Eating Vegetarian Foods While Living With Kidney Disease

Historically, vegetarianism has been met with skepticism in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. However, we now know that with careful planning vegetarianism, or even part-time vegetarian eating is not only safe, but also beneficial to CKD management.1,2 Research shows eating vegetarian proteins can actually slow down the progression of kidney disease and other complications associated with this disease.1,2

Nutrition management focuses on decreasing waste product build up from digested foods, which would normally leave the body as urine. The primary goals of planning a diet with plant-based foods are three fold: 1.) obtaining the appropriate amount of plant protein to meet protein needs while minimizing waste product build up in the blood 2.) maintaining sodium, potassium and phosphorus balance and 3.) maintaining good nutrition. The following information is meant to be an initial guide to those with early kidney disease (30-50 percent of normal kidney function) and not receiving dialysis treatments. More careful follow up is recommended, especially when kidney function decreases below 30 percent or when regular dialysis treatment is required.

Sodium, Potassium, & Phosphorus

Sodium
Though vegetarian foods are healthy in general, some can be very high in sodium. A few foods to avoid for limiting sodium in plant-based foods include:8

*

Convenience foods such as frozen meals, canned soup, dried soups, miso or packaged vegetable broths
*

Soy-based cheese
*

Processed dairy cheese
*

Meat analogues — this includes such foods as tofu hot dogs, veggie burgers or other canned or frozen soy products
*

Salt, soy sauce, tamari sauce or any spices that contain the words sodium or salt

Potassium

In general, potassium does not need to be restricted unless the function of the kidney decreases to less than 20 percent. Routine blood testing is the best way to know your potassium requirements. An estimated two-thirds of diet potassium comes from fruits, vegetables and juices. So initially, the easiest way to limit this mineral will be to minimize fruit and vegetable selections to five servings per day.

A potassium serving size:
1/2 cup fresh fruit, canned fruit or juice
1 cup fresh vegetables
1/2 cup cooked vegetables

If this does not decrease your serum potassium to the normal range, limit these foods:
High Potassium
Limit 1 per day
Textured vegetable protein 1/4 cup
Soy flour 1/4 cup
Nuts and Seeds 1/4 cup
Dried, cooked beans or lentils 1 cup
Dried cooked soybeans 1/2 cup
Tomato products 1/4 cup
Potatoes 1/2 cup
Dried fruit 1/4 cup
Tropical fruit 1/2 cup
Melons 1/2 cup

If you use a lot of beans or textured vegetable protein, alternative protein selections may be needed in order to keep potassium levels from going too high. This will mean using more tofu, tempeh, seitan and eggs or if you prefer some meat, fish or poultry to meet protein needs.

Phosphorus
Some plant proteins are high in phosphorous, but because of the high phytate content (a naturally occurring compound which blocks phosphorous absorption) these foods alone usually do not increase serum phosphorous levels.8 This includes dried cooked beans and nuts. Dairy products are the main source of concentrated phosphorus.14 This will mean decreasing dairy products to one serving or less per day. For the vegan a few other high phosphorus foods are worth noting:
High Phosphorus
Limit 1 per day
Milk 1 cup*
Cottage Cheese 2/3 cup
Cheese 2 ounces
Pudding or custard 8 ounces
Yogurt 8 ounces
Soy cheese 4 ounces
Soy yogurt
(non fortified) 12 ounces

*Non-dairy creamer, rice milk and up to two cups of soymilk per day can be used as a replacement for milk.

Good Nutrition
A plant-based diet is often lower in calories and higher in fiber than an animal-based diet. As a result, you need to be careful you do not lose weight. Here are some ideas to help add healthy calories to your eating plan:

*

Soy shakes: Make shakes with soymilk, tofu, rice milk and non-dairy frozen dessert.
*

Adding fats: Use more oils such as olive oil, peanut oil or canola oil in cooking. Drizzle flaxseed oil on food after it is cooked, or mixed with salad dressing over lettuce.
*

Snacks: Eat small frequent meals if you fill up quickly.
*

Sweets: Even though a high sugar diet is not the best choice for food, on occasion these calories can be beneficial to avoid weight loss. Good choices are jellybeans, hard candy, sherbets or sorbet.

Vitamins and Minerals
Supplementation of vitamins and minerals in kidney disease needs to be treated on an individual basis. Most people will require a water-soluble vitamin without fat-soluble vitamins or minerals. Mineral levels will need to be checked individually to determine if a supplement is needed. High dosages of any vitamin and or mineral in kidney disease are discouraged since the poor clearance from you kidney can cause toxic levels in the blood.15

Where To Turn For Further Help

It is best to be guided by a nephrologist and a registered dietitian that is familiar with vegetarianism for the optimum nutrition planning. Together these professionals can help manage kidney disease while assisting in appropriate vegetarian food selections. The following organizations can help in locating a dietitian who works with vegetarians:

Herbs for kidney care: Time tested safe herbal medicine
- Punarnava (Boerhavia diffusa); Red or Spreading Hogweed – It is a good diuretic and anti-inflamatory.
- Gokshur (Tribulus terrestris); It is a diuretic herb useful in kidney dysfunction, renal stones, and dysuria.
- Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia); Helps in improving immune system

Diet in kidney diseases:
Main aim of dietary plan is to decrease load on kidney by eliminating food that produces lot of by-products which in turn need to be filtered by kidney. The dietary plan also ensures that all the essential nutrients are made available thus allowing cleansing, repairing, and reconstruction. It also works towards restoring the natural balance of the body chemistry.
The diet plan is designed taking into consideration individual’s body constitution, state of disease and general health condition.

Main food items used for kidney care:
- Bottle gourd juice
- Rice & Rice water
- Green gram water
- Banana water
- Vegetables – bottle gourd, pointed gourd (parval), ivy gourd (tindora), ridged luffa (galka), smooth luffa (turiya), papaya, radish, pumpkin.

Role of Yoga in Treatment of Kidney:
Asanas are selected to promote blood flow towards kidney e.g. Uttanpadasana. Yogasana which gives gentle twisting, stretching, contracting spine through which natural massage to kidney is experienced and smooth muscles are also involved in the practise (this doesn't happen in exercise), thus decreasing lethargic tendency of kidney & increasing functioning of kidney.

Pranayama and Meditation - Ancient breathing technique called Pranayama and meditation, bring perfect balance between Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic Nervous System, increase anti-stress hormone, and help to completely get rid of stress e.g. Nadi Suddhi Pranayama (Anuloma- Viloma), Bhramari, meditation etc.

Suddhi Kriya - Through different Suddhi Kriyas like Kapalbhati lot of toxic element is thrown outside through breath. This brings purification in blood as well as purification at cellular level thus decreasing work load on kidney.

Prana (Vital Force for life) - Above mentioned details are medically approved, but something which can only be experienced is Prana, Vital Force. Prana is major factor for health either physical or mental. All above practices brings balance in Prana (Vital Force) at subtler level of our existence where chemical or medicine can't reach, this opens many possible doors when medically we find the disease is un-curable.

Very good knowledge post shared by Gulshan and Neetu.. :) :)

Sometimes lengthy paragraphs in forums are difficult to read.Can we think of some other ways to present the points? :)

Thanks neetu for highlighting vegetarian food.....Many people are turning themselves to vegetarian food.........

People who are suffering from kidney disease,They are suggested to consume vegetarian food as kidney patients need phosphorus to their body as it help to avoid accumulating toxic level and minerals in their body.

Thanks for the updated information shared here Neetu and Sarala. :) :) :)

fluid like water, juice and milk are good for the health of kidneys health.The more you have fluids, that much health you gave to you kidneys. But dont concentrate on cooldrinks, alcohol which are harmful to your health.

DIET TO IMPROVE KIDNEY HEALTH

Have you ever heard the expression - "You are what you eat"? Well, you are certainly affected by what you consume. The road to kidney health starts with your diet. This is probably the single largest contributor to many kidney problems. While advances in medical science has made it possible for our generation to live longer, the quality of our health is comparatively poorer than our ancestors.

Modernization has caused many of us to adopt poor eating habits, with emphasis on convenience rather than quality. Unlike our ancestors, we consume a lot more refined foods loaded with artificial ingredients, salt, sugar, and cholesterol. Not only do we consume poor diets but our consumption is excessive... leading to obesity. It is no wonder that many degenerative diseases have increase significantly over the last decade.

Part of the solution to this problem is to change our eating habits. A balanced diet will go a long way to improving kidney health and the quality of life. Medical experts increasingly advocate a healthy diet to counteract everything from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to depression. At the top of the dietary tree are so-called "super foods" which include fruits, vegetables, pulses, and nuts... that boost the immune system, ward off cancer and heart disease and even slow down the aging process. Many of these superfoods also contain antioxidants that play an important role in defending the body against diseases and eliminating free radicals.

It is important to note that everything we consume is eventually absorbed into the blood, through the process of digestion. In addition to eating healthier foods it is also important to incorporate good digestive habits as an integral part of kidney health. For example, chewing your food properly and eating well in advance bedtime (3 to 4 hours before), will contribute to better digestion of food. A healthy diet together with good digestive practices will help to maintain a good quality of blood, tissues and organs (including the kidneys). On the other hand, if you consume foods which are unhealthy and toxic, digestion is affected, the blood becomes contaminated, and this puts a lot more strain on the kidneys and other organs.