Successful diet to manage CKD

[citruskayaker]

By changing to a mostly vegan/vegetarian diet I may have stopped CKD progression. Having read several books on CKD, I was most motivated by one called "Stopping Kidney Disease" by Lee Hull. I have no affiliation with this author. His research led to a suggested low protein vegetarian/vegan diet before it was recently adopted by the NKF.

As a CKD (in my case stage 3b), excess protein is a problem. Most people in the US get excess protein that impaired kidneys cannot process. This creates wastes in the bloodstream. The type of protein makes a huge difference with red meat being the worst. By giving up all meats (including beef, poultry, pork and lamb) and giving up eggs, dairy and fried foods, I have improved my kidney function. I still eat fish and whole grain cereals with almond milk. My protein comes from fish, beans and rice, legumes and vegetables. My eGFR has improved from about 34 to 50 which means I now have about 50% kidney function. My BUN has vastly improved as well as Creatinine. Awesome!

All this was accomplished in about 3 months of hard work with the guidance of a skilled dietician, I have also cut my salt and sugar intake as much as possible. No alcohol or sodas. Ultimately, you must commit to making changes yourself and resist temptations to "cheat" on your new lifetime diet because once you start cheating it leads to a breakdown. Only 10-15% of people who try this succeed. I will be one of them.

Diabetics have special needs and cannot eat rice, pasta and potatoes as I do, but veggies and fruits benefit most people and the American diet is basically unhealthy with excess salt and sugar and saturated fats. Eating healthy is expensive, but organic foods eliminate pesticides from items like strawberries and celery. My experience is that fructose and stevia are better processed and far less harmful than sugar or corn syrup.

Quality of life is more important than longevity for me and I will do all I can to avoid dialysis.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Good for you on your diet. Many people are discovering how important it is to learn about what goes into the mouth and the impact on the body. It is a lifestyle change. It also can be overwhelming at first especially if you never have had to "diet". I too am plant-based but I do have my cheats. And my labs are stable.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador]

Good you also have a dietitian to help you.

[citruskayaker in reply to orangecity41]

Thanks. A dietician is critical and each person has different comorbidities so diet has to be tailored to each individual.

[Bet117 NKF Ambassador in reply to citruskayaker]

Absolutely. Each person is different with different health needs and tastes; making this a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

[Bet117 NKF Ambassador]

Fantastic news! Agree that diet and quantities consumed impacts better health.

I have been plant- based as well for years. Don't miss the junk and my labs are stable!

Glad that you took the time to share.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador]

When I was diagnosed with PKD, CKD there were no diets or food preferences to delay progression of CKD. Even 20 years later no dietitians were available for delays for pre dialysis patients. I think the availability of dietitians and nephrologists advising plant based diets are fairly new. Back then we were restricted to going to library, reading reference books. My nephrologist encouraged me to use the medical library in the hospital where I worked. There was no internet so information was slow and difficult. I bought a medical dictionary and a medical terminology book to help myself. Doctors were impressed at my understanding and ability to use medical terminology but it was most beneficial in my own personal journey of 44 years of CKD. Blessings

[RonZone in reply to KidneyCoach]

Ok, just saw this one. You are so right. I remember asking my doc years ago, should I make any changes to my diet etc? He said "nope". Nothing you can do for PKD. And that was the end of the discussion. And he didn't suggest any reading material So he was never impressed with any knowledge I may have, cause I didn't have any! I'm 68 and I'm sure I've had this for years and years before I was accidentally diagnosed. But back then, you didn't want the diagnosis cause if you ever changed jobs, there was a chance you couldn't get insurance. So us PKD people were in a catch 22 situation back then. But even 2 years ago when I first heard of "CKD dietitian" my doc said, "Oh you get one of those once you're on dialysis", and that was the end of that discussion. I was not happy about that either.

[citruskayaker in reply to RonZone]

So most renal dieticians are paid by companies doing dialysis. And they won't refer you to one unless you become their patient. How messed up is that? My dietician is a retired nutritional college professor with a PHD. I was lucky to find him, but it helped that with enough research, I was ready to make permanent changes. A program tracking diet really helped as we set goals nutritional goals including protein, potassium, salt, sugar and phosphorus as well as total calories and exercise. For me, with the exception of fish, having a vegetarian diet is the key to my health.

[citruskayaker in reply to KidneyCoach]

44 years is amazing. Most funding goes to dialysis, so help for pre-dialysis patients is not the priority it should be. 20% of all Medicaid funds are spent on dialysis. At least there is some hope for xenobiological transplants since 2 genetically modified pig kidneys were transplanted to humans and not rejected.

[FThomp in reply to citruskayaker]

I agree this is good news and I hope it ends a lot of pain and suffering in the world but I can’t help but think this new breakthrough will just be the new dialysis for the new generation of ckd treatment. I wish there was more of a focus on preventative measures and importance of diet. My kids will learn how important diet is from me and they will probably be annoyed but I’d rather that then the alternative.

[citruskayaker in reply to FThomp]

You are spot on about the focus. However we need to be open to all options to facilitate quality of life. Only a handful of people will adopt a major diet change because many are self-indulgent and not willing to "sacrifice" their lifestyle. In cases like CKD and diabetes, the damage is done behind the scenes until it catches up with you. For example, many CKD patients die of heart disease so you need to treat the body as a whole vs one condition. Dialysis is a timed death sentence for the majority of patients who end up there.

[FThomp in reply to citruskayaker]

Yep, it seems like the only people who have a decent quality of life on it are those who avoid heart disease or were otherwise healthy

[Sophiebun11]

That's great news!!! And just think of all the lovely innocent animals you have saved. I've been a vegetarian/vegan since I was 10 years old. I think how much worse my CKD would be otherwise.

Your new diet will be great for your entire body, heart and circulation, not just your CKD.

I don't follow anyone's diet, I just eat what I like that I'm not allergic to, that is vegan or vegetarian. I don't wear any leather or use any animal products but that's not a step you may be ready to take.

It's wonderful that so many people are starting to follow vegetarian/vegan diets due to health reasons if not their repulsion for factory farming. Whatever the reason, it's great for nature and for those doing it.

🐇🐇🐇❄️🐇🐇🐇

[citruskayaker in reply to Sophiebun11]

Your enthusiasm is joyful as is your passion on these issues.

The standard American diet is extremely unhealthy and a big part of that is meats, processed foods and fried foods all laden with excess salt in restaurants and canned goods. It's interesting that we can grow meats including beef, chicken, pork, lamb and fish in controlled labs providing optimal nutrients to make them grow from animal cells. Several companies are developing this technology. It would be great to reduce the meat "factories". One of the biggest pollutants of our water systems is runoff from animal farms. Let's not forget what methane does to our critical ozone layer and global warming.

[Aloha49]

want to also share that I am finding in my recent research from a PKD dietician and a PKD diet, is that a PKD plant based diet is different from a CKD plant based diet. PKD cysts grow from bad oxalate management and poor urine pH management plus citrate levels and a few other things. So, I am starting with a plant base diet and then perhaps modifying to slow the growth of cysts. I am learning more this coming week about PKD diet specific. Anyone else hear more about PKD plant based diets that may use a modified keto diet too? Thank you, BB

[citruskayaker in reply to Aloha49]

Very true. Each person's diet must be adapted to their specific case or conditions. That is why you made a very smart choice finding a qualified expert to help you.

[RonZone in reply to Aloha49]

Hey, its a tad late for me to hear about a PKD specific diet, but I'd sure like to pass it along to m son who is in his late 30's. Got links the explain all of this stuff you just mentioned? "Bad oxalate management and poor union PD management.... etc." I would LOVE to pass that along to my son. Along with anything else you learn about.

[Aloha49 in reply to RonZone]

Sure. I just learned about thePKDdietician.com and kidneyrd.com, both giving access to PKD specific diets and great info on what causes the cysts and how to reduce kidney stressors. New for me and consulting with kidneyrd dietician Tues to find out more. Kidneyrd dietician adds into a plant based diet, a modified keto diet but need to learn more. Will let you know more as I learn more. Take care RonZone, BB

[RonZone in reply to Aloha49]

Hey, thanks! I will check these out during lunch break from work today and this week. yeah, let me know what the dietician adds to what you already know.

[RoxanneKidney]

Good for you!!! Thanks!

[ashanean]

Thank you for this.

[ashanean]

i read that vook

[RoxanneKidney]

ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386...

[Hidden]

Since a child I've never been able to live on processed food (intolerances/allergies), love vegies and meat.

Due to moderate ckd I have significantly reduced red meat consumption, eating more chicken instead.

However, in three months, my iron dropped from 16 umol/L (5-30) to 7 umol/L.

-And that's while taking my usual daily Maltofer iron tablet (Iron polymaltose 370mg equivalent to 100mg of elemental iron per tablet).

Who knows what level my iron will be on my next test.

Some of us have bodies that struggle to retain iron and need (not necessarily want) red meat.

[Hidden]

I agree with you regarding reduction in salt and sugar. But Stevia?? -Tried that years ago and it was disgusting!!!

[Pisces49]

good for you. Keep up the great work

[Pdove2]

Can you share the name of your dietician?