Nutrition In Renal Failure

If you have chronic kidney disease, it is important to pay close attention to what you eat and what you drink. This is because your kidneys cannot remove waste products from your body as they should. A kidney health diet can help you stay healthier.

What is the right diet?

This is a diet that helps protect the kidneys from further damage. Therefore, you need to limit certain foods and fluids so that certain minerals do not accumulate in your body. At the same time, you need to make sure you get the right balance of protein, calories, vitamins, minerals and calories.

If you are in the early stages of kidney failure, there may be small restrictions on your diet, but if your disease progresses, you need to be stricter in your food choices.

Make your menu rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, seeds and nuts. Reduce your intake of salt and sodium, sugars and pastries, fats and red meats.

* This is not an option if you are on dialysis!

This mineral is found naturally in many foods, but the largest amounts of it are found in salt. Sodium affects blood pressure and helps maintain water balance in the body. Healthy kidneys keep sodium levels under control, but this is not the case with kidney failure. The extra accumulation of sodium leads to the accumulation of fluids in your body. This can lead to a number of problems such as swollen ankles, high blood pressure, shortness of breath and fluid accumulation around the heart and lungs.

Try these simple tips for reducing sodium in your diet:

• Avoid table salt, sauces and spices with added salt (such as soy sauce, sea salt, garlic salt, diced broths, etc.)
• cook at home - most fast foods are high in sodium
• stay away from packaged foods
• try new spices and herbs instead of salt
• read labels and buy low-sodium foods
• rinse canned foods (such as beans, vegetables, meat, fish) with water before serving.
• Limit your intake of phosphorus and calcium

Man needs these minerals to keep his bones healthy and strong. When the kidneys are healthy, they remove the excess phosphorus you don't need. In patients with renal insufficiency, phosphorus levels may remain high, putting them at risk for heart disease. Calcium levels begin to fall, and to compensate, the body begins to extract it from your bones, which can make them weaker and begin to break down more easily.

• eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
• eat corn and rice
• limit the intake of meat, poultry and fish
• limit dairy products
• do not consume carbonated beverages

This mineral helps muscles and nerves to work properly. But when you suffer from kidney failure, your body cannot filter excess potassium. When you have too much in your blood it can lead to serious heart problems.

Potassium is found in many fruits and vegetables such as bananas, potatoes, avocados and melons. These foods can affect the levels of potassium in your blood.

• apples and apple juice
• cranberries and cranberry juice
• berries, blueberries, raspberries
• plums
• pineapples
• cabbage
• boiled cauliflower.

If your condition worsens, you should also limit your protein intake, especially those found in animal products, dairy and seafood.

If you have early-stage kidney failure, you probably should not reduce your fluids. If your condition gets worse, your doctor will tell you if you need to reduce them.