Vegan Diet

[DiamondLizzie]

Will a vegan diet help slow the progression of kidney disease.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Hi Diamond Lizzie,

Good question. The answer is not so simple. I could find a lot of information out there and I will post it below. But you have to factor many things into the diet of a CKD patient. Different stages have different nutritional needs. And then, you have to factor in any other medical conditions, which is why you should see a renal dietician if this is something you are planning.

But the quick answer is that there is a lot of research that says yes, a plant based diet can slow down CKD progression. And most would agree, lowering protein in your diet is also beneficial. Here is what I found for you"

pbdmedicine.org/2018/09/05/...

davita.com/diet-nutrition/a...

kidney.org/atoz/content/wha...

[DiamondLizzie]

Thank you

[Albuminian]

Hi DiamondLizzie! I've been a vegetarian for 29 yrs. I just thought of something and look out if you're eating like Glucerna or also Atkins bars etc as the diabetic bars also have protein. I think we only need 14g of protein a day and I was getting at times 22gm or protein just with the bars, plus drinking soy milk to raise my HDL and the bar companies and some of the soy milk companies boast about how much protein they have in their bars or soy milk. It means with less soy lower HDL again... but a trade-off as my urine albumin was 42.75, yet while fasting and did another lab not fasting and off the nutrition bars and it was 21.08. On the nutrition bars I even started getting gout attacks and figured out it was all the protein, plus it might, just my amateur view, raise your albumin... maybe, just my amateur guess. I quit the bars and also switched to almond milk (I also don't have any dairy if I can help it.) that some brands have zero protein. I would think being vetetarian has many benefits. Just my guess but I'd think all the artery clogging meats and foods for nonvegetarians would also cause an effect in the many channels in the cortex of the kidneys and the blood flow in the kidneys... yet just my amateur view. I always of course get "unsweetened" almond milk as I'm prediabetic. I don't know though if being vegetarian slowed my kidney problem. None of my parents or sibs had kidney problems. I did get very ill with salmonella in Mexico years ago when I was at language school. I don't know if that damaged my kidneys or not. I didn't trust doctors down there and still had it in my system when I returned home six months later. I also went from 175 normal weight for my size frame down to 145 when I returned home after 2 weeks eating a lot in an oceanside resort. Who knows, I was probably 135 or 140lbs once I was finished with my university field study in the back country. All six months I dragged around feeling weak too. Maybe I did damage my kidneys. If anyone reads this and knows that could happen in my case let me know too. Hope I helped!

[steve680]

You can talk to a renal dietician about what's the best diet for your current medical situation, but in general a low-protein vegan diet is probably the most kidney-friendly diet. If you have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), the most important thing to do to slow the progression of your disease is to treat the cause of your CKD. For instance, if you have High Blood Pressure, and it's the cause of the damage to your kidneys, then the most important thing you can do on an immediate basis is to work with your doctor to lower your blood pressure to safe levels. Similarly, if Type Two Diabetes caused your CKD, the number one thing you can be doing to slow the progression of your disease is to work with your doctors to safely lower your blood sugar. Diabetes and High Blood Pressure are the Number One and Number Two most common causes of Chronic Kidney Disease. In general, a healthy lifestyle and healthy diet will help your CKD:

1) Avoid alcohol (if you're a heavy drinker)

2) Stop smoking (if you smoke)

3) Exercise

4) Lose weight (if that applies)

5) Eat a healthy diet (see a renal dietician)

6) Get plenty of sleep (get treated for sleep apnea if you have it)

7) Reduce stress/meditate (stress raises both blood sugar and blood pressure)

8) Get a lipid profile done to see if you need to lower your cholesterol

9) See a nephrologist regularly to monitor your disease if you have CKD

10) Avoid street drugs and certain over-the-counter medicines such as NSAIDS which can cause kidney damage

11) If your doctor doesn't know what caused your kidney damage, get a biopsy done

12) Stay well hydrated with purified water (no heavy metals or toxins which can cause kidney damage)

Hope this helps,

Steve

[miketrial]

Yes, a plant-based diet will help slow the progression of kidney disease. I've been a vegan for 15 years, and a vegetarian before that. My nephrologist said I would have probably gone into kidney failure a long time ago if not for my diet. (unfortunately now I am on PD home dialysis.)

Scientific research has shown that animal protein is especially hard on the kidneys. And type 2 Diabetes can often be reversed by a plant based diet (its the saturated fat, not the sugar, that caused type 2 Diabetes (and the American diet is causing an epidemic in obesity, Diabetes, and kidney disease) See Dr Barnard, "Reversing Diabetes", and his organization PCRM.org. Also, DrMcDougall.com, Engine2Diet.com, ForksOverKnives.com.