Eating a healthy, balanced diet is important for everyone. It is even more important if you are living with chronic health conditions, such as chronic kidney disease. What you eat has a large impact on your health and overall well-being.
In every stage of chronic kidney disease it is important to eat the right foods. This means you may need to follow a more restrictive diet, but there is more to it than that. A healthy diet isn’t just about restricting food items; it is also focusing on the foods that you should eat. In many cases, the right foods can actually help you by offering your body vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In other words, what you eat is just as important as what you omit from your diet.
Why is diet so important?
Everything that you eat or drink eventually gets processed by your kidneys. The byproducts of each ingested item have the potential to further harm your kidney function, or cause you significant discomfort as your body is unable to process them.
Maintaining a healthy, kidney friendly diet can help you live more comfortably, give you the energy you need to complete daily tasks, help maintain a healthy weight, prevent illness, and keep your body strong. The right diet also has the potential to slow or even stop the progression of your kidney disease.
What You Should Eat
What you can and should eat will depend a lot on what stage of chronic kidney disease you are currently in. There are some foods, however, that are good for all stages of chronic kidney disease. Of course, you should speak to your doctors about any changes that you plan to make to your diet and lifestyle, as your specific case may differ from others. So discuss your diet with your own doctor to know for sure what foods will be best for you specifically.
Some foods that are recommended in all stages of kidney disease are: Onions, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Fish, Red Bell Peppers, Egg Whites, Olive Oil
There are, of course, lots of other foods that can be eaten on a chronic kidney disease diet, but these are considered to be the best “superfoods” for renal disease.
What You Shouldn’t Eat
Of course, it is very important to consider the foods that you should not eat on a renal diet. This is especially important for kidney disease because of how much impact your diet has on your kidney health. The foods and ingredients that are recommended to be omitted from your diet are chosen specifically because they have such a high impact on your kidney health.
Sodium, Potassium, and Phosphorus are the three most important ingredients to watch out for when making your omissions. In the later stages of kidney disease, you may also need to limit your protein and fluid intake.
Your diet has a huge impact on your overall health, especially if you have chronic kidney disease. Maintaining a healthy diet is your number one weapon in the fight to remain as healthy as possible. Speak with your doctor about your diet and don’t forget to ask about what foods you should be eating as well as the foods you should omit. For more information on eating with renal disease, click here.
My mom is diabetic and has stage 3 kidney disease, and she is struggling with a diet that fits those combined restrictions. For example, beans are good for diabetics but far too high in potassium for CKD. Is there a meal plan or recipe book that outlines, not just a few recommended foods but, an actual long-term way for her to eat a healthy diet? All I can find are things that address one or the other condition. Thanks.