Kidney patients are often confused about what foods they can safely eat. Not only are there are no hard-and-fast rules that apply to all kidney patients, portion sizes also are important when determining whether a food is safe to eat. Although many of the dietary prohibitions that accompany renal disease are restrictive, a little careful planning allows you to eat a variety of foods.
Low-protein Diets
The National Kidney Foundation recommends that most kidney patients limit their protein consumption to 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. This means that a 130 lb. woman should eat no more than 47.37 g of protein. In practice, most people are surprised by how much protein they consume. For example, a single slice of cheese pizza has 11.64 g of protein and two slices of wheat bread have just under 5.5 g of protein. These amounts can really add up.
High-protein Diets
People on hemodialysis are often told to increase their protein intake because dialysis removes particular amino acids from the blood. Increasing protein is difficult because many high-protein foods are also high in phosphorus or cholesterol, which are an issue for many kidney patients. Keeping your kitchen well-stocked with chicken and fish is one solution. Buying large bags of frozen chicken, so you have it on hand to add to other dishes, is a smart strategy for boosting protein intake.
Potassium Restriction
Potassium restriction is often the most difficult part of a renal diet because potassium is almost everywhere. Your best best is to identify low-potassium foods that you can eat safely and make sure you are always stocked up. Onions, mushrooms and pasta often become staples for people who have to limit potassium intake.
Removing Potassium
With a little advanced preparation, you can leach potassium from potatoes and vegetables. Cut the food into small pieces. Soak the pieces for several hours in a volume of hot water that is 10 times larger than the volume of the food. Rinse well before boiling the food in a large volume of water before serving. Leaching allows patients to enjoy foods that would otherwise be prohibited, such as potatoes and squash.
Phosphorus
Many patients with high levels of phosphorus are able to control this problem by taking phosphorus binders. If phosphorus binders do not do the trick for you, limiting consumption of high-phosphorus foods may be required. One strategy is to determine what you can't do without, such as cream in your coffee or one small piece of pizza every week, and shape the rest of the diet around that. This way, you don't have to feel totally deprived.
Solutions
Patients with advanced kidney disease often become malnourished. Eating a diet that is low in potassium and phosphorus rules out many fruits and vegetables. Ask your nephrologist if renal vitamins are appropriate for you. In addition to supplying nutrients that may be missing from your diet, these specially formulated vitamins have no vitamin A, potassium or phosphorus.
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