Health & Fitness

A kidney disease diet is designed to reduce the amount of work that a damaged kidney must perform. Specifically, the diet makes it easier for your kidneys to filter toxic certain substances from your body. Additionally, the diet helps the kidneys to maintain proper fluid and electrolyte balance.

Kidney Disease Diet Basics
Depending on the extent of your kidney damage and other conditions that you have, your kidney disease diet should avoid certain elements. For instance, a kidney disease diet will seek to control the intake of sodium, potassium, phosphate and fluids in general. These diets may also seek to limit the amount of protein that a patient consumes. Dietary guidelines for kidney disease patients might include the following.

Firstly, eating too much salt can cause water retention in the hands and feet. Water retention can also increase your risk of symptoms such as heart failure, pulmonary edema and high blood pressure. Secondly, excess potassium in your bloodstream can cause muscle weakness and irregular heart rhythms.

For this reason, some potassium-rich salt substitutes and some specific fruits and vegetables should be avoided. Thirdly, too much phosphorus can cause calcium to be pulled from your bones, leading to health problems. Consequently milk, cheese, meat, chicken and fish intake should be closely watched. Lastly, some studies suggest that a low protein diet is beneficial to kidney disease patients. This subject is not as well decided, however, so a patient might want to specifically question his or her physician on this topic.