The nutritional needs of the patient also vary according to the different stages of kidney disease. In addition to kidney disease, other diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol increase the difference in nutritional needs. Therefore, according to the advice of nutritionists, a complete diet and nutrition information is absolutely necessary for the kidney patient. So today’s discussion is about nutritious food for kidney patients.
The main purpose of the kidney patient diet is,
★1. Reducing the amount of kidney failure in the patient
★2. Maintaining the acid-base balance of the body
★3. To help maintain electrolyte balance
★4. Above all to control the waste and fluid in the blood
★5. Reducing the workload of the kidneys.
When preparing a diet, care must be taken to ensure that the patient receives adequate nutrition and calories if he or she is not overweight. Calorie needs need to be met from sugary and fatty foods. Unsaturated fats should be included in the diet to keep blood cholesterol levels right. Kidney patients usually have limitations in their diet.
Since meat increases the amount of nitrogen waste in our body which in turn increases the pressure on the kidneys. Excess water in the body and is needed to control hypertension. It is also important to control potassium in the diet which helps to prevent hyperkalemia (high levels of potassium in the blood). Kidney patients have high levels of potassium in their blood. Foods high in potassium include spinach, tomatoes, bananas, peas, beans, pulses, potatoes, red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bananas, oranges, jackfruits, pomegranates, etc. Therefore, these foods should be taken in limited quantities by the kidney patient. However, in some stages of treatment, the level of potassium in the blood of the kidney patient may be reduced excessively. In that case, it should be brought in the right amount with high potassium rich food. However, it must be noted that excess potassium in the blood can lead the patient to cardiac arrest. End-stage renal disease patients should not use any salt substitutes. This is because potassium is used instead of sodium in alternative foods to salt. Excess phosphate rich foods such as milk and dairy foods, meat, fish meal etc. need to be taken in limited quantities by the kidney patient. Anaemia can occur in most kidney patients. In this case, the food list should include a lot of iron and vitamin-C foods. In addition, if there is a deficiency of vitamin D, B, calcium etc. in the body, the diet should be rehabilitated to make up for it.
★Dialysis patient’s food needs
Dialysis patients need to have some extra non-vegetarian foods in their diet. Potassium deficiency is usually present in the diet of dialysis patients. When preparing a diet for a dialysis kidney patient, it is usually written ’80-3-3′, which means 80 grams of protein, 3 grams of potassium and 3 grams of sodium daily. However, we need to keep in mind that diarrhea, vomiting, fever, etc., can increase the body’s need for sodium. So we have to be more aware of these issues.