• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Renal Diet Menu Headquarters

Renal Diets That You Will Love!

Let’s Get Social!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Looking for something?

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Renal Menu Plans
    • Free 7 Day Meal Plan
    • Kidney Diet Starter Kit
    • Pre Dialysis Diet Meal Plan
    • Renal Diabetic Diet Meal Plan
    • Renal Dialysis Diet Meal Plan
    • Caring For Renal Patients
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Media Room
    • Speaking
    • Resources
      • Renal Diet Education Handouts
      • Renal Diet Newsletter
      • Podcast
      • Conversion Calculator
  • Members
  • Cookbooks
    • Pre-Dialysis Cookbook
    • Dialysis Cookbook
  • Kidney Diet Recipes
    • Recipes
  • Spices – Perfect For Your Diet
  • Vegetarian Meal Plan
  • Understanding Kidney Test Results Course
  • Books On CKD
You are here: Home / Pre Dialysis / Ways To Know If You Need A Renal Diet Plan

Ways To Know If You Need A Renal Diet Plan

By Mathea Ford 1 Comment

Ways To Know If You Need A Renal Diet Plan

The decision to embark on a specialized diet plan such as a renal diet plan can be a difficult one.

You may have been told by your family practice doctor that your kidneys are starting to fail. Or maybe you're at the point of seeing a nephrologist and you understand that you have to do something now to slow the progression of your kidney disease.

It is important to understand at this point what level of diet for kidney failure you might need. Did your Dr. say you are in stage 1 or stage 2 kidney disease?  Or did he/she tell you that you need to start thinking about dialysis?  Maybe you were just so shocked when they said something about your kidneys that you forgot to ask. [If that's the case, then you should probably call them back and talk to the nurse about what stage of kidney disease you may be in.]  A renal diet plan can be very restrictive so it's important to know how much action you really need to take when you're creating your diet for kidney failure.

1.     If you are in stage 3 or 4 kidney disease, you need a diet for kidney failure.  By the time  your Dr. actually tells you that you are in kidney failure, you are probably in stage 3 or 4. Your doctor may have mentioned something called a GFR, and that will tell you which stage of kidney disease you are in. It's fairly common for doctors to not impose restrictions on patients prior to stage 3 or 4.

2.    If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, and you've had it for more than 10 years, chances are your kidneys may be damaged. It's just part of the disease process and unless you maintain very good control over your blood pressure or your diabetes you likely have caused small amounts of damage over time that can start showing up as kidney failure. You should start looking at better controlling your diabetes or high blood pressure, and that will help delay the onset of any kidney disease.

3.    If you've done a 24-hour urine collection and the test showed a significant amount of protein over that period of time, your kidney failure is likely to progress more rapidly than someone who doesn't have as much protein loss. That may seem like a bad thing but it should be a wake-up call to you to start taking action right now to do the things you need to do to be on a diet for kidney failure.

It's important to realize that about 10% of the people in the world have some amount of kidney disease. Your kidneys just naturally start to fail as you get older, and many more people have high blood pressure and diabetes today than ever before. Those are risk factors associated with developing kidney disease – diabetes, high blood pressure and age. If you have high blood pressure you should be doing everything you can to control it.

What I would like to do is help you avoid getting to the most restrictive of the kidney diets. A pre-dialysis diet limits a lot of food that you can eat.  After you've been diagnosed with kidney disease, you will find that you are even more restricted from sodium and other minerals like potassium and phosphorus.

So when you are looking at ways to know if you need to renal diet plan, aside from the most obvious one of your Dr. telling you that you need a diet for kidney failure, you should realize that if you have some of the risk factors associated with kidney disease you need to control those to delay the beginnings of kidney failure.

If you need help with a diabetic diet plan, you can learn about those on our other website, www.healthydietmenusforyou.com – you also have access to cardiac diet meal plans as well.

If you're on this website because you realize you need to do something about your kidney disease, learn more about our meal plans on this page. And sign up for our e-mail list to get three free meals specifically designed for the diet that you are on.

Ways To Know If You Need A Renal Diet Plan

Also published on Medium.

Suggested Reading:

  1. A Chronic Renal Failure Diet Is Easy With A Meal Plan
  2. Renal Diet Menu – Ways To Make Your Meals Better
  3. What Kind of Plan Should I Follow On A Stage 3 Kidney Diet?
  4. All About the Renal Menu Diet Plan
  5. A Chronic Renal Failure Meal Plan Is Important in Pre-Dialysis Kidney Disease

Tagged With: diet for kidney failure, kidney failure, pre-dialysis, renal diet menu, renal diet plans

I am concerned I might have CKD
My doctor just told me I have Kidney disease
I am a diabetic and have kidney disease
Im on dialysis and ESRD

About The Author

I have over 22 years of experience as a registered dietitian nutritionist, and I have worked with many different people. From children to the elderly, I have helped them all. I own several meal planning websites, and I have recently published a book on Kindle and Amazon, entitles "Living with Chronic Kidney Disease - Predialysis" Read More…

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search For More

Course Progress

Need Help With Healthy Kidney Meals?

Get a free 7 day meal plan for your kidney disease diet
 

I'm predialysis kidney disease patient
I have predialysis kidney disease and diabetes
i'm on dialysis and need a meal plan

Zestify Your Diet Recipes

 More ...

Footer

Quick Link To Spices Recipes

Ways To Know If You Need A Renal Diet Plan
  • Pre Dialysis Diet
  • Renal Dialysis Diet
  • Renal Diabetic Diet
  • Recipes
  • Podcast
  • Caregivers
  • Renal Diet Books

Copyright © 2021 RenalDietHQ® (405) 793-7306

close

Download The Free 7 Day Meal Plan For Your Type Of Kidney Disease

Get started now with your new diet plan by downloading these 7 dinner meals that includes nutritional information you need to make your best decisions and get on the right track!  You can choose which style you need, based on your stage of renal disease.

envelope
envelope
x
Want healthier kidneys now?

Want Healthier Kidneys Now?

You want to KNOW the information and resources that calm your nerves and set you up to pursue the best care -  instead of waiting for your kidneys to fail!

Drop your name & email below to get our free worksheets and proactive info about​ how to have healthier kidneys now.

x

Enter your text here...

meal planning for chronic kidney disease

So The Doctor Says You Have Kidney Disease.

You need information and help right now, so get started with the FREE 7 Days of Dinner Meals in your inbox. Easy to prepare and they taste great.

Drop your name & email below to get started feeling better and slowing the progression of your kidney disease!​

x
How Are Chronic Kidney Disease And Diabetes Linked?

How Are Chronic Kidney Disease And Diabetes Linked?

Have Both Kidney Disease & Diabetes?

This can be hard! Wondering what to eat now? Would you love a FREE 7 Days of Dinner Meals guide to help you to make the best food choices for your body?

Drop your name & email below to get started now feeling better and controlling BOTH your diabetes and kidney disease!

x
The Truth About Dialysis

Wondering How Dialysis Impacts Your Diet?

When you're on Dialysis, your dietary needs change quite a bit. You need some quick ideas and plans for what to eat that doesn't work against your kidney failure.

Drop your name & email below to get your FREE 7 Days of Dinner meals to keep you strong and healthy through your treatment!​

x

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy