Dialysis: Kidney Nutrition
Proper kidney nutrition is an important part of maintaining health while undergoing treatment for renal disease, including dialysis. For dialysis patients, specifically, the first and foremost concern should be eating enough calories. The dialysis procedure is physically demanding, so patients need to keep their strength up by eating sufficient amounts of healthy foods.
Kidney Nutrition Basics
More specific kidney nutrition involves avoiding eating certain food items that create an extra load on the kidneys. For instance, most diets for kidney disease patients limits the intake of sodium, potassium, and phosphate. Fluid intake is also important to monitor to avoid either extremes of water retention or dehydration.
Excess sodium intake can cause patients water retention in the hands and feet. This water retention can, in turn, increase the risk of symptoms such as heart failure, pulmonary edema and high blood pressure. By avoiding this high blood pressure, patients can avoid having to take medications, which further tax the kidneys.
Secondly, potassium-rich salt substitutes and certain potassium-rich fruits and vegetables should be also avoided to prevent getting too much of this electrolyte, which can cause irregular heartbeats. Thirdly, high phosphate levels in the blood should be avoided by limiting milk, cheese, meat, chicken and fish consumption. Additional sources of kidney nutrition information can be found in various sources on the Web. One resource that is especially important is a listing of various kidney-friendly recipes online. These allow patients to eat delicious healthy foods without endangering their health.