Chronic kidney disease: Changing your diet
Why should you follow a diet for chronic kidney disease?
What you eat has a major impact on the health of your kidneys. Protein, sodium, fluids, and certain minerals are especially important.
- When protein breaks down in your body, it forms waste products. When you have kidney disease, the kidneys have trouble getting rid of waste products. Eating more protein than your body can handle can make you very sick.
- Sodium helps you keep the right balance of fluids in your body. When you have kidney disease, your kidneys have trouble clearing extra sodium from your body. Eating too much sodium can cause fluids to build up.
- Healthy kidneys flush excess fluids from your body. When you have kidney disease, your kidneys have trouble getting rid of extra fluids. The extra fluid can raise your blood pressure and force your heart to work harder.
- Healthy kidneys keep the right balance of minerals such as phosphorus and potassium in the blood. When you have kidney disease, you may need to keep track of these minerals in your diet so you don't get either too much or too little.
A dietitian can help you make an eating plan that provides the nutrients you need but limits ones that can cause problems. Following your eating plan can reduce the workload of your kidneys and help you stay healthy longer.
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| Author: | Jeannette Curtis | Last Updated: November 13, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine D.C. Mendelssohn, MD, FRCPC - Nephrology | |
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