Renal Diet- What Do I Do?
Your doctor just became the bearer of bad news – only a small percentage of your kidney function remains. Informed that your kidneys are slowing down and are soon to fail, you sit and wonder if a normal life will still be possible. Your doctor says it is possible. A lengthy discussion follows, where your doctor calmly discusses the regular dialysis sessions you'll now need to arrange, the list of medications you'll now need to take, and the renal diet you'll now need to stick to. The fear of the unknown quickly sets in as you wonder, "How will I adopt (and afford) all these new changes? What will I have to give up? Will I ever get to enjoy tasty food again?"
Even the most determined and informed patients find the renal diet to be a challenge next to impossible. It may seem like your food choices have narrowed down to almost nothing. Finding a balance between all the requirements and restrictions is a task even dietitians (the professionals!) consider challenging. What is allowed? What isn't allowed? What is allowed in small quantities?
"What can I eat?"
It's the question the majority of new renal patients ask. A renal diet is tricky. There's a laundry list of restrictions, especially when it comes to sodium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, and fluid intake. Patients on dialysis have additional nutrient restrictions than patients not on dialysis treatment. To complicate matters, other health problems (diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease) create more restrictions and guidelines that need to be followed. For example, take a renal patient with heart problems. As if the nutrient restrictions aren't enough, he also has to make sure his diet is low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
The main principles of a renal diet are as follows:
• Sodium is limited as much as possible to prevent thirst, fluid retention, and increased high blood pressure. Herbs and spices become a renal patient's new best friend.
• Phosphorus is another problematic nutrient that needs to be limited. This may sound counter-intuitive since notions of a healthy diet include the idea of eating foods high in vitamins and minerals. As kidney function deterioriates, phosphorus levels easily increase to abnormally high levels, which can create serious bone and heart problems.
Some foods that fall in this category are ice cream, chocolate, beer, cola, or processed meats and cheeses. These are foods we'd normally restrict to eat healthy. The tricky part is that many foods we know to be part of a healthy diet, such as beans and peas, nuts and nut butters, seeds, whole grains, or dairy products, are problematic when it comes to phosphorus.
• Patients on hemodialysis have to be extra careful about potassium. Our classic favorites – bananas, oranges, or tomatoes – need to be limited or avoided, depending on the stage of disease. Excessive blood levels of potassium increase a patient's risk of cardiac arrest.
• Protein. We need it for growth, repair, and maintenance of our bodies. It helps us fight infections, heal from wounds, and supplies our bodies with energy. Protein can be tricky for people with kidney disease. Protein creates waste products that the failing kidneys have a hard time filtering. This can lead to nausea, vomiting, weakness, itching, and loss of appetite. Depending on the stage of kidney disease, patients need to closely monitor and follow personal protein restrictions.
Patients on dialysis, however, have higher protein needs since the dialysis machine removes all the protein wastes for them. A high protein diet helps dialysis patients replace amino acids that may be lost during dialysis.
"Must I Sacrifice Taste?"
Even after having all restrictions in check, most renal patients end up with a bland, tasteless, dull meal. Must taste be sacrificed though?
Absolutely not. A meal can still taste good after reducing or eliminating salt, sugar, fat, or other ingredients. The secret is replacing these ingredients with flavorful substitutions. Creativity is essential. Break the wheel of monotony and keep your meals exciting with the unending list of herbs, spices, and other sources of low-sodium flavor, such as lemon juice, garlic, onion, black pepper, cumin, oregano, basil, rosemary, or lime zest. The list goes on. Any of these can be used to make tasty dips, spreads, sauces, or marinades.
Tasty Renal Meals? Mission Accomplished.
It is possible to use "renal diet meals" and "delicious" in the same sentence. The chefs and nutritionists of Renal Meals (renaldiet.net) have successfully met the challenge of creating creative, complex, and tasty meals that fit the guidelines of renal diets for both dialysis and non-dialysis patients. Meals such as chicken enchilada, turkey chili, and ravioli are available for dialysis patients.
For non-dialysis patients, this team of creative chefs and nutritionists created complex, savory, renal-friendly meals such as barley beef stew, lasagna, cheese manicotti, cod, chicken marsala, basil beef, barbeque chicken, and braised brisket.
Between exhausting dialysis sessions, frequent doctor visits, and an overwhelming diet plan, renal patients have plenty of responsibilities to deal with. Renal diet delivery services can help lighten the load even for one meal a day, such as dinner. Patients from all ages can benefit, from a busy student to a senior who may not want to rely on others for tasty, renal-friendly meals.
Are you planning on having a friend or family member with renal disease over for dinner? Many friends and family members hesitate because of all the diet restrictions. It may be time to consider ordering a meal from a renal diet delivery service.