More dietary stuff: I have been reading the... - Kidney Disease

Kidney Disease

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More dietary stuff

OldTownhammock profile image
34 Replies

I have been reading the hull food guide. He recommends using Rice Dream as milk substitute. Shopping today i could not find any that wasn't sweetened . Later today looking at my Nutrition action magazine I saw where they did not recommend rice milk, actually said to a void it because it soaks up arsenic much more than the others. I wonder if the new milks were not available when he was writing.

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OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock
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34 Replies
Bassetmommer profile image
BassetmommerNKF Ambassador

I am not a fan of Lee Hull at all. His main goal is to sell his supplements. I use almond milk and almond creamer. Love it, no additives, not sweetened.

orangecity41 profile image
orangecity41NKF Ambassador in reply toBassetmommer

I also use Almond Milk as a milk substitute. On my diet I can only have 1/2 cup of dairy a day. I also use soy milk sometimes.

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply toBassetmommer

I have been using soy for a milk and creamer substitute and I like oat milk also. I do not like Hull either but his food guide isn't all bad if you ignore his pushy demands that you buy his stuff.

in reply toBassetmommer

Almond Milk is quite high in oxyalates, if you've had kidney stones you should avoid it and all nut milks. Be very careful with consumption of the nuts as well.

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply to

Luckily I have ot had that problem

in reply toOldTownhammock

Lucky you! 😃

orangecity41 profile image
orangecity41NKF Ambassador in reply to

Thankfully no kidney stones .

Blackknight1989 profile image
Blackknight1989 in reply toBassetmommer

Spot on as usual Bassetmommer. Plus, without continual updates, his recommendations become out-dated especially now as research has picked up significantly.

in reply toBlackknight1989

He has a new book, released last year, that my Nephrologist mentioned at my last appointment.

VeganNan profile image
VeganNan

Rice milk is naturally sweet anyway, thats why I don’t like it. . I use Soya or Oat milk.

Same, I appreciate the diet info but ignore the pushing of Albutrix. I couldn't afford it anyway. However, I am on a VLP diet, my Renal Dietician it set up for me, and it's pretty close to the Lee Hull diet sans keto analogues (I get to eat more oils and occasional bread)

I looked in the archives and there used to be a fellow who post here who followed Lee Hull, he seemed very knowledgeable and on top of new treatments, I haven't ever seen a post from him, but if you want to look up some info his username was Skeptix I believe.

From reading his posts he seemed to be the Lee Hull expert in this community.

I post on a few other CKD forums, and there are plenty of people who swear by his diet; not everyone hates the guy. There is some useful information in his book.

Oh, and hey sell both kinds of Rice Dream at my grocery store, but I prefer Oat Milk. Not sure about the arsenic thing, I used to use Rice dream all the time until I discovered the deliciousness of Oat Milk.

Marvin8 profile image
Marvin8 in reply to

Skeptix and KidneyGuy left a real vacuum when they stopped visiting this site. Very much missed. I think if follow Hull's advice to a t, you'll end up lossing a lot of weight and muscle mass. There is no great solution. Oh, and I drink Oat Milk. Gave up the rice milk and the almond milk (high in oxalates).

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply toMarvin8

I have never drank either. I like soy milk, creamer, and yogurt. Thanks.

in reply toMarvin8

They both left a lot of info in the archives. I have read most of it, although I can see why they left, I would have as well. Skeptix had a lot of leading edge info and he posted some great articles, it's a shame he's gone.

I've lost some weight following the diet, but so far I am still holding muscle, like I said in my post I don't follow it to a T, but since it's similar to the diet my Dietician gave me I thought I would give it a try, and since my gfr went up so much I'm attempting to stick with it.

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply to

I don't want to lose any more weight

Bassetmommer profile image
BassetmommerNKF Ambassador in reply to

Curious why you think that Kidney Guy and Skeptix left?

Darlenia profile image
Darlenia in reply toBassetmommer

Skeptix found a new job which was keeping him very busy; I'm not sure what happened to Kidney Guy. He seemed to like camping and volunteering, so he might have found a new gig too.

in reply toBassetmommer

I have no idea because I wasn't here, but given some of the responses they received here when posting new and timely information on CKD, I would have not wasted my breath anymore. I found him, (Skeptix) he posts on another forum now.

Sca1 profile image
Sca1

I guess it depends why you would avoid regular milk. I think all the other milks ( oat, non dairy) have high potassium levels, as does regular milk. So, I avoid all milks except for small amounts at times.

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply toSca1

I am avoiding it bc its on the list from my doctor

Oat milk is high in potassium. Almond milk is the best substitute.

Marvin8 profile image
Marvin8 in reply to

Those who are prone to kidney stones should avoid almond products due to their high oxalate levels.

in reply to

I've never had an issue with my potassium, it has always been on the low side.

Marvin8 profile image
Marvin8 in reply to

It's all relative, I guess. One cup is about 20% of the recommended max...depending on your serum levels.

Darlenia profile image
Darlenia

If you're a diabetic, Rice Milk will almost certainly raise your blood sugars and speed the collapse of your kidneys. No rice product should be on a diabetics dietary list. They all spike deadly sugars, I have found none with a low glycemic index.

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply toDarlenia

I have never tasted rice milk. I was curious. I like soy milk but I use very little except the creamer. I'm trying to settle on a diet but I keep getting conflicting info, ie: no beans esp black beans. Then I see recipes in some code books for black beans. It has been suggested that I get a renL dietician, my GP says he doesn't know if any. Flying blind. I have one kidney efgr 34 so I don't feel like I can mess around. I am pre diabetic, slender, and a little frustrated. No whole wheat bread?

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply toOldTownhammock

Code =CKD

Darlenia profile image
Darlenia in reply toOldTownhammock

I feel for you. There are lots of moving pieces to the puzzle, that's for sure. When you have one kidney, a eGFR in the 50s is acceptable since not all single kidneys enlarge and completely take over the functions of the other. Then, eGFR often fluctuates based on hydration, exercise, etc. so that value may improve at your next appointment depending on any changes you may make there. Also, eGFR can plummet due to illness, etc. and bounce back later. So eGFR is a bit unreliable to judge dietary needs. A better way to figure things out is to look at your your labs, particularly re your electrolytes such as iron, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, etc - if they fall inside the normal limits, you likely won't have many, if any, dietary changes to make. While you can check the labs yourself, I suggest returning to your team (perhaps another primary doctor) and asking him/her to also review your labs with you and offer suggestions, including follow up care by a dietician or nutritionist if needed. Humans are all so different in composition. One diet plan or food product simply can't be applied to all. Crossing my fingers that you'll find direction soon.

OldTownhammock profile image
OldTownhammock in reply toDarlenia

Thanks. My egfr went up to 2 last year while in the hospital with a rare tick born disease also my creatinine and my numbers went down slowly over 6 months. Since my electrolytes are in the high normal range I think I will be able to manage with diet.

kellyscats1 profile image
kellyscats1 in reply toDarlenia

Please reaize rice mik is certainly not deadly..being a diebetic... there are no deadly foods..it is the total amund of carbs you consume... the insulin you take and the exercise you get....Count the carbs and add it into yout daily totals...Arsenic is poison... not rice lol

Darlenia profile image
Darlenia in reply tokellyscats1

I'm a spouse to a man who thought the same way - there are no deadly foods. And so I watched him go through kidney disease, kidney failure, dialysis, transplant, and more. I see new issues coming up now - all diabetes initiated. It's indeed the type of food you eat that spikes your blood. There are foods that are essentially all carbs. The exclusive role of carbs is to provide the body with glucose. In a diabetic person, that glucose narrows and stiffens the vessels throughout the body, including the filtration vessels in your kidneys. That's why diabetics have higher incidences of poor wound healing, amputations, kidney failure, cardiac events, blindness, and more - their condition affects the entire body. When I witness my hubby chowing down a baked potato or a plate of rice, his glucose level rises tremendously high - far higher than for nondiabetics. And that rise is nearly immediate. (I know, because he wears a sensor continuously reporting his numbers.) So, did that spike hurt his organs? It certainly didn't make them happy. Sure, the total number of carbs might be okay on paper after he stops eating them the rest of the day, but that spike was damaging. So, according to our doctor and in our experience, there are truly foods that are completely off the table for diabetics. (His doctor even reprimanded him for scarfing down a daily banana.) So, we have learned this lesson in a very direct and a very painful way. As our dialysis center told us that "Nearly everyone here are diabetics." Please, if you're a diabetic, please stay away from foods that spike your glucose levels. Your life depends on it.

kellyscats1 profile image
kellyscats1 in reply toDarlenia

sorry about your husbnd. I am a mom of two diabtics. Type one and also educated diabetics and quite scientifially informed. Anyone can over eat anythig and every one is different. Please relize that now dys the diet for a young educate diabetic is quite different from what they taught old people years go. manging diabetes with oral meds os very different from using insulin and in the end it is how mny carbs you eat and how much you burn. A piece if cake is not poison to the diabetic.. but you see how mny carbs you eat and if necessary give up something else... and if you want more freedom go to insulin and a CGM.. continour glocuse monitor. sitting you back side not burnig calories is bad...times have changed and you are quit out dated...our health is made up of a lot of variables...sugar is not poison.. asnecic is..

Darlenia profile image
Darlenia in reply tokellyscats1

Well...I'm living this today so my information is very current and up-to-date. We already use CGM and insulin - yet, they are not substitutes for healthy living. Please note that the word "poison" is your word choice, not mine. I prefer the words "off the table" or "stay away", etc. Nevertheless, in our society, everyone can live and make decisions that fit their views. I truly wish you the very best in your outcomes.

kellyscats1 profile image
kellyscats1 in reply toDarlenia

I agree.. when your hubby chowed dow on baked potatoes and rice... of course his blood sugar went up and it is the high blood sugars that damage the kidneys... not what they eat... the amount and often resusal of so many people not to check their blood sugars 5 times a day as they should.. Newly young people diagnosed with diabgetes are taught to moniter their blood sugars for good control...overeating foods that raise blood sugars is of course dentrimental...count the carbs.. all carbs turn to sugar.. not rocket cience...some raise it faster than others but al raise blood sugars...fat does not have that effect but not great on cardiovascular sustem and protein raises it less but harder on kidneys...jSome people do not check their blood sugars.. now there are continuous glucose monitors that give real time blood sugars... and i wish you well also

I am lucky.. I am not a diabetic like my son...and my died who was on dialysis was not diabetic either..all the best... and if on a CGM maintaining healthy evels iss much easier than years gone by...cant make up for 40 yers of bad food choces ... or smoking or any of the other thigs we did... and the remember past certain age something will ge us all.. enjoy the spring....and sunshine

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