Diet For Kidney Failure
As a nurse for many years now, a lot of people complain to me that their diet for kidney
failure is so hard to follow. They tell me that this type of diet has too many restrictions and that it is so
rigid and unforgiving.
My reply to the above statement is that maybe you haven’t considered other possibilities to your diet? Or maybe
you haven’t researched enough to realize that this diet is in fact easy to follow.
Before I start talking about the diet for kidney failure, I will first talk a little about the kidney. The
kidneys play key roles in body function, not only by filtering the blood and getting rid of waste products, but
also by balancing levels of electrolytes in the body, controlling blood pressure, and stimulating the production of
red blood cells.
Now, renal failure results when the kidneys cannot remove the body’s metabolic wastes or perform their
regulatory functions. The substances normally eliminated in the urine accumulate in the body fluids as a result of
impaired renal excretion, leading to a disruption in endocrine and metabolic functions as well as fluid,
electrolyte and acid-base disturbances.
Renal failure is a systemic disease and is final common pathway of many different kidney and urinary tract
diseases. Each year, the number of deaths from irreversible renal failure increases.
Kidney disease diet is an important consideration for those with impaired kidney function. Consultation with a
dietician may be helpful to understand what foods may or may not be appropriate. Various kidney disease recipe are
available in the market right now.
Since the kidneys cannot easily remove excess water, salt, or potassium, they may need to be consumed in limited
quantities. Foods high in potassium include bananas, apricots, and salt substitutes.
Phosphorus is a forgotten chemical that is associated with calcium metabolism and may be elevated in kidney
failure. Too much phosphorus can leech calcium from the bones and cause osteoporosis and fractures. Foods with high
phosphorus content include milk, cheese, nuts, and cola drinks.
This diet is usually done with other treatments for kidney failure. The two major treatments for kidney failure are
dialysis and transplantation. The former has two kinds of procedures—hemodialysis (accessed via IV route) and
peritoneal dialysis (done via the abdomen). The latter, on the other hand, involves a more complex pre-operation
and post-operation interventions.
The kidney has a remarkable ability to recover from insult. That is with this diet for renal failure, the objective
is to repair kidney tissue so that restoration of renal function can take place.
More resources:
Kidney Disease Diet
Diet for Kidney Stones
Diet for Kidney Disease
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