Dietitian Ujjwala Baxi helps make sense of the diet guidelines and tells you what you can eat guilt-free.
Good kidney function is essential for removing the waste material from food that we eat and other byproducts of the body. The kidneys excrete a dietary protein called urea, as well as sodium, potassium and phosphate. These substances can build up in the body if kidney function is impaired.
If your kidneys are not working optimally, you need to follow a prescribed diet to lessen the accumulation of these substances and their effects on the body. The diet needs to be tailored to your particular requirements, so you need to consult a dietitian who will take the following into account: stage of your kidney disease, type of treatment you are on, laboratory results, and presence of other medical conditions.
Patients newly diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are often confused by the diet guidelines and they feel that there is nothing they can eat without guilt. But that is not true. You can have an enjoyable diet. However, CKD patients should monitor and limit their intake of the following: Fluids, phosphates, sodium and potassium.
A dietitian can help you choose meals that are healthy and tasty. These foods will prevent further muscle tissue breakdown. Kidney patients, despite appearing plump (due to water retention) are prone to rapid weight loss and muscle wasting. They also become weak as they lose appetite due to treatments. Thus, meals need to be calorie- dense. The diet will need to be fine-tuned from time to time according to the patient’s blood reports and feeding status.
Here’s a model diet plan for a patient recently diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease.
Mr. Nathan, a 50-year old man, has just been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease with high blood pressure of 160/90. His creatinine was found to be 3.5 mg/dl and Potassium 5 mEq/L. He was on Hemodialysis 2 days a week. The following is the diet advised to him:
Breakfast
1-2 cups stir-fried rice vermicelli with asparagus, celery, bean sprouts and water chestnut Or
1 cup Apple Oats Porridge - 1 Apple + ½ cup Oats with 1 cup skimmed milk with pinch of cardamom and cinnamon powder
Brunch
5 cranberries + 2 pieces
puffed rice/ Rajgira chikki (Rajgira chikki is a kind of wheat brittle.)
Lunch
2 cups brown rice + sauteed gourd vegetables + fish curry (with one 6-ounce piece of fish)
Evening snack
Unsalted garlic pumpkin chips / banana chips
Dinner
1 ½ cup moong dal khichdi +
1 cup cucumber raita + 1 cup
doodhi (bottle gourd) halwa (made with jaggery & milk)
The above diet is planned on the principle of providing a high-calorie diet, adequate proteins of upto 1 gm/kg body weight, specifically working on providing the first class (have higher levels of essential amino acids) proteins, low sodium and potassium. In order to keep a close check on the advised limited water intake of around 1.5 litres/day, fluids in the items is restricted so that patient can consume water when thirsty.
Generally the quantity of water allowance is based upon providing 500 ml in addition to the measured urine excreted in 24 hours. For instance, if the urine output in 24 hours measures 1 litre, then total fluid allowance to be advised is 1.5 l/day.
