What is The Best Diet for Chronic Kidney Disease?

Diet is both the cause and solution of most of the diseases or medical complications people suffer from. When it comes to the prevention of kidney problems, your diet plays a significant role. Millions of people worldwide suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). It is among those non-communicable diseases that get affected by your eating habits. Thus, by following a balanced diet for Chronic Kidney Disease, you can heal your problem to a greater extent.

This article is meant for all Chronic Kidney Disease patients. I will be sharing specific facts and essential details related to your diet plan. Especially if you are a kidney patient or know someone who suffers from CKD, you must read this article to its end. However, this is not medical advice; hence, every information mentioned here should only be taken as an essential guide.

Before consuming anything, you must consult a healthcare expert to offer the best diet for renal problems. Now, let me start by introducing the importance of having a balanced diet plan and how does it prevent you from severe medical conditions. This article includes the following points:

• Your Diet Reflects Your Health
• Nutritional Facts You Must Know
• Vitamin
• Minerals
• Protein
• Fats
• Carbohydrates
• Water
• Sodium
• What to Avoid
• What to Eat
• Conclusion

Your Diet Reflects Your Health!

The above heading can be used as the summary of this article. The foods you eat or drink reflect your health and lifestyle. Whatever you eat or drink, it directly affects your well-being. With a balanced diet plan and healthy lifestyle, you can control the body’s level of nutrients and protein. By consuming foods low in salt and fat, you can maintain a healthy blood pressure that also keeps your heart strong.

Moreover, if you are suffering from Diabetes, bringing certain changes in your diet can help you control the sugar content inside the blood. If you don’t know, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) and Diabetes are the two major causative factors of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Hence if you keep them under control, you will automatically stay away from all kinds of non-communicable diseases, including CKD.

By having a balanced diet for Chronic Kidney Disease, you can limit the intake of excessive minerals, proteins, and other compounds that might otherwise deposit inside your blood vessels, resulting in various medical complications. This is why we say your diet is the cause and solution to all kinds of problems.

Let’s understand the importance of diet with the help of an example. If you love eating Pizza, Burgers, Processed food items, and other kinds of Junk food, you are only making your body full of junk. Most of these ‘delicacies’ have zero nutritional values. Whereas, if you consume green vegetables, foods rich in plant fiber, you will only end up enjoying a healthy body free from all diseases. And that’s how your diet reflects your health and overall well-being.

Nutritional Facts You Must Know!

As you might have observed, we have emphasized the term “balanced diet.” What does that exactly mean?

Though you might be consuming all kinds of healthy food products, it might also lead to various problems if you are not monitoring the number of nutrients you are consuming. There are seven essential nutrients. These are:

1. Vitamins

These are micro-nutrients that are beneficial for our bodies in many ways. By consuming a diet rich in green vegetables and fruits, your body gets sufficient vitamins. These vitamins are helpful in improving the functions of our organs and preventing us from various diseases. The deficiency of vitamins in the body could give rise to various complications.

Benefits of Vitamins

• Making immune system much stronger
• Prevention from cancers (including prostate cancer)
• Making teeth and bones strong
• Better absorption of Calcium
• Making skin nourished
• Metabolizing proteins and carbs inside the body
• Regulating a healthy blood flow throughout the body
• Facilitating Nervous System functioning, and many more.

If you suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), you must limit food products rich in Vitamins. Since the kidneys won’t perform their functions, consuming too many Vitamins might result in more complications.

2. Minerals

The second type of micro-nutrient, Minerals, are equally important as Vitamins. Minerals can be differentiated into two groups, namely: Major Minerals and Trace Minerals. Your body needs to balance both of these categories as it helps maintain good health. Major minerals include magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium, potassium, and chloride. Major minerals help in:

• Balancing water levels inside the body
• Maintaining a glowing and nourished skin
• Making bones stronger, etc.

Trace minerals include Iron, Selenium, Zinc, Iodine, Fluoride, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, etc. These help in:

• Making bones stronger
• Prevention from blood clothing
• Making teeth stronger
• Carrying oxygen throughout the body
• Boosting the immune system, etc.

The best sources of these minerals include:

• Seafood
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Egg yolk
• Bread
• Cereals
• Beans
• Legumes
• Whole Grain, etc.

If you suffer from a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), you must limit the intake of food products rich in Minerals. Since the kidneys won’t perform their functions, consuming too many Minerals might result in more complications.

3. Protein

Protein can be referred to as a building block of life. The body requires them for proper functioning. Some of the significant benefits of protein include:

• Making bones, hair, skin, and muscles stronger
• Formation of antibodies and hormones that help in fighting off viral and bacterial diseases
• Formation of cells and tissues with robust cell membrane

The best sources of protein include:

• Red Meat
• Chicken
• Seafood
• Dairy products
• Nuts
• Soya, etc.

If you suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), you must limit food products rich in protein. Since the kidneys won’t perform their functions, consuming too much Protein-rich food might result in more complications.

4. Fats

A balanced diet for Chronic Kidney Disease should also include some Fat. Fat provides you energy and helps in the utilization of food products. However, the content of Fat should be limited since the damaged kidneys might not filter out its excessive quantity. It could thus lead to obesity or heart disease. Make sure you only add God Fat food products that include:

• Olive Oil
• Peanut Oil
• Corn Oil

Make sure you consume more or Unsaturated Fat than Saturated Fat. A high quantity of both these types could lead to health problems. Saturated or Bad Fat is much more harmful than Unsaturated Fat. You get saturated Fat from:

• Butter
• Meats
• Lard, etc.

5. Carbohydrates

Another source of energy, Carbohydrates or Carbs, is also essential for a healthy body. The best sources of Carbohydrates include:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Honey
• Candies
• Soft Drinks, etc.

However, if you have Chronic Kidney Disease, your diet should only include carbs with zero artificial sugar content. Also, many CKD patients have Diabetes. Hence consuming these sugary products rich in carbs can further deteriorate their condition.

6. Water

Water is a vital segment of a balanced diet for Chronic Kidney Disease patients. Though your water intake should be limited, as advised by the doctor, you must never ignore water from your diet. It is an essential nutrient that helps a lot in kidney diseases. Dehydration, Kidney Stones, etc., are some of the conditions that arise during CKD. To stay away from these conditions, you must drink recommended quantity of water daily. Apart from keeping you hydrated and nourished, it also has the following benefits:

• Flushing toxins through Urine
• Helps in Shock Absorption
• Facilitates in easy transportation of nutrients
• It gives relief from constipation
• Lubricated organs, etc.

Though drinking water is insufficient for your body, you may also have fruits and vegetables rich in water and other fluids. Make sure you consume all these things only after recommending a healthcare expert.

7. Sodium

Humans consume Sodium in the form of salt. Almost everything we eat has Sodium inside it. Excessive consumption of Sodium makes you thirsty, giving rise to problems like High Blood Pressure, Dehydration, and swelling. If you have Chronic Kidney Disease, you must stop or reduce the intake of Sodium or Salt rich food products. They could cause more harm to your damaged kidneys, thereby further deteriorating your health condition.

These were seven essential nutrients that you must be regulated while taking a balanced diet for Chronic Kidney Disease. Now, let’s discuss some of the harmful food items to kidney patients suffering from CKD. Most of these food products exert heavy pressure on the kidneys and blood vessels within them. It not just deteriorates the condition further but also makes you prone to several other problems.

What to Avoid?

A CKD patient must avoid the following things:

• Avocados
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Dry Fruits
• Beans
• Whole-grain bread
• Nuts
• Chocolates
• Dairy Products
• Red meat
• Sea Food
• Chicken
• Egg Yolk
• Sugary Drinks
• Sweets, etc.