Mathea Ford's Blog, page 63
February 25, 2018
Renal Diet Podcast 082: The Importance of Exercise for CKD Patients
The Importance of Exercise for CKD PatientsPodcast #82 Released on February 26, 2018
I want to talk about the importance of exercise for people with chronic kidney disease and I think it’s really important to understand that there are some simple things that you can do that can increase the amount of exercise you have and you do in your life and then over time you can build up to a little more.
When you’re diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, usually you have a few other issues going on. May have some heart problems, you may have diabetes, you may have high blood pressure so any of those things means that you need to talk to your doctor first before you begin any sort of exercise program. So, don’t take this podcast or live as a license to go exercise without talking to your doctor.
Now, if your doctor has told you to start exercising then that start definitely something that you should do. If you aren’t active, make sure you talk to your doctor.
I also attach to the article that I’ve put in the link renaldiethq.com/importance-exercise-CKD-patients.
I want to just talk about exercise first in general because it’s a really important concept and you might not think that it makes that much difference or maybe you think it makes a lot of difference but you just can’t do it. But the thing is you can, as long as your doctor says it’s okay it’s going to benefit you in a lot of ways. One of the main things that I’ve found that it does is it reduces your fatigue.
Exercising even just a small amount and building up it reduces your fatigue. If you’re tired at the end of the day, doing a little exercise which may seem counter intuitive; doing a little exercise is going to change the way you feel at the end of the day and you’re not going to be as tired. It’ll take a week or so for that to start happening but if you continue it that you will see it happen. It helps with weight management. Exercise helps lower your blood sugar, it helps lower your blood pressure, it helps with weight management, it burns off calories that your body has stored over time for you and the form of fat or other compounds in your body so exercise helps with weight management.
If you’re already at a healthy weight, exercise helps you again in many other ways like lowering your blood pressure. Making your heart work a little harder and then relaxing on a regular basis is something that is amazing for your blood pressure, your body learns to recover, your body learns how to manage that stress that you’re creating and it learns how to speed up “Okay, I need a little more heart blood pressure” and then slow down when you are done exercising so your body adjusts much more quickly when you’re doing that in real life. Say, your doctor just tells you some bad news or something. Yes, your heart’s going race for a minute but then it’s going to recover. Just makes it a lot easier for you to recover and it also improves your blood pressure level which is always good for people with kidney disease.
Exercise can reduce anxiety and depression. It may seem like why would I do that or maybe I’m not depressed maybe I don’t feel anxiety maybe you do but what it does is it releases hormones into your body and then your body learns how to manage those better so you won’t feel like if you have anxiety because your body suddenly you know had a feeling that something was wrong, released some of those hormones that were used in the fight-or-flight response and they caused some anxiety then your body if you’re exercising you’re doing that on a more regular basis so your body manages that better. Also with depression you release some good feel feeling hormones in your body with exercise which improves your mood.
In a 2014 study by the American Society of Nephrology, they found that 12 months
of exercise based rehab significantly slowed the rate of kidney function decline and improved cardio respiratory fitness compared with just regular standard care.
Walking is the best exercise. You can get started without any equipment, you can just go outside, you can take your dog for a walk, you can take yourself for a walk, you can go with family member – all those things can help but get some walking in.
Another option is swimming. Swimming is very low impact almost no impact and it supports your body weight so it helps you to get moving and it’s a very gentle exercise and it doesn’t like you’re not sweating, you’re not getting hot and overworked. It’s a very beneficial exercise and it’s good for your whole body workout.
Some tips when you’re exercising with kidney disease. You don’t want to overdo it so you want to definitely do the amount that your body can handle. You want to work up to it slowly. Remember that it’s it’s a long-term plan. Marathon runner does not star
t by running 26 miles. They start running, walking, running, walking you know kind of a mixture. Start with ten minutes a day if you can manage 10 minutes a day for a month, you’re going to be so much better off than if you had said “I don’t have time to do 30 minutes I can’t even do any,” you can do 10 minutes. Just do 10 minutes. Stand in your kitchen while you’re making food and march and just try to march for 10 minutes so that’s an idea – a good idea.
Pay attention to your breathing. I’m talking kind of fast and I’m getting a little bit out of breath but when you’re exercising you should be able to still talk to the person that you’re working out with or just speak in a normal tone especially in the beginning. If you’re panting or you can’t get more than a few words out, you might need to slow down because you’re doing too much.
Schedule your exercise. Add a good time so don’t exercise right after you eat a large meal and don’t exercise usually within about an hour of going to bed just because it works your body up and it she not to be able asleep very well. But if you’re planning on your exercise then you know people would say “what’s the best time to exercise?” It’s when you’ll do it. If you are in the house and you’re eating lunch and you can march for 10 minutes do it then. If you’re able to get up in the morning and do it early and before you go to work or before you start your day, that’s a great time. Just work it in. If you’re going to do it outside, make sure you’re not doing it in the hot part of the day just be very careful because you’re very susceptible to heat stroke and those types of problems.
Watch your fluid intake. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. If you have a limit on the amount of fluid, you definitely want to talk to your doctor about how to handle that but most of the time with exercise you’re gonna want to drink a little more have a little more liquid to help your body recover better. Keep in mind your limits and what you’re supposed to do but do try to drink plenty of fluids.
Wear appropriate clothing. Wear comfortable clothing, light-colored clothing if you’re outside and breathable materials, comfortable shoes, don’t wear your Birkenstocks on a walk which I would do but wear tennis shoes, wear shoes that are going to support your feet, wear comfortable clothes. If you wear comfortable clothes most the time just make sure you put your shoes on and go for that 10-minute walk. I’m just encouraging you to get started and if you already started, do more but if you haven’t even started don’t let it be a reason that you have to do 30 minutes let it be 10 minutes three times a day or something.
Some signs you should stop exercising right away. If you’re having these feelings you need to stop exercising right away. It may mean that something else is going on. If you immediately experience fatigue like you’re all of a sudden so tired you can’t go on then you need to stop; if you feel light-headed, if you feel short of breath so you can’t even get that in in a regular heartbeat, if you’re feeling like your heartbeat is racing or any sort of chest pain especially that radiates up into your neck or down in your arm – any of those you stop immediately and seek medical assistance.
Some low-impact exercises for chronic kidney disease. Besides standing in your kitchen and marching or doing like a light walk. Something you can do that can help with your balance is a sit to stand. That is just where you kind of you’re sitting in your chair and you stand up and you sit back down but you don’t sit down completely and then you stand back up so it’s kind of like doing squats. You’re going to do that just slowly sit in the chair, stand up sit down, stand up, sit down as much as you can. In the handout there is a video link for you to look at. You can hold dumbbells in your hand or you can hold a couple cans in your hands to do those but those are some ideas for kind of balance.
Number two, you can do an elliptical machine for cardio. If you don’t have a treadmill you may have access to an elliptical and elliptical is great because it is very low impact but it’s very cardiovascular friendly because you’re moving your arms and you’re moving your legs at the same time so you’re building up that endurance.
Third one is foot circles. You’re going sit in your chair and you’re going to raise your foot off the ground and rotate your foot one direction for 30 seconds and then the other way for 30 seconds then you’re gonna switch feet something you can do while watching TV, something you can do reading in a book, something new in the car if you’re a passenger – those types of things.
Those are great ideas for you to get started with some specific things. After you do your walking or maybe you decide the elliptical, do some sit to stands, do some circulation and on my handout there’s variations or ways to make it harder more challenging.
Send in your questions about all things related to Chronic Kidney Disease to podcast@renaldiethq.com
Don’t forget to check out my blog.
Email me at podcast@renaldiethq.com for suggestions
Find us on iTunes at: www.renaldiethq.com/itunes
Find us on stitcher radio at: www.renaldiethq.com/go/stitcher
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
The Importance of Exercise for CKD Patients
Exercise Mistakes To Avoid With CKD
Renal Diet Headquarters Podcast 016 – Dealing with Other People’s Stress and Exercise
February 23, 2018
The Importance of Exercise for CKD Patients
When you are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, there are some lifestyle changes you will need to make. Exercise is one of these important changes. Staying active can help your kidney function and the management of your CKD diagnosis.
If you aren’t currently staying active, you will want to talk to your doctor about beginning an exercise program. The type of workouts you do will depend on your current physical fitness level. If you have already been exercising, you will likely be encouraged to continue. Your doctor may also provide advice on alternate exercises if needed.
How Exercise Benefits CKD Patients
Exercise holds a wealth of benefits for everyone, chronic kidney disease patients included. Let’s take a look at some of the most helpful reasons that you need to stay active when you’ve been diagnosed with CKD.
Weight management – Exercise can help you burn fat and lose weight, if needed. If you are already at a health weight for your condition, working out regularly helps you maintain your weight.
Lower blood pressure – Staying active keeps your heart working, making it stronger over time. Since you heart won’t have to pump so hard to push blood throughout your body, your blood pressure will decrease. With hypertension a very common problem for CKD patients, this may be the primary reason for exercising for many.
Reduce anxiety and depression – When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that promote happiness. By releasing these on a regular basis, you likely won’t feel the affects of anxiety and depression that can come along with having a long-term condition like chronic kidney disease.
Lessen the decline of kidney function – Because exercise is designed to strengthen your muscles, it’s possible to lessen the decline of your kidney functions with exercise. A 2014 study by the American Society of Nephrology found that “12 months of exercise-based rehabilitation significantly slowed the rate of kidney function decline and improved cardio-respiratory fitness compared with standard care.”
Example Exercises to do with CKD
Walking – Perhaps the best low-impact exercise there is, walking is great for almost all CKD patients. You can get started without any equipment, just get out and take a stroll around your neighborhood!
Swimming – Since the water can support your body weight, swimming is seen as a very gentle exercise for those with CKD. Plus, it’s a full body workout, proving to be very beneficial for those wanting to live healthy.
Tips to Exercising with Chronic Kidney Disease
It’s important that you don’t overdo it when exercising. Remember, you want to speak with your doctor before beginning or changing your workout routines.
The following are further tips to help ensure you are exercising properly.
Be active at least 30 minutes per day, 3 or more days per week. If you feel up to it, you can increase your workouts to 45 or 60 minutes. Just be sure you start slowly, to avoid doing more than your body can handle.
Stretch before and after each workout. Stretching is important for all people, not just those with CKD. Pre-workout stretches help to loosen up your muscles and prevent injury. After exercising, stretching can help to cool down the muscles and reduce soreness.
Pay attention to your breathing. When you are exercising, you should still be able to talk to your work out buddy. If you are panting or cannot get more than a few words out, you need to slow down on the intensity.
Schedule your exercise at the proper times. Avoid working out within an hour after eating a large meal or within one hour of your bedtime. Also, if you are going outdoors to exercise, you will want to avoid the hottest parts of the day.
Continue to watch your fluid intake. You may want to drink more water and other beverages when you are exercising. When you sweat, you are losing fluids. Talk to your doctor about managing your fluid levels without going over your limits.
Wear appropriate clothing. When outside, wear light colored clothing made of breathable materials like cotton or mesh. This helps to reduce the amount of sweating, keeping you from becoming dehydrated. Comfortable shoes are also important to ensure you aren’t causing your body more problems by exercising with CKD.
Signs you Should Stop Exercising Right Away
There may be times that your body cannot handle the activity you are doing. You may be pushing yourself too far or there could be another serious issue going on. Stop exercising immediately if you experience:
Extreme fatigue
Lightheadedness
Shortness of breath
Irregular heartbeat
Chest pain
As you can see, exercise is a very important part of your chronic kidney disease maintenance plan. It promotes overall well being, and can help your kidneys function longer. Always make sure you working out appropriately for your unique situation! We have a great worksheet with lots of ideas for low impact exercises you can do with kidney disease, sign up below.
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
Lifestyle Changes You Must Adopt for a Healthy Heart
The Importance of Diet for Stage 3 Kidney Disease
Exercise Mistakes To Avoid With CKD
February 19, 2018
Lifestyle Changes You Must Adopt for a Healthy Heart
You may not realize this, but having chronic kidney disease puts you at a greater risk for heart disease. Most CKD patients don’t reach end-stage renal failure, but die due to heart problems that can result from complications of the CKD.
Because of this, it is essential that you make lifestyle changes now to stay heart healthy and reduce your risk of heart disease. The following are some important changes to incorporate in your life to stay healthy!
Follow a Heart Healthy Diet
You likely have a renal diet to follow, and for the most part, sticking to those guidelines will help you to ensure you are eating a heart-healthy diet. Be sure to lower your intake of sodium, which contributes to high blood pressure and fluid retention when consumed excessively.
Also, limit the amount of sugar you consume. Too much sugar can lead to diabetes, a common cause as well as side effect of chronic kidney disease. Becoming diabetic puts you at a greater risk for heart disease. Sugar also elevates your blood pressure and can contribute to unhealthy weight gain.
Follow these diet restrictions by cooking homemade meals at home. Avoid eating out, and plan ahead for busy days by carrying snacks or making your dinner before you leave home.
Get Active
Exercise is one of the best lifestyle changes you can make for a healthy heart. By moving every day, you help to lower your blood pressure, a common side effect of chronic kidney disease. Exercise also helps manage your weight and control your cholesterol and glucose levels – all of which are important to keep in check when you have CKD.
Stop Smoking
If you have a cigarette habit, now is the time to kick it for a healthy heart. Smokers are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers.
Smoking is dangerous for your heart because it causes plaque to build up in the arteries. This, in turn, forces your heart to work harder than it should to pump blood throughout the body. Those with CKD especially should not smoke, as smoking can also promote further kidney damage, as well as increase your blood pressure.
Reduce your Stress Levels
Stress can put an unhealthy strain on your heart. It also helps increase your blood pressure and can cause more glucose than necessary to be released into the bloodstream (which is harmful for those with diabetes AND chronic kidney disease). Furthermore, stress may lead to unhealthy eating and weight gain.
To control your stress levels, make sure you are exercising regularly. Being active release endorphins into the body, a “feel good” hormone that promotes happiness.
Monitor your Health
Follow through on doctor’s appointment and keep track of various levels in your body to ensure you living in a healthy lifestyle. At least twice a year, your doctor should do blood work that tests your glucose, lipids, and other factors.
This is the best way to know if anything is elevated so you can quickly make changes to reduce any risks for heart disease or related problems. You can also check your blood pressure at home daily, paying attention to any increase.
These five lifestyle changes are extremely important if you want to be heart healthy. As a chronic kidney disease patient, you must make sure you are living healthy to avoid further complications related to your medical condition!
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
Blood Lipids and How to Keep Them at Healthy Levels with CKD
Healthy New Year Tips for CKD (with checklist)
Setting SMART Goals to Stay Healthy in 2018
February 12, 2018
Blood Lipids and How to Keep Them at Healthy Levels with CKD
One of the most serious health concerns chronic kidney disease patients need to know about is heart disease. It’s actually the most common cause of death in those with kidney disease.
Understanding heart disease and learning to live a healthy life are essential in order to lower your risk of developing this condition.
A great way to help control your risk of heart disease is by controlling your blood lipid levels. Heart problems can begin when you have unhealthy levels of these lipids in your body.
You do need some lipids in order for your organs to function properly. Too much can be a very dangerous thing, however – especially when you are already suffering from CKD.
What are Blood Lipids?
Lipids are fatty substances in the blood that your body needs to perform certain functions. There are three types of blood lipids:
Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL) – Known as the “bad cholesterol” These lipids can create plaque buildup in the arteries. Keeping your LDL level under control helps prevent heart disease.
High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL) – The “good” cholesterol that helps keep the LDL cholesterol from building up plaque in your arteries. Having more of this HDL cholesterol is healthy for your heart.
Triglycerides – This is the fat in the blood that is used for energy. Only a small amount is needed for energy, however, and the rest is stored for later. This is the fat you may have around your abdomen or hips. It’s important that your keep your triglycerides levels in check and work toward helping your body burn off the excess so it doesn’t get too high.
The Danger of High Lipid Levels
When your blood lipid levels are too high, plaque can build up in your arteries. This makes it difficult for your blood to move throughout your body. As a result, your heart has to pump harder, causing your blood pressure to go up.
High blood pressure is a very grave concern for those with chronic kidney disease. If you have both hypertension and CKD, you are a greater risk for heart disease. So, along with controlling your blood pressure, you also want to control your blood lipid levels.
How to Keep your Blood Lipids at Healthy Levels
Follow a diet that is low in cholesterol and saturated fats. By lowering your intake of cholesterol, your body will use up the extra it has, which in turn decreases your blood lipid levels.
Avoid eating animal products that are high in saturated fat, including beef, lamb, duck, veal, cheese, butter, and egg yolks. Also, stay away from fried foods, high-fat processed meats, and simple sugars found in candy, cookies, and soft drinks.
Instead, eat low cholesterol foods including whole-grain products, oats, bran, fatty fishes like salmon and albacore tuna, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, and foods with omega-3 fatty acids like walnuts and avocado.
Exercise regularly. When you are active, your body has no choice but to burn its stored fat for energy. This helps to control your blood lipid levels. Follow a moderate exercise program at least 4 days per week in order to stay healthy and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Exercising also helps to control your blood pressure, which is very important for those with chronic kidney disease.
Get a lipid profile done. Your doctor can monitor your blood lipid levels by doing blood work to create a lipid profile. This measures the cholesterol and triglycerides in your body. Keeping check of these levels is vital so you know you are on the right track to preventing heart disease and other serious medical issues.
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
The Chronic Illness Connection
Renal Diet Podcast 058 – Different Kinds of Important Fats
Eating Healthy Can Affect Your Renal Disease
February 8, 2018
Do Meatless Meals Help Or Hurt A Renal Diet?
When you are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, you have to start worrying more about your protein intake. You don’t want to make your kidneys work any more than they already do to remove wastes from the body.
You may have been wondering if meatless meals are beneficial to your renal diet. Maybe you are already vegetarian and are concerned that you need to begin eating meat in order to meet your protein intake requirements.
The reality is, you do not have to eat meat when you have CKD. If fact, it is safe to have meatless meals often or just part-time. The important thing is that you are including other sources of protein into your diet, while making sure you aren’t consuming too much.
Amount Of Protein In A Renal Diet
Depending on the stage of CKD you are in, you will have to limit your protein intake to a certain percentage of your calories each day. Patients in stages 1, 2, and 3 may be advised to limit your protein intake to 15% of your calorie intake. At stage 4, it may be further reduced to only 10% of your calories each day.
Once you reach stage 5 and are on dialysis to filter wastes from the blood, you will not have to limit your protein intake. Instead you may need to raise it substantially to compensate for the amino acids that your body loses during each dialysis treatment.
The Best (Meatless) Sources for Protein
When you want to forego meat in your renal diet, you need to seek out plant-based protein options to include in your meals. These include:
Meat substitutes (veggie burgers, tofu, etc)
Soy items
Beans
Nuts
Plant based proteins are beneficial for those with CKD because they help reduce the amount of protein found in urine. They can also result in less damage to the kidneys than consuming animal-based proteins. These plant-based options can also help you control your blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides).
If you do want to consume animal based proteins, without touching meat, you can include eggs and dairy products in your renal diet.
Warnings for Plant-Based Proteins in your Renal Diet
Though they can help lowering your overall protein intake and provide you with quality protein to keep your muscles strong, some plant-based protein options will have to be limited as part of your CKD diet.
For example, some beans are high in potassium, a nutrient that can cause further damage to the kidneys when the level in your body gets too high. This can also cause you to feel some numbness or tingling in your body, and extreme levels of potassium can even cause a heart attack.
Sodium is another element you will want to limit when consuming meatless meals for your renal diet. Opt for unsalted nuts when you are snacking. Also, look over the product labels when purchasing meat substitutes or tofu to ensure they aren’t packed with sodium.
As you can see, meatless meals aren’t harmful to your renal diet – so long as you are still getting the recommended amount of protein on a daily basis. Switching to plant-based protein sources can actually help your condition in a number of ways.
Just be on the lookout for other restrictions when you are planning your meals, so you don’t accidentally consume too much of those while managing your protein!
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
VEGETARIAN RENAL DIET: WORTHY OR NOT?
How Is Dialysis Diet Different From Pre-Dialysis Diet?
Renal Diet Podcast 078 – Vegetarian Meals For Kidney Failure
February 7, 2018
Can I Eat Corn On A Renal Diet?
When you are looking at all the restrictions of your renal diet, it can be difficult to know exactly what’s okay to eat. Changes to what you consume are essential to insure your body – especially your kidneys – can continue to work as best as they can.
You may be wondering if you can have corn in your renal diet. The answer may vary depending on your individual stage of chronic kidney disease and other issues, but this article is designed to give you a basic overview of corn and it’s nutritional benefits.
Nutritional Information About Corn
Corn has long been a vegetable that people consume for its nutritious ingredients. Developed from a wild grass over 7,000 years ago, corn is a great source of fiber, which provides its own host of benefits for CKD patients.
Benefits of getting fiber in your renal diet include:
Keep your digestive tract healthy
Correct or prevent constipation
Help control blood sugar levels
Promotes regularity
Corn is also loaded with Vitamin C (helpful in keeping the immune system healthy) and folate (assists with making DNA for new cells as well as new red blood cells).
Corn is typically higher in phosphorus than other vegetables. Those with a low-phosphorus renal diet may have to limit the amount of corn they eat. Typically, ½ of an ear of corn is acceptable for a CKD patient.
Starches On A Renal Diet
Starchy vegetables including corn, potatoes, and peas are categorized this way because of their carb and calorie content. They have way more of each than a healthy choice such as broccoli and cucumbers. For example, one cup of yellow corn can have 30 carbs and 133 calories, whereas one cup of broccoli only has 6 carbs and 30 calories. That’s quite a difference!
If you have chronic kidney disease and are looking to lose weight, you will want to limit the amount of these starchy vegetables you consume in your renal diet. It’s also good for CKD patients with diabetes to limit starches, since they raise your blood sugar.
Best Choices For Your Meal Plan
If you just cannot give up corn completely, make sure you are eating a fresh variety rather than frozen or canned. This ensures you get the most nutritious bang for your buck!
Those that can do without corn may find it better to choose non-starchy vegetables for meals, such as broccoli, kale, peppers, and squash. Watch out for items that contain corn too, like tortillas, corn chips, and popcorn. You can substitute these with whole grain tortillas, nuts, and gluten-free pretzels.
Corn syrup is a popular sweetener found in processed foods, snacks, and sweet drinks. Leave all of these at the store and opt for fresh produce, fresh meats, and nuts and make the switch to drinking water.
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
Low Potassium Foods: Create A Fruit And Veggie Plate For Your Next Party
Renal Diet Grocery List – Canned Vs. Fresh Vegetables
How To Survive With A Renal Diabetic Diet
Can A Person On A Renal Diet Eat Sweet Potatoes?
For health reasons, many people turn to sweet potatoes as a yummy alternative to regular white potatoes. However, if you have chronic kidney disease, sweet potatoes may not be the best part of your renal diet. Below, we will look in to the nutrition and benefits of sweet potatoes, as well as how to eat them safely on your renal diet.
Nutritional Information For Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are loaded with lots of healthy nutrients. A medium one is packed with Vitamin A, which is has anti-aging properties and has been known to help reduce the risk of cancer.
Sweet potatoes also have heart health benefits, as they have an abundance of Vitamin B6. This nutrient in breaking down a substance called homocysteine, which increases the chance of hardening of the arteries and blood vessels in the body.
Sweet potatoes are on the low on the glycemic index, so they help to regulate your blood sugar and maintain your energy levels when eaten. Their good source of fiber aids in digestion as well.
As for the specific nutrition information, sweet potatoes contain no fat and a medium sized potato is about 100 calories. Total carbohydrates are 23 grams and potassium is 440 milligrams.
Dangers of Eating Sweet Potatoes on a Renal Diet
Though there are many health benefits for eating sweet potatoes, the potassium content is what puts your renal diet in danger. Potassium is a common mineral that must be limited when you have chronic kidney disease.
If your kidneys are not able to filter the excess potassium in the body, it can lead to an irregular heartbeat or even a heart attack. Therefore, it is essential that you limit the amount of potassium you take in, as well as how many sweet potatoes you consume.
One of the best ways you can still enjoy sweet potatoes in your renal diet is though leaching.
Leaching Sweet Potatoes for your Renal Diet
By leaching your sweet potatoes before you eat them, you will remove some of the vegetable’s potassium content. This can make them safer for you to enjoy, depending on your dietary restrictions on potassium.
To leach your sweet potatoes, follow these instructions:
Peel the sweet potatoes and place them in a pot filled with cold water.
Slice each potato in 1/8 inch thick slices.
Rinse and warm water.
Place the slices in a pot of warm water for at least two hours before cooking them. If you wish to soak them longer, change your water every four hours.
Rinse the sweet potatoes again with warm water when you remove them from the soaking water.
Cook the sweet potato in a pot with five times the amount of water versus amount of the vegetable.
Sweet potatoes can be a beneficial part of your renal diet, as long as you stick to your potassium restrictions. Try leaching the potatoes in order to reduce their potassium content so you don’t make your kidney work harder – and risk even more serious health problems.
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
Holiday Eating on a Renal Diet
How To Leach Potassium out of Vegetables
A Low Potassium Diet – The Key to a Renal Diet
February 6, 2018
How Is Dialysis Diet Different From Pre-Dialysis Diet?
You will likely have different dietary restrictions as your chronic kidney disease changes. When your kidneys worsen, you will have to modify your renal diet to ensure you aren’t consuming foods that will accelerate the process of losing kidney function.
It’s essential that you understand a pre-dialysis diet isn’t the same as the diet for those on dialysis. Your restrictions change, and some things you limited before no longer have to be so heavily moderated. Let’s look at the common differences between these two types of renal diets.
Pre-dialysis Diet
For earlier stages of CKD, you will be given a specialized pre-dialysis diet. The exact restrictions will depend on the level of kidney function you have remaining. Since the organs can still filter some waste, you will need to watch certain foods and nutrients.
Limited Protein – Because protein wastes are difficult for your kidneys to filter from the blood, you will need to make sure you aren’t consuming too much each day. It’s also a good idea to get your protein from plant-based sources when possible, as they aren’t as harsh on the kidneys as animal-based options.
Lower Sodium – Controlling your sodium is also vital on a pre-dialysis diet. Table salt should be avoided as a flavoring, and you should also eliminate processed foods from your diet – as they generally contain high amounts of sodium. Sodium causes your body to retain fluids, which is hard for damaged kidneys to remove effectively.
Potassium Restrictions – Another nutrient that your pre-dialysis diet will limit is potassium. CKD patients can easily collect an excessive amount of potassium in the blood, since the kidneys cannot filter it out very well. The result can be very dangerous, such as irregular heartbeat or even heart failure.
Dialysis Diet
When you are placed on dialysis, you have a machine that filters wastes from your blood. You will visit generally three times per week for dialysis, or you can have a home machine that you use on your own.
Your doctor will recommend a dialysis diet based on the type of dialysis you are using to stay healthy. The two types are hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (PD). These two methods of dialysis have some similarities, as well as some differences between the two.
Increased Protein – Once you have been placed on dialysis you will need to up your protein intake. No longer do you have to limit yourself like you did on the pre-dialysis diet. In fact, it’s important that you increase your consumption, since protein is lost through both methods of dialysis.
Change in Calories – Whether you are on a pre-dialysis or dialysis diet, you should be monitoring your calories to maintain a healthy weight – or to lose any unwanted weight. However, PD patients need fewer calories and carbohydrates than hemodialysis patients.
This is because the solution used to filter out the wastes during the PD process contains dextrose, which is a sugar. With the dextrose present, your body doesn’t need as many calories.
Fluid Restrictions – You will most definitely have to limit your fluids once you are on a dialysis diet. While pre-dialysis requires you to control your fluid intake, patients on dialysis should drink no more than 32 ounces of fluid each day.
As you can see, there are some differences between having a pre-dialysis diet and a dialysis diet. The pre-dialysis diet is designed to keep your kidneys from having to work any harder than they should and to delay the decline in kidney function.
A dialysis diet is more lax in some areas, since the machine is doing the work for your kidneys, but you must make sure you are still consuming foods according to your diet and restrictions.
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
What Foods Should I Avoid On A Renal Diet?
Pre-dialysis Diet Plan and Supermarket Secrets
What to Expect From Dialysis
What Foods Should I Avoid On A Renal Diet?
What you eat on a daily basis can have a large effect on your chronic kidney disease. A good renal diet can help to strengthen kidney function and delay your progress to total kidney failure. It is important that you understand what a healthy renal diet consists of – as well as what foods should be avoided.
How Does Protein Affect My Renal Diet?
You will notice that once your doctor gives you dietary restriction, protein will be one of the things to watch. While protein is necessary for the body to function properly, those with CKD really have to limit their intake.
As our bodies digest protein, wastes are created. The job of healthy kidneys is to remove this waste from the blood. However, in chronic kidney disease, kidney function may not be good enough to remove the protein wastes, causing a dangerous buildup in the bloodstream.
This buildup can cause nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness.
Your doctor will assess your current stage of CKD when determining how much protein you can consume. Your limits will become stricter as your chronic kidney disease progresses. If you find yourself on dialysis, your protein restrictions may be lifted since the dialysis machine is removing the wastes from the blood.
Foods that should be avoided on a low-protein renal diet include some kinds of meats, eggs, and full-fat milk. Instead, opt for chicken breast, fish, and low-fat soy and dairy products.
How Does Sodium Affect My Diet?
Sodium is a common mineral found in many foods, but it can be harmful for your renal diet. You will likely have low-sodium recommendations added to your diet once you’ve been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.
Your kidneys cannot properly filter excess sodium if you have CKD. The abundance causes your body to retain fluids, another agent your kidneys will have trouble removing. The result can be high blood pressure, edema, shortness of breath, or even heart failure due to overworking to compensate for the extra fluid in the bloodstream.
To avoid taking in too much sodium, you will want to stay away from fried foods, processed foods, canned soups, frozen dinners, and meats that have been smoked, cured, or dried.
What About Calories For A Renal Diet?
Calories are beneficial to our bodies, as they give us the energy we need to get through every day. However, on a renal diet you may find that you have to change your caloric intake. If you are overweight, you may be required to lower your calories to lose weight. Losing weight can also decrease high blood pressure or high glucose levels.
On the flip side, you may be required to increase your calories a bit if you are on a low-protein renal diet. This increase can help to avoid muscle loss or malnourishment from the limited protein.
To properly control your calories, you should avoid consuming fast food, fried foods, and sugary snacks and drinks. Include more fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet to take the place of the high-calorie foods.
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
What Foods Should I Avoid On A Renal Diet? Let’s Talk About High Potassium Foods
Top Foods to Avoid for Chronic Kidney Disease
Foods To Avoid When You’re on Dialysis
February 5, 2018
Renal Diet Podcast 081 – Newest Book Overview For Renal Patients
Newest Book Overview Caring For Renal Patients
Podcast #81 Released on February 5, 2018
I want you go over the latest book that I wrote, it’s called Caring for Renal Patients Renal Diet HQ IQ Education Guide. I just want to go through with you and tell you what’s in it, show you the parts because I think this book is really helpful for people who both have kidney disease and/or have a family member that has kidney disease and they’re taking care of them.
This book has a guide in it. It has a guide that talks about caregivers. A caregiver is the person who is taking care of the patients. It has an overview of chronic kidney disease for caregivers so it talks about being a caregiver and somebody who is a caregiver is under just as much stress as the person you have these maybe even more than maybe a caregiver for more than just the one person may be responsible for children or other adults that they take care of.
This book just kind of gives you as a caregiver a way to understand kidney disease from that perspective – to understand kidney disease from the patient’s perspective. And some of the tips to make a role easier, learn as much as you can about your medical condition. I would say that this is a great way to do that.
Take breaks, find support, be an advocate for your loved one, find a stress outlet, take care of yourself, help them but don’t do everything for them, be realistic, ask for help and keep the support network. This is an excellent guide to kind of show you, “Okay, these are normal feelings, these are things that are okay for you to feel yes it’s stressful.”
Yes, you need to have time for yourself. You don’t need you with that person all the time. Help them they don’t do for them, let them. If they are doing something and they can do it let them work through it.
If you’re doing long distance care, it has some guidelines to help you to manage that a little easier. Long distance be like if you’re care giving for a parent and they’re in another city or they’re just is across town in here in Oklahoma City. Across town could take an hour to get there so it just goes through and kind of tells you things not say things to say, ways to help.
Then, it has a chronic kidney disease overview. You may think, “Well, I know everything about kidney disease but it just gives you some guidelines and information tell you about the different stages.
Then it goes into some other related conditions and then goes into Mrs. Murray’s story so she’s a fictional patient and it goes through the story of her with her children and going through the process of having a caregiver – a hired caregiver – because they’re away from their family and kind of how that works and what they did. What they decided to do in the end and she goes to a decision process of different types of dialysis and what would that involve and based on her condition talks a little about the depression because that’s pretty common. Talked about transplant, surgery and dialysis, what she ended up doing. And talks about the daughter and the son both their points of view and kind of how they split up their responsibilities and tells you what happened.
One of the best parts about this book is Aromatherapy For the CKD Patient & Caregiver because it tells you what essential oils you should use. It talks about how to use them in a chronic health condition. It talks about how they work in your body, how much use, how to blend them, what kind of ways you can use to add it to your body so lotions, creams in different kinds of things, how should you it.
Talks a little bit about Reflexology. Where to massage and then it talks specifically about oils for the kidneys. Oils that you can use to help with your kidneys so it gives an explanation of all of them.
Tells you some to avoid. I think this is very important. Avoid Aloe, Buckthorn, Camphor, Cupsicum, Cascara, Chaparral, Cinnamon, Comfrey, Dandelion, etc. And then it talks about the fact that ginger, Gingko Biloba, garlic, ginseng a few in your blood so be careful with that.
And it tells you how to use essential oils to use based on the condition. It tells you where to buy them, what to do with that and has a little bit of reflexology and renal disease. Tells you how to do reflexology so this could be something that you could do with your patient and/or family and how it will affect them.
Send in your questions about all things related to Chronic Kidney Disease to podcast@renaldiethq.com
Don’t forget to check out my blog.
Email me at podcast@renaldiethq.com for suggestions
Find us on iTunes at: www.renaldiethq.com/itunes
Find us on stitcher radio at: www.renaldiethq.com/go/stitcher
Share This Page
Tweet
Renal Diet Menu Headquarters - Renal Diets That You Will Love!
Suggested Reading:
Living With Chronic Kidney Disease-Predialysis AKA My First Book!
Renal Diet Podcast 078 – Vegetarian Meals For Kidney Failure
Renal Diet Headquarters Releases New Book – Create Your Own Kidney Diet Plan- On Amazon
