How Diet Can Impact Kidney Health
The kidneys are filled with tiny blood vessels that help filter waste and extra water from your blood and remove them from your body. If you have CKD, your kidneys cant filter blood as well as they should, causing excess waste to build up in your body.
Diabetes and hypertension are the two leading causes of kidney disease. High blood sugar levels in uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure can damage the kidneys blood vessels, leaving them unable do their job properly, says Krista Maruschak, RD, a registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinics Center for Human Nutrition.
Untreated or uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure can have a significant effect on the development of CKD over time, says Maruschak.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 10 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes and over a third of adults have prediabetes, while about half of American adults age 20 and over have hypertension. These individuals are also at an increased risk of developing CKD.
A healthy diet can help you prevent or manage conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, in part by helping you to maintain a healthy weight, says Maruschak. In turn, this supports your kidney health.
As part of a kidney-friendly diet, you may also need to limit certain foods to help prevent further kidney damage.
Treatment For Kidney Disease
If detected early enough, the progress of kidney disease can be slowed and sometimes even prevented. In the early stages, changes to diet and medication can help to increase the life of your kidneys.;
If kidney function is reduced to less than 10 per cent of normal, the loss of function must be replaced by dialysis or a kidney transplant. Dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that removes waste products and extra water from the blood by filtering it through a special membrane .;
Most Green Juices Or Smoothies
Juices made with spinach and other green veggies can be incredibly high in potassium. Why? It comes down to portion size. Think about how much spinach must be juiced to get a single glass of juice. This is likely a whole lot more spinach than you would eat at one time. Similarly, the amount of vegetable in green smoothies can be quite a bit too.
Even though not everyone with kidney disease needs to limit potassium, green juices and smoothies can have such high amounts of potassium, I recommend everyone with kidney disease avoid them.
Oxalate in Green Juice or Smoothies
In addition, many green juices are made with ingredients that are very high in oxalate such as spinach, beets and almonds. Oxalate is a molecule that is most known for its role in kidney stones. In addition to kidney stones, high levels of oxalate in your urine can damage kidneys.
Oxalate management is very tricky because not all bodies handle oxalate the same. There are big differences in how much oxalate people absorb from food and how much oxalate is made in the liver.
In normal amounts from food, oxalate is not a problem for the vast majority of people. Spinach is a healthy food! But, large amounts of spinach and other very high oxalate ingredients in green juices or smoothies can be problematic and hurt your kidneys.
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The 20 Best Foods For People With Kidney Disease
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Kidney disease is a common problem affecting about 10% of the worlds population .
The kidneys are small but powerful bean-shaped organs that perform many important functions.
They are responsible for filtering waste products, releasing hormones that regulate blood pressure, balancing fluids in the body, producing urine, and many other essential tasks .
There are various ways in which these vital organs can become damaged.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common risk factors for kidney disease. However, obesity, smoking, genetics, gender, and age can also increase the risk (
Renal Diet Foods List
If you intend to follow a healthy renal diet plan, the first step to take is to stock your kitchen with the right foods. Youll also need to educate yourself on;renal diet restrictions and be careful to avoid foods that contribute too much;sodium, potassium and phosphorus to your diet.
In recent years, advice about the best diet for people with kidney disease has started shifting. A 2017 study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that healthy dietary patterns, as opposed to a traditional renal diet, were associated with lower mortality in people with kidney disease. Healthy eating patterns referred to diets that included fruits and vegetables, fish, legumes, whole grains and high-fiber foods, while also limiting red meat, sodium and refined sugar intake.
This finding is noteworthy because it goes against the traditional renal diet guidelines that were recommended in the past.; Recent findings from the;DIET-HD;multi-national cohort study that included over 8,000 hemodialysis patients also showed that a high adherence to the Mediterranean or DASH-type diet was not associated with reduced cardiovascular mortality or all-cause mortality, and actually helped reduce;mortality;risk.
Based on the latest research, here are renal diet foods to eat:
And here are renal diet foods and ingredients to avoid:
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Foods That Can Help Protect Your Kidneys
More than 1 in 7 U.S. adults have damage that keeps these crucial organs from doing their job. But these dietary tweaks can help keep your kidneys going strong.
For all of the hard work they do-filtering out waste, regulating blood pressure, converting vitamin D into its usable form-your kidneys might not get the love they deserve. An estimated 37 million Americans have chronic kidney disease , a condition that prevents the organs from functioning properly and can lead to heart disease, stroke and early death. And 9 in 10 affected people don’t know they have it. Diabetes, high blood pressure and age all increase your risk for CKD. But there are some simple ways to lower your odds of the disease or slow its progression, says Juan Jesus Carrero, Ph.D., who studies kidney disease at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Here are four smart habits to adopt.
Why Should I Keep Track Of What I Eat And Drink
The choices you make about what to eat and drink can help you feel better and can make your kidney failure treatments work better. Eating the right foods may give you more energy and strength.
Healthy kidneys balance the salts and mineralssuch as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassiumthat circulate in your blood. When you have kidney failure, what you eat and drink may help you maintain a healthy balance of salts and minerals in your body.
The kind of kidney failure treatment youve chosen will affect your eating plan. If you have a kidney transplant, youll have fewer limits to your diet.
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Urine Tests For Kidney Disease
Damaged or inflamed kidneys leak substances such as blood or protein into the urine. The preferred test for detecting protein in the urine is a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio test, which shows the amount of albumin in the urine.;
A urine ACR test should be done at least once a year if the person has diabetes or high blood pressure, and every two years if the person has any of the other identified risk factors for developing chronic kidney disease.
A urine ACR test is performed by sending a sample of your urine to a laboratory for analysis.;
Test For And Reduce Oxalate Levels
Oxalates, or oxalic acid, are naturally occurring compounds in plants, animals, and humans. Oxalates are anti-nutrients which bind to minerals and prevent your body from absorbing them. Kidney stones, most commonly calcium oxalate stones, are associated with excess oxalates. Excessive oxalates can also cause painful inflammation and joint deposits.
To test your oxalate levels, I recommend the Great Plains Organic Acids Test. This simple urine test measures the level of oxalates in your urine and helps determine the cause of high oxalate levels.
It is important to follow a low- oxalate diet if your oxalate levels are elevated, you have had calcium oxalate kidney stones, or have genetic susceptibility. Foods high in oxalates include chocolate, nuts, spinach, Swiss chard, berries, and potatoes. To reduce your oxalate levels, you can take one of these Mg-Potassium Citrate capsules with each meal to bind to the oxalates.
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What Is Kidney Disease
Your kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that act as your bodys waste filtration system. They filter your blood 12 times per hour. Excess water and unwanted chemicals or waste in the blood are disposed of as urine .
Kidney disease is when your kidneys are damaged in some way and are not filtering your blood effectively.
Ways To Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
Overview
Your kidneys are fist-sized organs located at the bottom of your rib cage, on both sides of your spine. They perform several functions.
Most importantly, they filter waste products, excess water, and other impurities from your blood. These waste products are stored in your bladder and later expelled through urine.
In addition, your kidneys regulate pH, salt, and potassium levels in your body. They also produce hormones that regulate blood pressure and control the production of red blood cells.
Your kidneys are also responsible for activating a form of vitamin D that helps your body absorb calcium for building bones and regulating muscle function.
Maintaining kidney health is important to your overall health and general well-being. By keeping your kidneys healthy, your body will filter and expel waste properly and produce hormones to help your body function properly.
Here are some tips to help keep your kidneys healthy.
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Olive Oil Promotes Healthy Kidneys
The benefits of a Mediterranean diet cannot be overemphasized! People sticking to a Mediterranean diet have a 50% reduced chance of contracting chronic kidney disease.
- Olive oil is rich in MUFA or monunsaturated fats that are good for the heart.
- One tablespoon of olive oil contains less than 1 mg of potassium and sodium and zero phosphorus, all of which are to be restricted by CKD patients.
Why Do Some Kidney Patients Need To Follow Special Diets
Advanced kidney disease can upset the delicate balance of essential nutrients in the body so some people may have to:
- restrict amounts of some types of foods and drinks to stop harmful build up in the blood
- modify their diets to help prevent muscle or bone weakening.
Others may have to avoid certain foods, such as fresh grapefruit or grapefruit juice because they can interfere with certain medications.
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What Snacks Are Good For Kidneys
5 Kidney-Friendly Snacks to Keep on Hand
- Fruit: apples, grapes, tangerines or strawberries; dried cranberries or blueberries; or packaged fruit cups with diced peaches, pears, pineapple, mandarin oranges or mixed fruit.
- Package of low- or no-sodium microwave popcorn.
- Low-sodium crackers, pita chips or unsalted pretzels.
Diabetes And Kidney Disease: What To Eat
One meal plan for diabetes, another for chronic kidney disease . Find out how you can eat well for both.
If you have diabetes and CKD, youre definitely not aloneabout 1 in 3 American adults with diabetes also has CKD. The right diet helps your body function at its best, but figuring out what to eat can be a major challenge. Whats good for you on one meal plan may not be good on the other.
Your first step: meet with a registered dietitianexternal icon whos trained in both diabetes and CKD nutrition. Together youll create a diet plan to keep blood sugar levels steady and reduce how much waste and fluid your kidneys have to handle.
Medicare and many private insurance plans may pay for your appointment. Ask if your policy covers medical nutrition therapy . MNT includes a nutrition plan designed just for you, which the dietitian will help you learn to follow.
Diabetes and CKD diets share a lot of the same foods, but there are some important differences. Read on for the basics.
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What Happens To Your Body When You Fast For 16 Hours
This may lead to weight gain, digestive problems and the development of unhealthy eating habits. 16/8 intermittent fasting may also cause short-term negative side effects when youre first getting started, such as hunger, weakness and fatigue though these often subside once you get into a routine.
Signs And Symptoms Of Kidney Issues
What is renal failure , and what are some symptoms that someone might be experiencing it?;Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys stop working well enough to keep someone alive. This condition is characterized as sudden loss of the ability of the kidneys to excrete wastes, concentrate urine, conserve electrolytes and maintain fluid balance.
Acute kidney injury is the term commonly used to describe patients whose kidneys suddenly stop functioning as they normally should.;Chronic kidney disease, also called chronic kidney failure, describes the gradual loss of normal/healthy kidney function.
Some patients with kidney issues or even kidney disease wont experience any obvious symptoms. However, if sudden failure of the kidneys occurs, this quickly becomes an emergency situation as symptoms tend to progress quickly.
Kidney disease symptoms tend to worsen with time and can begin with:
- Nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite
- Fatigue and weakness
- High blood pressure
Kidney failure symptoms normally include:
What increases someones risk for kidney issues?;Risk factors for experiencing kidney disease/kidney failure include:
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Why Is An Eating Plan Important
What you eat and drink affects your health. Staying at a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet that is low in salt and fat can help you control your blood pressure. If you have diabetes, you can help control your blood sugar by carefully choosing what you eat and drink. Controlling high blood pressure and diabetes may help prevent kidney disease from getting worse.
A kidney-friendly diet may also help protect your kidneys from further damage. A kidney-friendly diet limits certain foods to prevent the minerals in those foods from building up in your body.
Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
Your kidneys arent very bigeach is about the size of your fistbut they do important work. They keep you healthy by maintaining just the right balance of water and other substances inside your body.
Unfortunately, if your kidneys start to malfunction, you might not realize it for a long while. Kidney disease usually doesnt make you feel sick until the problem becomes serious and irreversible. March is National Kidney Month, a perfect time to learn more about how to keep your kidneys healthy and how to catch problems early.
Your kidneys are 2 reddish, bean-shaped organs located on either side of your spine in the middle of your back. Their main job is to filter your blood. Each kidney contains about a million tiny filters that can process around 40 gallons of fluid every dayabout enough to fill a houses hot water heater. When blood passes through the kidney, the filters sift and hold onto the substances your body might need, such as certain nutrients and much of the water. Harmful wastes and extra water and nutrients are routed to the nearby bladder and flushed away as urine.
Your kidneys also produce several hormonesMolecules sent through the bloodstream to signal another part of the body to grow or react a certain way.. These hormones help to control your blood pressure, make red blood cells and activate vitamin D, which keeps your bones strong.
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Boost Your Fiber Intake
When your gut metabolizes fiber, it creates beneficial compounds that improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation-two factors important for kidney health, says Carrero. This process also reduces the production of toxins that are damaging to kidneys, he adds. In fact, a study published in the British Journal of Nutritionfound that for every 5 grams of fiber people reported eating each day , their risk of developing CKD dropped by 11%.
Eating Right For Chronic Kidney Disease
You may need to change what you eat to manage your chronic kidney disease . Work with a registered dietitian to develop a meal plan that includes foods that you enjoy eating while maintaining your kidney health.
The steps below will help you eat right as you manage your kidney disease. The first three steps are important for all people with kidney disease. The last two steps may become important as your kidney function goes down.
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Kidney & Liver Detox Supplementation
Drainage is the process of moving fluid through the body. The liver and kidneys are part of the drainage pathway. It is critical that this pathway be open for detoxification and proper drainage of fluids.
Kidney & Liver Support is a bioactive carbon product that supports the drainage pathways. This product contains N-Acetyl Cysteine , Milk Thistle, Parsley Gynostemma, Collinsonia Root, Beet Root, Marshmallow Root. This combination of nutrients supports drainage and immune function in the kidneys and liver.
Fatty Fish Improves Kidney Function
Protein intake is rather dicey in case of those with CKD, as some need to limit it while those on dialysis must increase it. However, high protein as seen in meat and eggs are also high in cholesterol and fat. Fatty fish treads that thin border line of high quality healthy protein.
- Fatty fish contain oil in their tissues, which is rich in omega 3s.
- It is also high in Vitamin D and protein.
- Damaged kidneys result in more protein appearance in the urine. Fatty fish consumption reduces the protein in urine, decreases blood fat and reduces blood pressure, all benefiting diabetics. Diabetics is the major cause of the end stage kidney disease.
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