Kidney failure causes you to lose ability to remove excess fluid, minerals and waste from your body through urine. You will need dialysis to help filter your fluids, especially if you stop urinating, retain excess fluid and cannot remove nitrogen waste from your body. The goal of dietary treatment is to prevent fluid and waste from building up in your body. Consult your doctor about a daily diet menu for kidney failure.
Breakfast
A healthy breakfast for people with kidney failure is a bowl of oatmeal or bran muffin with an apple. Limiting your protein intake and eating carbohydrates and fats to supply your body with energy is important in managing kidney failure. When your kidneys do not work properly, your body is unable to handle as much protein as normal. This is because protein contains nitrogen, an element your kidneys are unable to excrete. A buildup of nitrogen can cause increased levels of blood urea nitrogen, a condition that can become fatal.
Lunch
For lunch, enjoy a low-sodium bean and rice burrito with avocado, lettuce, cilantro, corn, green beans and a tiny amount of sour cream. Sodium can increase blood pressure and risk of stroke. Sodium can also increase retention of fluids in your body. Minimize sodium intake because excess sodium and fluid buildup can increase complications to your heart and lungs. Limit the amount of tomatoes or tomato products in your burrito because tomatoes contain potassium, a mineral that can increase when you have kidney failure and cause problems in heart function.
Dinner
A low-protein, low-sodium dinner can begin with a garden salad made from various green leaf lettuces, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, bell pepper and beets. Add a low-sodium dressing that includes extra virgin olive oil. Research by scientists at the University of the Balearic Islands in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America" in September 2008 found that olive oil reduces blood pressure, primarily due to its high concentrations of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. For your entree, enjoy steamed tofu and couscous. Tofu is a low-sodium soy food that contains healthy fats and calcium, a mineral that works with phosphorous to maintain strong bones. Calcium is especially important to balance the excess amounts of phosphorous in the blood in kidney failure.
Dessert
A kidney failure diet requires that you limit the amount of fluids you consume. Therefore, eating a dessert that does not contain too much fluid is the best choice. Dessert options include hard candies, rice pudding, dried cherries and cranberries and low-sodium cookies, wafers, cakes and pies.
References
- PubMed Health: Acute Kidney Failure
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Kidney Failure: Choosing a Treatment That's Right for You; September 2010
- American Dietetic Association: Kidney Disease and Diet
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Sodium: The Facts
- MayoClinic.com; Acute Kidney Failure; May 2010
- "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"; Oleic Acid Content Is Responsible for the Reduction in Blood Pressure Induced by Olive Oil; S. Teres, et al.; September 2008
