I'm in the early stages of ckd and right now I'm really trying to wrap my head around what I should be eating to be as nice to my kidneys as possible. For the last year or so I've been under the impression that the most important thing is to stay low in protein and to keep full eat more carbohydrates (mostly taken info from Davita). So I've really been eating a lot of pasta and bread with mostly vegetarian sauces etc. that are low in protein. I've also been changing my snacks from chips and cheese mostly to more candy and sweets to keep from eating too much sodium and protein.
In the last week or so I've done some more researching though and as I understand it now sugar (high blood glucose and blood pressure) are a huge contributor to progression of ckd so I've really been going about it all wrong with my carbohydrates and sweets. From my new research (aka googling) I've found the ultimate ckd diet to be (this is just what I found and is by no means final or the truth):
Alkaline diet
Ketogenic diet
Gluten free
Dairy free
Maybe vegan?
Low sodium
Low phosphorus
Low protein
+baking soda
+apple cider vinegar?
The question now is how do you combine all of these and what really are going to keep you full every day when there's so much you can't eat. Basically you should eat a diet very low in carbohydrates, low in protein and high in fat while it being alkaline, low sodium, low phos and gluten and dairy free?
I am new to this so I would be super happy to hear from some of you what kind of diet you keep and how it's working for you. Is it realistic or even necessary to think of all these things?
Wish you all the best (and sorry for any wrong spelling or grammar as I'm not a native speaker)
/Linnea
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Fluuux
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In general, if you are in the early stages of CKD, and your bloods do not indicate that you need to restrict/eat more of a certain thing, the best thing to do is to eat a sensible healthy and varied diet of mainly natural foods, including lots of fruit and veg. Avoid processed foods, fizzy drinks and salt. Moderate alcohol, drink water, and try not to eat too much red meat. Watch certain over the counter drugs like NSAIDs and take regular moderate exercise. Some people advocate avoiding dairy (I do because I’m intolerant to it and find it negatively affects my kidney function), but others say it’s fine, so I’d say that’s a personal preference. And definitely too much sugar is bad for anyone, not just CKD sufferers! I’ve been eating a healthy, varied diet with these rules for years now and my kidney function has not declined in the last 10 years. Don’t panic and cut out major food groups (unless you have a specific reason like doctor’s advice or intolerance) as you could end up missing out on vital nutrients.
Totally agree with Julesboz. Only thing I would add is; drink plenty of water, kidneys like this as it helps their working process. Keep an eye on your blood pressure, high blood pressure over time reduces kidney function. Go to your renal appointments regularly, address any symptoms then enjoy life and try to forget you've even got it....
Hi Fluuux. I am at the same stage as you and agree with the other two. At this stage we need to drink lots of water and eat a normal, healthy diet with occasional treats. I struggle with my vitamin levels and so continue to eat a wide variety of foods to help with this. We are at risk of high blood pressure and heart disease so need to eat well for those. I am in the UK and was advised by my dr to eat well, keep my weight down and drink plenty of water. And go back in a year for another blood test.
I agree with the others, but I have gone more radical in my diet because I believe that when people with ckd get to stages 4 & 5, doctors tell them to change their diet. My belief is that if I change my diet now, I will not get to stages 4 & 5. As for all the things you listed, you probably want to ask your doctor and/or get a reference to a renal dietitian (I know that is difficult).
In the meantime, two books that I have found helpful, both by Mathea Ford:
--Living with Chronic Kidney Disease--Pre-Dialysis, and,
--Create Your Own Kidney Diet Plan.
There is lots of information out there, not always good information. Choose sites that are credible (not some quack trying to take advantage of us). A few that I have found:
National education, support and advocacy organizations:
• DaVita Kidney Disease and Dialysis Forums is well known for their recipes but they also have a forum for patients too.
• Renal Support Network provides many support and advocacy services including a phone support line.
• AAKP is a comprehensive resource focusing on the quality of life for kidney patients through education, advocacy, patient engagement and the fostering of patient communities.
• National Kidney Foundation provides a portal for patients too.
I had a similar diet as to what you were indicating. I was a huge carb addict and love sweets as it all helped me stay full. I have a pretty quick metabolism and I tend to be constantly hungry. I have been gluten free for about 5 years due to gluten intolerance, plus my type of kidney disease IGA nephropathy has been shown to benefit from gluten free diets. The thing I have found though is that gluten free is often loaded with sodium. I never had high blood pressure until after I was diagnosed with CKD, so make sure to keep a watch on your sodium intake and take regular checkups on your blood pressure.
You will find that once you cut out the sweets and high carb which turns to sugar in your body, you will not get hungry as often. The sugar actually causes you to want to eat more. The thing that really helped me cut out the sugar was the large amounts of research that has been done on the role sugar plays in disease. Watch a few videos on Youtube and you'll be convinced. The average woman should only have about 25g of 6 teaspoons a day. Just to give you an idea- 3 jolly ranchers have 18 g of sugar. Almost your whole day's worth! Added sugar is in almost all packaged foods including things that aren't sweet. I make my own gluten free bread and just discovered that is has 9g per serving, plus 300 mg of sodium. I will have to look for another recipe. In any case, I know you said you are already cutting out sugar, but just thought I'd help give you added incentive for when you feel like grabbing the sugar. It's helped me on those days when I'm feeling like "What am I going to eat!" Anyway, even in early stages, it's great to start making the change to eating healthier. The more you can cook your own food so you can control the fat, salt, sugar and preservatives the better and hopefully you will preserve your kidneys and keep the rest of your organs working great!
I too feel a better diet is better kidney health. I do 25% protein 25% good carbs and 50% veggies. For protein I only do meat once a day. No processed meat or foods, no dairy, no sweets just fruit. Coffee and water only NO SALT, occasional glass of wine. My meals are small and usually 5 mini meals. That seems to make me feel better, less fatigued. If you eat 3 cups of veggies and fruit a day you will be full. I am not a saint I do indulge sometimes. Good luck it is not easy but you will feel better.
Hello Fluuux, I do understand how you feel about what diet you should follow. In addition to all the advice given above, you will need to consider if you have any other health problems as well as CKD, as you may have to take account of these - for example high cholesterol, diabetes, heart conditions etc. For myself, at age 74 I was told to restrict my potassium intake, but not how to do it, or by how much or what foods were high in potassium and which were safer to eat and in what quantities. As you have found, it takes a lot of research (often with conflicting results) to work out what you should eat. I would advise you to go back to your doctor and say you need more help with your diet, and maybe he/she will send you to someone who has the knowledge of renal diets that you need. The more I read and learn about this problem of diets, the more I think that we should be given much clearer advice as soon as we are told our kidneys are not functioning as well as they should; at the very least it would stop a lot of the stress we feel at getting bad news about our health. Hope you are able to get some help with what to eat - Curleytop1.
Thank you all so much for your advice! Sorry I havent replied in a while. I will try to eat as healthy as possible but dont sweat it too much if I indulge once in a while. And maybe I'll try one of the supplements that Ive read can be good for the kidneys.
I went to my kidney doctor yesterday and we talked about gfr. He said that your gfr is dependent on your body size so for example I am a female and rather slim and that I then have smaller kidneys. But I dont know if he said that just to calm me down. I mean when you put your stats on an gfr calculator online for example you type in your height and weight. So should that gfr number be with the height and weight taken into account? Does anyone know?
Hi, honestly my diet has been a struggle since I love food so much. But I have been eating a lot of chicken, shrimp, fish is also good but I was feeling sick from it, so I cut that out. For breakfast, I’ve had oatmeal, a bell or an egg and toast. Lunch is usually a turkey sandwich or egg sandwich. I completely cut out red meat because my triglycerides were high and was having fruit for dessert, I cut out caffeine which was hard because I love coffee and chocolate because of the phosphorus. I also cut out cheese and tomato because of the potassium. I have been making turkey burgers also which are pretty good. Recently I went to the dr for the 3 month check up and my numbers were improved my triglycerides went from 450 to 150 and my creatinine was lower and my gfr went 10 points up. She said my phosphorus was a little low so I can have cheese like twice a week and add coffee once a week and have red meat once a week. Sorry this is really long..😬
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