slightly, the meals that you gather around will likely change immensely.

Eating healthier when a family member is diagnosed with a chronic illness such as kidney disease is an enterprise that the whole family can, and should, take on. Kidney disease can (and should) change your family’s meals, and here’s why:

Ensuring Success

If you or a loved one is the only person at the table eating differently, it can quickly become much harder than it should be, and potentially lead to failure to comply with dietary restrictions. After all, it is already hard enough to change your own habits without the temptation of those very same habits sitting around the table with you. A kidney disease patient will be much more likely to stick to their dietary restrictions and successfully live a healthier and longer life with the people around them supporting them and doing it together.

Family Togetherness

“The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together”, or so you have heard. This old adage can apply to many other aspects of your life, however, including meal times. Having the whole family eat healthier together has so many benefits, one of which is the strengthening of the very ties that hold you together. It lets everyone at that table, from the oldest member to the youngest, from the healthiest to the ailing, know that you are all in this crazy ride called life together. Lest anyone dare forget, you are a family and you are here for each other no matter what.

Break the Chain

Especially if less than healthy meals are a norm in your house, changing your family meals could potentially break the chain of illness in your family. After all, eating habits are often learned behavior. If you suffer from a chronic illness such as kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease, or a list of other illnesses, these are all issues that are greatly affected by the foods you eat. Teaching your children and/or grandchildren about healthy eating habits could be one step towards breaking the chain of chronic illness in your family.

If there is anything more important than your health, it is the health of your family and loved ones around you. Sharing, learning together, and coming together over healthy meals is a part of family togetherness that goes beyond the simple sharing of a meal.

So kidney disease has changed your family meals? That is a good thing. Together you can take steps towards a healthier and happier life together, one meal at a time.