The majority of calcium and phosphorus is found in your bone. Small amounts of the minerals, approximately 1 percent of each, circulate through your blood. Because the amount of calcium and phosphorus in your blood is so low, the concentration...
Phosphorus is a mineral found in a wide variety of foods. When you eat these foods, your body takes their phosphorus content and creates a related substance called phosphate. Most of this phosphate is held in your bones; however, a small...
Renagel is a phosphate binder prescribed for the treatment of elevated levels serum phosphorus in patients with chronic kidney disease. Patients with chronic kidney disease retain excess amounts of phosphate, a condition known as...
Phosphorus is so common that deficiencies are almost unknown. More problematic for kidney patients are abnormally high serum levels of phosphorus, also called hyperphosphatemia. If you have high phosphorus levels, your nephrologist may recommend a...
Dietary phosphorus is not an issue if you have healthy kidneys. However, if you suffer from advanced kidney disease, too much phosphorus can be a real problem. Dietary phosphorus doesn't hurt the kidneys, but it aggravates the biochemical...
The need to evaluate serum phosphorus frequently results from alterations in serum calcium concentrations. Calcium and phosphorus work together in the body in a complementary manner. Phosphorus is excreted in the urine, with increases or decreases...
Diet can't change creatinine levels, but it can minimize symptoms of renal failure that accompany elevated creatinine. You shouldn't rush into an unnecessarily restrictive diet without consulting your nephrologist and seeing if dietary changes are...
If you have advanced kidney disease, your nephrologist or renal dietitian might tell you to stay away from chocolate. This recommendation isn't made arbitrarily, and it doesn't mean that chocolate is bad for the kidneys. Such advice is regularly...
Newly diagnosed kidney patients are usually bursting with questions about diet. Dietary changes may not be necessary in the early stages of disease, especially if urine protein levels are low and hypertension is not a problem. However, as kidney...
Dietary adjustments for kidney patients are always made in response to lab values, blood pressure and physical examination. Nephrologists often have no particular advice for patients in the early stages of disease, other than to "eat sensibly."...
Nephrology is the medical specialty devoted to diseases of the kidneys. In addition to filtering blood and removing waste products created by muscular activity, the kidneys also keep levels of potassium, phosphorus, calcium and other substances...
Patients with advanced kidney disease are often given elaborate dietary guidelines. For example, patients are often told to avoid dark sodas, such as colas, and drink clear sodas instead. There are good common sense reasons for this kind of...
Patients with advanced kidney disease are often perplexed by their nephrologist's recommendation to avoid "dark sodas." As odd as this recommendation may sound, it is based on solid science. While not all dark sodas have to be avoided, some...
The National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIDDKD, explains that when the kidneys are diseased, their ability to filter urea, potassium, phosphorus and sodium from the blood becomes compromised. This causes toxic...
Dietary advice for patients with chronic kidney disease and renal failure is determined by a doctor's review of the patient's laboratory results. Kidney patients should never make dietary changes without consulting their nephrologist or their...
Navy beans are a healthful addition to stews, soups, chili, casseroles and other dishes. Whether you can eat navy beans depends upon your overall health. While there is nothing to suggest that people who take lisinopril should not eat navy beans,...
Sticking to a renal diet year after year is difficult. Explaining why you are taking a pass on the lovely broccoli soup, stuffed squash, freshly squeezed orange juice, lentil soup or lasagna that your host carefully prepared can be awkward. It's...
Phosphorus makes up approximately 1 percent of your total body weight. Phosphorus, which is found in teeth and bones, is central to the production of ATP, the molecule that fuels the biochemical reactions that make life possible. Working with...
Phosphorus is a critical nutrient that everyone needs, but if you are a diabetic with kidney disease, you may need to limit how much phosphorus you consume. That's a tall order, because phosphorus is ubiquitous, found in meat, vegetables, nuts,...
Soft drinks have no effect on the kidneys of healthy people. However, many patients with advanced kidney disease are instructed to avoid dark-colored sodas. The basis for this recommendation is not to protect the kidneys, but to prevent problems...
Polycystic kidney disease is far from the death sentence that you might fear. Only 24,828 of the 527,283 Americans treated for end-stage kidney disease in 2007 had polycystic disease, according to the 2009 Annual Report of the U.S. Renal Data...
Kidneys filter the body's waste products, excess fluid and minerals, such as phosphorus and potassium, and excrete them as urine. They produce hormones that maintain bone strength and keep blood healthy. The National Institute of Diabetes and...
The kidneys function to maintain acid-base balance and remove excess fluid and waste in the body. The kidneys may not function properly as a result of ischemic or nephrotoxic injury, sepsis, diabetes or hypertension. Low kidney function may be an...
Remembering the admonition from their nephrologist to stay away from Coca-Cola, many kidney patients mistakenly believe that this soda is bad for their kidneys. Even if you have impaired kidneys, drinking Coca-Cola won't affect your renal...
If you have advanced kidney disease, your nephrologist or renal dietitian may have warned you to stay away from dark-colored sodas. This recommendation might seem somewhat odd, but it is based upon solid, nutritional evidence. Some dark sodas,...
Electrolyte management is not an issue for healthy people because their kidneys regulate electrolyte levels. At most, fluid replacement might be necessary if you sweat heavily after an intense athletic event. Management of electrolytes is very...
Phosphorus is an essential mineral found most commonly in the body as phosphate. It is required for healthy cell function, and it is a major structural component of bone. However, high levels of phosphorus in the body, known as hyperphosphatemia,...
Unlike people in the early stages of kidney disease, those in the latter stages often need a highly restricted diet. As renal function gets progressively worse, the kidneys no longer regulate levels of phosphorus in the blood. Accordingly,...
End-stage renal disease means that kidney function has declined so much that dialysis or transplant is necessary. While it varies from person to person, this occurs when renal function is between 10 and 15 percent. Diet is very important at this...