Until the time comes when you receive an individualized diet plan from a dietitian, here are some general guidelines to follow for a renal diet:
Use fruits and vegetables are low in potassium, they are good choices to use. One fruit serving is 1 medium fruit or 1/2 cup canned. One vegetable serving is 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup tossed salad.
Use potatoes cautiously, limit baked potatoes (1 medium) or French fries (15 fries) to once a week. Limit mashed potatoes (soaked and boiled) to 1/2 cup a day. Noodles or rice are other choices that are lower in potassium than potatoes.
Be advised that chocolate is high in potassium and should also be avoided.
When eating out follow these rules:
Sodium restrictions are paramount. It is literally impossible to take in no sodium, because that's an element found in so many foods, but it is possible to limit the amount in a diet. First, obviously high sodium foods must be eliminated. These include cured meats (ham, sausage, bacon, corned beef, and the like), most cheeses, "fast" foods, pickles, bouillon cubes, soy sauce, and most Chinese or oriental foods. Sodium hides in most commercially prepared foods, too; because salt is such a good preservative, it's used in packaging materials for cereal, bread, baking mixes, and most canned vegetables. This makes fresh food a wiser choice. Some canned foods, such as vegetables, flaked fish or shellfish, poultry or meats, can be sodium-reduced by rinsing thoroughly. Place the food in a colander, rinse under running water for one full minute, and drain until all moisture is gone. Even though it feels like a lot has been eliminated from diet choices (yes, pizza is tough to work into a low sodium eating plan) there are a myriad of ways to prepare delicious meals without high sodium content.
Fluids must be restricted. Your physician will set a limit for you, somewhere between four and eight cups maximum per day. Fluid is defined as anything that melts at room temperature, so in addition to water and juices, you must count ice cream, gelatin desserts, sherbet, and watermelon.
Potassium counts, too, and it's harder to control for several reasons. You can't taste it, like you can salt, it's not a required item to be listed in the nutritional contents of packaged food, and it's in many foods. The highest potassium amounts are found in nuts, avocados, potatoes, winter squash including pumpkin, oranges, kiwi, peaches, apricots, and anything dried - fruits, beans and lentils. Low potassium foods, safest to include frequently in a renal patient's diet, include applesauce, black berries, grapes, tangerines, canned pears and plums; asparagus, green or waxed beans, corn, cauliflower, cucumbers, water chestnuts, and summer squash. Juices such as apple, cranberry, lemonade, grape, and fruit-flavoured drinks are okay; just remember to count them in your fluid total for the day.
Protein plays an important role in the diet of any kidney patient. For those who are pre-dialysis, the amount must be limited to conserve kidney strength. After dialysis begins, however, protein needs to make up the major portion of the patient's menu, and the guideline will be set as a minimum, rather than a maximum amount per day, as much as 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. The physician will determine the recommended amount for each person, depending on their over all health and their specific needs.
Phosphorous begins to be a consideration once dialysis begins, also. Foods to avoid based upon phosphorous content are dairy products, whole grains, bran and barley, nuts, coconut, figs and dates, raisins, salmon, sardines, oysters, and organ meats. Cola drinks are also high in phosphorous, but soft drinks that are light coloured (7-Up and Sprite, club soda) are fine. Meat, poultry, fish and eggs are high in phosphorous, but are still an important part of the dialysis patient's diet because of the protein content; they should not be limited. Because of the importance of limiting the amount of phosphorous in the blood stream, physicians will usually prescribe a "phosphate binder", such as Tums, to be taken in prescribed doses with each meal.
While it seems like an inordinate amount of food has been eliminated from a wise menu plan for persons with renal failure, it is possible to have a healthy and delicious variety of food every day. A daily plan based on the amount of protein recommended for the individual patient, complemented by fresh, low-potassium fruits and vegetables and supplemented by low salt snacks, not only tastes wonderful, but is worth the effort in the life-saving health benefits achieved.
