You may need to make changes to your diet when you have chronic kidney disease. These changes include limiting fluids, eating a low-protein diet, limiting salt, potassium, phosphorous, and other electrolytes, and getting enough calories if you are losing weight.You may need to alter your diet more if your kidney disease gets worse and when you are in dialysis.
CARBOHYDRATES
If you do not have a problem eating carbohydrates, these foods are a good source of energy. If your provider has recommended a low-protein diet, you may replace the calories from protein with:
- Fruits, breads, grains, and vegetables. These foods provide energy, as well as fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
- Hard candies, sugar, honey, and jelly. If needed, you can even eat high-calorie desserts such as pies, cakes, or cookies, as long as you limit desserts made with dairy, chocolate, nuts, or bananas.
FATS
Fats can be a good source of calories. Make sure to use monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil) to protect your heart health. Talk to your provider or dietitian about fats and cholesterol that may increase your risk for heart problems.
PROTEIN
Low-protein diets may be helpful before you start dialysis. Your provider or dietitian may recommend a moderate-protein diet (1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day).
Once you start dialysis, you will need to eat more protein. A high-protein diet with fish, poultry, pork, or eggs at every meal may be recommended. This will help you replace muscles and other tissues that you lose.
People on dialysis should eat 8 to 10 ounces of high-protein foods each day.
Your provider or dietitian may suggest adding egg whites, egg white powder, or protein powder.
CALCIUM AND PHOSPHOROUS
The minerals calcium and phosphorous will be checked often. Even in the early stages of chronic kidney disease, phosphorous levels in the blood can get too high. This can cause:
· Low calcium. This causes the body to pull calcium from your bones, which can make your bones weaker and more likely to break.
You will need to limit the amount of dairy foods you eat, because they contain large amounts of phosphorous. This includes milk, yogurt, and cheese. Some dairy foods are lower in phosphorous, including tub margarine, butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, ricotta cheese, brie cheese, sherbet, and non dairy whipped toppings.
Fruits and vegetables contain only small amounts of phosphorous, but may contain large amounts of potassium.
You may need to take calcium supplements to prevent bone disease, and vitamin D to control the balance of calcium and phosphorous in your body. Ask your provider or dietitian about how best to get these nutrients.
Your provider may recommend medicines called “phosphorous binders” if diet changes alone do not work to control the balance of this mineral in your body.
FLUIDS
In the early stages of kidney failure, you do not need to limit the fluid you drink. But, as your condition gets worse, or when you are on dialysis, you will need to watch the amount of liquid you take in.
In between dialysis sessions, fluid can build up in the body. Too much fluid will lead to shortness of breath, an emergency that needs immediate medical attention.
Your provider and dialysis nurse will let you know how much you should drink every day.
DO NOT eat too much of foods that contain a lot of water, such as soups, Jelly, popsicles, ice cream, grapes, melons, lettuce, tomatoes, and celery.
Use smaller cups or glasses and turn over your cup after you have finished it.
Tips to keep from becoming thirsty include:
· Avoid salty foods
· Freeze some juice in an ice cube tray and eat it like a popsicle (you must count these ice cubes in your daily amount of fluids)
· Stay cool on hot days
· Low-sodium
· No salt added
· Sodium-free
· Sodium-reduced
· Unsalted
Check all labels to see how much salt or sodium foods contain per serving. Also, avoid foods that list salt near the beginning of the ingredients. Look for products with less than 100 mg of salt per serving.
DO NOTuse salt when cooking and take the salt shaker away from the table. Most other herbs are safe, and you can use them to flavor your food instead of salt.
DO NOTuse salt substitutes because they contain potassium. People with chronic kidney disease also need to limit their potassium.
POTASSIUM
Normal blood levels of potassium help keep your heart beating steadily. However, too much potassium can build up when the kidneys no longer function well. Dangerous heart rhythms may result, which can lead to death.
Potassium is found in many food groups, including fruits and vegetables. Choosing the right item from each food group can help control your potassium levels.
When eating fruits:
· Choose peaches, grapes, pears, cherries, apples, berries, pineapple, plums, tangerines, and watermelon
· Limit or avoid oranges and orange juice, nectarines, kiwis, raisins or other dried fruit, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew, prunes, and nectarines
When eating vegetables:
· Choose broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green and wax beans, lettuce, onion, peppers, watercress, zucchini, and yellow squash
· Limit or avoid asparagus, avocado, potatoes, tomatoes or tomato sauce, winter squash, pumpkin, avocado, and cooked spinach
IRON
People with advanced kidney failure also have anemia and usually need extra iron.
Many foods contain extra iron (liver, beef, pork, chicken, lima and kidney beans, iron-fortified cereals). Talk to your provider or dietitian about which foods with iron you can eat because of your kidney disease.