Protein and Chronic Kidney Disease.

For people living with kidney disease, much thought and planning must go into each meal. This is because some ingredients and natural properties of many foods can be detrimental to the health of renal patients.

Meat is one of those foods that needs to be monitored. People living with kidney disease can eat meat, but it is important that they are prepared according to dietary restrictions, and that they are portioned properly.

Why is it important to portion meat?

Portioning meat intake is important because of protein. Typically, protein is considered a good thing. Protein is needed by the body to stay strong and form muscle and tissue mass. In most situations, it is recommended that people get plenty of protein in their daily diets.

Protein is another matter for people with kidney disease, however. This is because the kidneys are responsible for filtering out excess protein byproducts. Since they are no longer able to properly filter the proteins, they build up and cause the kidneys to have to work too hard.

What are the correct portion sizes?

Typically, appropriate portion sizes are determined by height, weight, and with the help of a nutritional pyramid. Circumstances are a little different for chronic kidney disease patients, however. In most of these cases, the correct portion sizes for meats and other foods will really vary.

Especially because there are levels and stages of chronic kidney disease, the amount of any one food group will vary from patient to patient. Not only does it depend on what stage of renal disease, but it will also depend on that person specifically.

It is best advised to speak to a doctor or nutritionist to find out what your exact recommendations and restrictions are. For the most part, however, the guideline for correct meat portioning for renal patients is just one serving per day of any meat, fish, or poultry. One serving is roughly one ounce of meat, or the size of your palm.

What about meat substitutes?

Meat substitutes might not be meat, but they still have lots of protein. So they still need to be monitored and portioned accordingly. For meat substitutes, follow the same recommended portions as actual meat and stick to one once per day, or according to what is recommended by a personal physician.

What other protein sources should be monitored?

The short answer: all of them. Other sources of protein need to be monitored to. This can mean beans, legumes, dairy products, eggs, and anything else that has protein. Typically, these all follow a similar portioning as meat. This means that only one serving is recommended per day.

Your body does need protein to grow and stay strong, but for chronic kidney disease patients, protein intake needs to be strictly monitored. Meats, fish, poultry, meat substitutes, and other sources of protein can be consumed as long as they are done so according to portion recommendations. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist to find out how you should portion your meat intake.

For more about what to eat with chronic kidney disease click here!