Health And Medical

Archive for the ‘Chronic Kidney Disease’ Category

One of the food minerals that must be avoided in a chronic kidney disease diet is protein. Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, is a disease that gradually degrades the function of the kidney over time. It can do so over months or years. CKD is divided into five stages with increasing severity. There are five items that should be avoided when you have CKD – fluids, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, and protein.

The five chronic kidney disease stages are proportionate to the severity of the disease. As the kidney disease worsens, the stage also increases. These stages are measured through the glomerular filtration rate (or GFR), a measure of the kidney’s function stated in mL/min/1.73m2. A lower GFR indicates a worse stage.

In a chronic kidney disease diet, protein has to be avoided because the degradation of all proteins can have the byproduct urea, which can cause an accumulation of toxins. If the production of urea is decreased, the accumulation of toxins can also be reduced. As a result, this can delay permanent kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease (except for those who have diabetic kidney disease).

High protein foods include pork, beef, peanut, egg yolks, and poultry. Thus, these items should be avoided or taken with caution. You can also take them less frequently. Mind the serving sizes or proportions in which you take them.

Instead, you can include these low protein foods in your diet so you can control the amount of protein you take in.

Non-Gluten Flours

Most pastas and breads are low in protein as long as the ingredient used is low gluten flour. Thus, be careful when buying pastas and breads. Inspect their ingredients and ensure that they use non or low gluten flours.

Egg Whites

The egg yolks contain much of the protein in eggs, so opt for the egg whites to maintain your low protein diet.

Fruits and Vegetables

Although fruits have protein, the levels are still low and they are good protein. Meanwhile, most vegetables, especially raw and steamed, have very low protein content. Fresh fruit and vegetables juices are also low in protein.

Tofu and Fish

Compared to beef and pork, fish and tofu contain lower amounts of protein and are thus more preferable.

Non-Whey Dairy Products

Non-whey dairy products such as soy milks, plain yogurt, parmesan cheese, and cottage ricotta contain fewer proteins and are also easier to digest compared to cow milk, processed cheese, and ice cream.

To fully plan your chronic kidney disease diet, ask your dietitian to help you identify how much protein you can or should take per day.