Refusing salt and its substitutes, reducing the amount of protein products, fluid control are mandatory measures for kidney disease.
In chronic kidney disease (CKD), it is important to strictly monitor nutrition, then you can slow down its progression. Why is CKD dangerous and what kind of diet should be followed— let's deal with the experts of the Fresenius Medical Care Ukraine Medical Center and the Samoylenko Diet Clinic.
Chronic kidney disease — why is it dangerous? ?
Chronic kidney diseaseis a disease when the kidneys slowly and irreversibly cease to perform their functions. For example, to remove liquid and harmful substances regularly excreted by our body.
As family doctor Anastasia Koval notes, there are almost no symptoms in the early (1-3) stages of chronic kidney disease. It is also important to know that everyone can develop chronic kidney disease.
The risk of kidney damage is increased by:
- diabetes mellitus
- arterial hypertension
- hereditary and autoimmune kidney diseases (polycystic kidney disease)
- infectious diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract (pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, urolithiasis)
- acute kidney damage due to severe poisoning or trauma.
But if the disease is diagnosed in a timely manner and proceed to treatment, you can slow its progression. To do this, people need to control their diet.
Why is it important for people with kidney disease to eat right?
Diet is a very important component of the treatment and control of the disease. The formation of the diet depends on laboratory tests and individual characteristics of a person. Therefore, any dietary changes must be applied on the advice of a nephrologist or nutritionist.
Nutritionist Elena Zinchenko notes that it is important to understand that a diet is not a short-term change or restriction in weight loss products. Of course, if a person is overweight, then nutrition correction will help to normalize it.
However, the main task of a diet is to maintain health and good health. To do this, it is important to eat well, monitor the volume of food and its diversity.
Proper nutrition allows you to:< /p>
- maintain a healthy weight;
- maintain normal blood pressure;
- control blood sugar;
- prevent kidney disease and make you feel worse.
What diet can help with kidney disease — key principles
In CKD, it is important to control your fluid intake, reduce your salt (sodium) and protein intake. It is also important to control the consumption of foods high in potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
Liquid consumed — not only water, but also other drinks, first courses, fruits, vegetables, gravies , sauces. The daily amount of fluid can be determined by a doctor, but on average it is 400 ml + the amount of urine excreted during the day.
The best indicator is the color of urine. Dark urine indicates dehydration and a need for fluids. In order not to exceed the norm and to moderate thirst, a person can chew gum, suck on a frozen berry or an ice cube.
As for sodium, we most often consume it with salt. In CKD, it is less well excreted from the body, which, in turn, retains water and increases the workload on the heart and kidneys. If for a healthy person it is recommended to consume no more than 2300 mg of salt per day, then for people with CKD — no more than 2000 mg/day = 1 teaspoon.
To enrich the taste of dishes, you can use spices and herbs instead of salt. Salt the dish — already on the plate, and not during cooking. Prefer food that is home cooked rather than store bought.
A large amount of sodium is found in processed foods (sausages, sausages), canned food, bread and cheese, olives, store sauces, and even sweets. Therefore, it it's important to read the labels where the sodium content is stated when buying food.
You should also avoid salt substitutes (AlsoSalt or Nu-Salt). As a rule, they contain a large amount of potassium, the excess of which is also harmful for people with CKD. Depending on the stage of the disease, people require different amounts of protein. Equally important is the quality of protein products — a piece of lean beef is better than sausages with an unknown composition.
Which foods are high in protein, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium?
Foods high in protein: different types of meat and poultry; a fish; eggs; legumes; milk products. Potassium and phosphorus can accumulate in the blood, so people with CKD should control their dietary intake and even avoid foodsrich in these micronutrients.
When the kidneys are damaged, they stop activating vitamin D, which affects the ability to absorb calcium from food. To compensate for this, you need to eat foods rich in calcium. Among them are dairy products. They should be used sparingly, no more than one serving per day. Indeed, in addition to calcium, they contain a lot of phosphorus and protein.
A good alternative to dairy products of animal origin can be plant foods: rice and almond milk. They contain less potassium, phosphorus and protein than cow's milk.
Foods high in calcium:
- milk
- hard aged cheeses
- sour curds
- yogurt
- white beans
- fish with bones (sardines)
- spinach
- sesame, sesame paste
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What else is important to consider in kidney disease?
In CKD, the type of diet depends on the degree of the disease, and it is important to monitor weight. The diet of a patient in the initial stages of CKD is almost no different from a normal healthy diet. However, if it was not very healthy before, a change in diet will help protect the kidneys from further damage and delay kidney replacement therapy.
People with kidney disease due to concomitant diseases (diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension) are overweight. Often, excess weight can appear due to excess fluid that has accumulated in the body and led to edema.
This is why it is important to know your dry weight (i.e. weight without excess fluid). In contrast, people with CKD are often afraid to eat too much or lose their appetite, so they lose calories and lose weight dramatically.
But if stages 1-3 of CKD allow a varied healthy diet, then stage 4 is characterized by serious dietary restrictions. In the last, 5th (terminal) stage of the disease, which is identical to renal failure, the kidneys work at only 15-10%.
Then the person needs renal replacement therapy — dialysis or kidney transplantation. In this case, a well-chosen diet will help support the body during dialysis and in between procedures.