Advice for early Chronic Kidney Disease - Stages 2 to 4
Appropriate management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can help to prevent or delay the progression of the illness to its end stages when dialysis or transplantation is required to sustain life. Effective management of CKD can also help to control symptoms or side effects, such as high blood pressure, loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness and swelling of the hands, face and feet. Management of your CKD should be done in conjunction with your general practitioner, kidney specialist (if applicable) and allied health team and often involves addressing factors related to nutrition, fitness, medication and mind/spirit.
Helping kidneys to control body chemistry by eating a sensible diet is an important part of managing CKD. Being careful about what is eaten can reduce the amount of fluid and waste build-up, helping to minimise symptoms and side effects of CKD.
Getting the right amount of protein is important to overall health and affects how well a person feels. The body needs protein for building muscles, repairing tissue and fighting infections. You may need to follow a diet with controlled amounts of protein. This can help regulate the amount of waste in your blood and increase the life of your kidneys. Protein comes from animal or plant based products. Animal base products based products include: eggs, fish, meat, chicken, cheese, milk and other dairy foods. Plant-based products include: nuts, peanut butter, lentils, baked beans, bean soup mix, beans salad mix, chickpeas and hommus dip.
Kidney disease, high blood pressure and sodium are all linked. You may need to limit the amount of sodium in your diet. Even if you don’t use salt in cooking or at the table, your diet can still be high in sodium. This is because sodium is found in many processed foods. Generally, foods that have a lot of sodium include:
This depends on your blood results, as well as the amount of urine you are passing. Your doctor and dietitian can advise you on what food would be best for your individual health. Foods high in potassium include:
Phosphate and calcium are minerals found in your blood and bones. With CKD, your kidneys may not remove enough phosphate from your blood. A high blood phosphate level may cause you to itch and lose calcium from your bones which may then become weak and break easily. Avoiding large amounts of foods high in phosphate will help lower your blood phosphate level.
When diagnosed with CKD, some people need to drink large amounts of fluid while others may need to limit fluid intake. Your suggested fluid intake will depend on your urine output, fluid build-up and blood pressure. Fluids are any foods that are liquid at room temperature including ice cream, yoghurt and ice cubes. Fluid is also contained in food like cooked pasta and rice, salad ingredients, soup and watermelon. Remember, whatever fluid amount you need, always 'Drink water instead'.
Medication
Medication plays a vital role in helping your body stay in balance when your kidneys stop working. Your blood test results are often used as a guide for prescribing medication. If you are unsure, always ask your doctor or chemist for further information about your medications.
Appropriate management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can help to prevent or delay the progression of the illness to its end stages when dialysis or transplantation is required to sustain life. Effective management of CKD can also help to control symptoms or side effects, such as high blood pressure, loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness and swelling of the hands, face and feet. Management of your CKD should be done in conjunction with your general practitioner, kidney specialist (if applicable) and allied health team and often involves addressing factors related to nutrition, fitness, medication and mind/spirit.
Nutrition
Helping kidneys to control body chemistry by eating a sensible diet is an important part of managing CKD. Being careful about what is eaten can reduce the amount of fluid and waste build-up, helping to minimise symptoms and side effects of CKD.
Other than reducing salt, sugar and fat intake, there is no standard kidney disease diet.
Things that are important to nutrition include getting the right amount of energy from food, as well as staying at a healthy body weight. Controlling important nutrients in the diet is also helpful - summarised below.
Protein
Getting the right amount of protein is important to overall health and affects how well a person feels. The body needs protein for building muscles, repairing tissue and fighting infections. You may need to follow a diet with controlled amounts of protein. This can help regulate the amount of waste in your blood and increase the life of your kidneys. Protein comes from animal or plant based products. Animal base products based products include: eggs, fish, meat, chicken, cheese, milk and other dairy foods. Plant-based products include: nuts, peanut butter, lentils, baked beans, bean soup mix, beans salad mix, chickpeas and hommus dip.
Sodium (Salt)
Kidney disease, high blood pressure and sodium are all linked. You may need to limit the amount of sodium in your diet. Even if you don’t use salt in cooking or at the table, your diet can still be high in sodium. This is because sodium is found in many processed foods. Generally, foods that have a lot of sodium include:
- salty seasonings like soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and garlic or onion salt
- most canned foods and some frozen foods
- processed meats like ham, bacon, sausage and cold cuts
- salted snack foods like chips and crackers
- most restaurant and take-away foods
- canned or dehydrated soups like packaged noodle soup
Potassium
Potassium is an important mineral in the blood helping your muscles, nerve endings and heart to work properly. Too much or too little potassium in the blood can be dangerous and can cause irregular heartbeat. You may need to limit the amount of high-potassium foods you consume. Potassium is found in large amounts of fruits and vegetables such as:
- potato, sweet potato, pumpkin (inc. crisps)
- tomato, avocado, beans (i.e. baked beans, soy beans) and lentils
- banana, custard apple, stone fruits such as nectarines
- dried fruits and vegetables, vegetable juice, kiwi fruit and olives
- spinash, mushrooms
- tinned and homemade soups
- high fibre breakfast cereals, unprocessed bran
- liqueurs, red wine, cider and stout
How much potassium can you have?
This depends on your blood results, as well as the amount of urine you are passing. Your doctor and dietitian can advise you on what food would be best for your individual health. Foods high in potassium include:
Phosphate & Calcium
Phosphate and calcium are minerals found in your blood and bones. With CKD, your kidneys may not remove enough phosphate from your blood. A high blood phosphate level may cause you to itch and lose calcium from your bones which may then become weak and break easily. Avoiding large amounts of foods high in phosphate will help lower your blood phosphate level.
Phosphate is found in large amounts in:
- dairy products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream
- dried beans and peas such as kidney beans, split peas and lentils
- nuts and peanut butter
- drinks such as cocoa, beer and cola drinks
Fluids
When diagnosed with CKD, some people need to drink large amounts of fluid while others may need to limit fluid intake. Your suggested fluid intake will depend on your urine output, fluid build-up and blood pressure. Fluids are any foods that are liquid at room temperature including ice cream, yoghurt and ice cubes. Fluid is also contained in food like cooked pasta and rice, salad ingredients, soup and watermelon. Remember, whatever fluid amount you need, always 'Drink water instead'.
Medication plays a vital role in helping your body stay in balance when your kidneys stop working. Your blood test results are often used as a guide for prescribing medication. If you are unsure, always ask your doctor or chemist for further information about your medications.
Source- http://www.kidney.org.au/
