Consuming Kidney-friendly food is to protect your kidneys from any further damages. It allows you to limit the intake of some fluids and meals so that some minerals are not built in your body. But you need to be sure that you intake the right balance of calories, vitamins, minerals, and proteins.
To know or dig deep for knowing what you eat and drink is very much crucial for a kidney patient. It is essential because your kidneys can’t able to remove waste products from the body which they should. The proper kidney disease diet can allow the patient to live longer.
Importance of Kidney-friendly diet Plan:
If your kidneys are not working well as you can’t expel the fluid and waste built up in your body. With the time spent the accumulated waste and various extra fluids in your body will cause health, bone, and heart problems. Pursuing a diet chart for kidney patients will allow you to limit the intake of fluids and minerals regularly. This action will help in keeping the liquid and waste from causing and building up any problems.
The stage of your kidney disease will decide various restrictions you have on your meal plan. If you in your early stages, the chances are high that there will be no limits or little limits for your appetite. As the kidney disease starts to worsen the doctor may recommend that you should limit the intake of fluids, Potassium, and Phosphorus.
Let’s know about some of the minerals
1. Fluid
Water is an essential fluid for life. But if you are suffering from Kidney disease, the chances are quite high that are not required to consume it like others. The reason is damaged kidneys are not allowed to get rid of extra fluids like others. Too much liquid can be quite dangerous for your body. As it can cause swelling, heart failure, and blood pressure. The extra fluids can accumulate around the lungs and can make it quite hard for breathing.
It is not only water that you need to limit, but other foods containing a lot of water should also be defined for you. The foods like soups, gelatin, ice cream, etc. do have a lot of water for you. Many vegetables and fruits are high in water, so keep a check on them.
Consuming small amounts of water multiple times in a day can quench your thirst and try to limit Sodium as well. Below are the few options that you can avail for quenching your thirst at times:
- Rinse your mouth many times in a day
- Try to chew any chewing gum
- Look for hard candy, mints or ice.
2. Potassium
Every food is comprised of some amount of Potassium as an ingredient. For proper functioning of the body muscles, everybody needs some amount of Potassium, but too much amount of the same mineral can prove to be quite dangerous. If your kidney is not working well, then keep a check on Potassium as it can be quite low or high. The effects can be issues related to heart, muscle weakness, and cramps.
Try to limit your Potassium intake and below is a list of the foods that are high and low in Potassium. Speaking to your dietitian is another viable option for you.
Foods low in Potassium
- White rice, chicken, and Beef
- White Bread, Pita, and Tortillas
- Lettuce, summer squash, peppers, onions, and cauliflower
- Strawberries, Pineapples, Cranberries, Apples, and grapes.
Foods high in Potassium
- Granola and Bran products
- Wild or Brown rice
- Bananas, Oranges, raisins, prunes, and Avocados
- Spinach, Tomato, Potato, Winter Squash and Artichokes
Potassium binder is one of the medicines usually prescribed by the doctor to minimize the extra Potassium in your body.
3. Phosphorus
Phosphorus is another mineral which is found in almost every food. The Phosphorus can be combined with Vitamin D and Calcium to keep your bones healthy. If you want your kidneys to be good try consuming the right amount of Phosphorus for your body. Consuming an excessive can lead to the weakening of bones.
People need to limit their Phosphorus consumption because of their kidney disease and can ask your dietitian to recommend you foods for limiting the Phosphorus content in your body. The medicines like Phosphate binder can help you in lowering your Phosphorus content, but the expert prescription is desired to avoid any severe circumstances.
We have listed a few foods you can consume having a lower amount of Phosphorus
- Unsalted Popcorn
- Light-colored lemonade and sodas
- Rice or corn cereals and wheat cream
- Sourdough, French and Italian bread
Try avoiding below mentioned Phosphorus foods
- Whole-grain bread
- Sunflower and Nuts Seeds
- Bran Oatmeal and Cereal
- Dark-colored drinks like Colas.
12 foods that you can avoid if you have bad kidneys
1. Bananas
Known for carrying about 422 mg of Potassium which is quite high to be consumed on a routine basis. Other tropical fruits also have quite a high potassium content, but consuming Pineapple can be healthy as it contains the less percentage of Potassium as compared to others.
2. Processed Meat
The processed meats are known for providing a large number of salts known for improving taste and preserving flavors. They are high in proteins as well. If you are consuming them in abundance keeping your Sodium intake under control is difficult.
3. Apricot
They are known to be rich in Vitamin A, C, and fiber. Consuming dry Apricots are considered to be comprising of more potassium content. On measuring well, one cup of fresh Apricots is said to be providing 427mg of Potassium, and for dried Apricots, the amount of Potassium content can rise upto 1500 mg.
4. Tomato
Known for high-potassium diet and can be consumed in raw or stewed forms. A cup of tomato sauce can contain 900 mg of Potassium. People looking forward to the kidney disease diet can replace the tomato sauce with roasted red pepper sauce as the latter one is equally delicious and contains less Potassium.
5. Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes are some of the Potassium-rich vegetables. They can be leached or soaked for reducing the Potassium content. A medium-sized potato of weight 156 gm is said to carry 610 mg of Potassium. While one average size of sweet Potato of 114g is said to bring about 541 mg of Potassium.
As Potato is used in daily households, try cutting it into thin and small pieces and boil for about ten minutes. The level of Potassium content is said to be decreased by 50%. Try soaking your potatoes for about four hours before cooking to lower down their potassium level.
6. Brown Rice
Just like whole-wheat bread, brown rice is the whole grain known for having the higher Phosphorus and Potassium content as compared to their white counterparts.
On checking the amount of Potassium and Phosphorus, the cooked brown rice is supposed to have about 154 mg and 150 mg of Potassium and Phosphorus respectively while a cup of white rice is known for 54 mg and 69 mg of Potassium and Phosphorus.
Pearled barley, buckwheat, couscous, and bulgur are considered to be nutritious and lower-phosphorus grains to make a substitute for the brown rice.
7. Dairy
The dairy products are known to be rich in nutrients and vitamins. They are well-known for being a natural source of Potassium and Phosphorus and also a good source of protein. For example, one cup ( eight fluid ounces ) for whole milk providing 222 mg and 349 mg for Phosphorus and Potassium.
Consuming dairy with Phosphorus rich foods prove to be one of the reasons for decreasing bone health with kidney disease. Presence of excessive Phosphorus can cause the bones to grow weak and thin over time and can enhance the risk of fracture or bone breakage.
Limiting the consumption of dairy intake will avoid building up of protein waste in your blood. The other dairy alternatives like almond milk and unenriched rice milk are quite lower in Phosphorus, protein, and Potassium, making them the best substitute for milk.
8. Orange Juice
While Orange juice is known for being rich in Vitamin C, they are a great source of Potassium as well. A large Orange of about 184gms is known for providing 333mgs of Potassium. Also, if compared with a cup of orange juice, then it contains about 473 mg of Potassium.
The orange juice, potassium content is desired to be avoided. Cranberries, apples, and grapes are a good substitute for lower Potassium content.
9. Dark-Colored Colas
The colas are known for sugar and calories that are known for the additives that contain Phosphorus, especially the dark-colored colas. Many food manufacturers are known for processing beverages and food for enhancing the shelf life to prevent discoloration and flavor.
The additional Phosphorus is known for being more absorbable by the human body than any other plant-based or animal-based Phosphorus. The Phosphorus is absorbed in the form of salt and is entirely absorbable by various intestinal tracts.
10. Canned Foods
The Canned foods like beans, vegetables, and soups are said to be purchased because of their convenience and low cost. Most of these canned foods contain quite a high amount of Sodium and to increase their shelf life the salt is added as a preservative.
Because of the high amount of Sodium present in Canned foods, people with kidney disease are often recommended to limit their consumption. Although there are many varieties mentioned with the name “lower-sodium” or “no-salt-added” is considered as best to buy out. Additionally rinsing and draining canned foods like tuna and canned beans can minimize the content of Sodium present in your diet by 33-80%.
11. Prunes, Raisins, and Dates
Prunes, Raisins, and Dates are some of the typical dried fruits. The dried fruits have concentrated nutrients comprising of Potassium too. If compared to plums the one cup of prunes sources about 1,274mg of Potassium which is five times of the former one. Consuming four dates daily can source about 688 mg of Potassium.
12. Relish, Olives, and Pickles
Pickles, relish, and processed olives are examples of pickled or cured foods. For preparing the pickles or curing a large number of salts are added. If analyzed pickle spear for Sodium it contains more than 300 mg of Sodium. The processed olives are quite salty as they are fermented and cured to taste bitter. On consuming five pickled olives, they are said to be having Sodium of 195 mg.
The grocery stores are well known for their stocks of sodium varieties for olives, relish, and pickles are containing less Sodium than any other traditional varieties.
Wrapping Up:
Being infected with kidney disease, taking a limited amount of Phosphorus, Sodium, and Potassium will help in the proper management of the disease. Do get a diet chart for kidney patients for reference to know about the foods best for you. The foods listed above should be strictly avoided or can be consumed in a limited manner. According to the severity of the kidney damage, the nutrient intake and dietary restrictions will vary. Do look forward to speaking to a nutritional expert or renal dietician to know about the quantity of food to be consumed in your daily diet.
Look forward to minimizing the effects of the same on your dietary requirements and allow them to come forward and maintain the best of your health going forward.
