Plant Based Diets for CKD: This year there... - Early CKD Support

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Plant Based Diets for CKD

Zazzel profile image
17 Replies

This year there has been a lot of information published regarding the value of whole food plant based diets (WFPB) to help slow the progression of many diseases including CKD. Here is an in-depth analysis of how plant based vegetarian, vegan, DASH or Mediterranean diets might help with CKD. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Here is the large study cjasn.asnjournals.org/conte...

I know many of us have been on or recently started a plant based diet. Those who are just learning they have CKD May want to discuss this option with the nephrologist and renal dietician. As this is a newer approach to CKD, nephrologists might be a little slower to recognizing the value as their background is not in nutrition, so bring along the report to your visit. Renal dieticians seem to be getting on board more quickly with the information. Many of the larger renal centers like Mayo Clinic are recognizing the benefits.

Here’s to your health!

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Zazzel profile image
Zazzel
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17 Replies
Bet117 profile image
Bet117

Zazzel,

Great information! Thanks for sharing!

I am going to download the posts for reference! Great!

Boston and Providence have both recognized the renal benefits and adjust to the needs of each patient!

Good health for all of us!

B..

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply toBet117

That's great that your doctors see the benefits!

rabbit01 profile image
rabbit01

Great information and thank you for sharing it. I am convinced that changing my diet resulted in a slow down of this terrible condition. I am also sure that if my health professionals had been proactive (in anything!) and supporters of plant based diets from when I was first diagnosed then I could have had another couple of years before starting dialysis.

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply torabbit01

thanks Rabbit! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

orangecity41 profile image
orangecity41

Thanks for sharing the information. The CKD diet that my Doctor put me on is more plant based, and it has helped.

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply toorangecity41

Glad to hear that and to hear that doctors are now seeing the benefits of it. :)

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel

Good news! My GFR had been stable since Jan, but I was having a lot of pain so I went plant based in August. My GFR increased by 4 points and Creatinine decreased by .05 but I lost a lot of weight and was having bad stomach issues. Since then, I've begun to see a Plant based renal nutritionist. I've gained a few pounds back, my stomach aches are going away and my newest results today showed another point increase in GFR and another .01 decrease in Creatinine.

The interesting thing is that she is increasing my potassium intake and my protein intake by quite a bit. I guess I was overdoing it with my limitations of both. My potassium level which has fluctuated, but always been in range is now midline at 4.3. Apparently too little potassium can cause breathing and digestive issues although I'm not sure if it was due to seasonal allergies which have now subsided or to too little potassium. It's all kind of a big experiment. The hardest part is eating so much and so often, but they provide really yummy recipes!

I have been vegan since the end of July. I have just had my bloods done and my creatinine is now 87 from 98 and my eGFR 65 from 51.

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply toJackRussellTerrier

Yes! That’s great news!!!

Cowtown profile image
Cowtown

I started a plant based diet 3 months ago. My GFR went from 41 to 71 in those 3 months as well as a whole host of other benefits.

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply toCowtown

Wowza! That's amazing. Your body must love veggies. :) Congrats!

taivin98 profile image
taivin98

I can't even fathom why this would even be a question. Vegan diets for anything are best. It's the dairy, meat, and anything from an animal to ingest that has caused most of the health problems. Inflammation is a side effect of ingesting meat and meat-by products. I've been a vegan for decades now...best thing I ever did.

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply totaivin98

Since I new to this, can you tell me if you supplement for your Bs and how much. I’m not getting much advice from my doctors or nutritionist about the actual amount needed. I’m also getting mixed messages from all of them on Multi vitamins. Any advice would be appreciated. Do you get periodic testing to make sure your vitamin D, B and iron levels are ok? Thanks!

newbie1956 profile image
newbie1956

Zazzel, I've been wondering about vitamin supplements like B complex and

vitamin C, especially since I read something on Natural Kidney Journey. :(

There was a scary warning about vit C & renal failure (wish i had the link)

Tried to follow NKJ briefly but was never 100% compliant. Lost too much weight. I'm pushing 80 years old & losing bone & muscle. But my BMI is ok.

Been at stage 3 for almost 3 years & my nephrologist said D3 is all I need.

Well, I've been "cheating" with taking vitamins and occasional dairy.

Still have a tad amount of protein spill which never shows up on labs !

Creatinine was 1.01 in October 2019 ( i need help understanding labs)

Overall Dr has been pleased with my progress. Will do labs TODAY and see

neph in 3 weeks. Hope to be stable.

Thanks for reading my concerns, and rants.

Zazzel profile image
Zazzel in reply tonewbie1956

I just remembered I had asked my holistic kidney doctor about multivitamin pills. She told me to be aware of too high of Vit A, to watch out for silicon dioxide which is basically sand That is sometime used as a filler. To watch out for synthetic Vit E known as DLA, and to watch out for guarana although I think that was specific to me as I’m sensitive to caffeine and it causes my bp to rise. She also said to avoid supplements with acetate, artificial colors, oxide from minerals. She didn’t mention Vit C, but I also had read articles about too much Vit C being an issue. I think that was in reference to some of those super high dose Vit C which cause oxalate buildup in bones and tissues. If you are eating lots of fruits and veggies, I would doubt you would need any Vit C supplementation which is why I’m not taking a multivitamin as it always seems to be high in C and I’m getting a lot already through diet. I know you know this but for anyone else reading this, please know there are different needs for different stages of CKD and for different conditions, so please run everything by your medical team.

newbie1956 profile image
newbie1956

Thanks so much, Z...

"Holistic" knows best i'm sure ... Definitely knows more than i do :)

My hubby is 83 & has no health issues, a bit of arthritis so we recently bought several supplements (Tumeric/Ginger, CoQ10, Glucosamine and Garlic, from Andrew Lessman (HSN) His supplements are pure & very potent. I took them

for about a week but have decided to wait for results of my lab which i just had

this morning.

Taking ONLY my D3 & 3 blood pressure meds til i see my neph. soon.

Thanks again :)

Gillian2Mc profile image
Gillian2Mc

I discovered the DASH diet when I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure. I followed it to a degree - 5 each of fruit and veg. per day, no more than 2 servings of protein a day and limit salt and sugar intake. I still take the 5 fruit and the 5 veg. but allow myself a sweet treat occasionally. However, at my yearly CKD check-up, the practice nurse, whom I attend for the check-up, said 5 fruit a day is not necessarily good because some fruit is rather sweet. She said it would depend on the fruit and also on my blood test results. The results came back with no word of too much sugar, but my iron was low so am now on iron tablets for that.

Gillian

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