How to Adopt Good Nutrition to Delay CKD Progress

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If you are diagnosed or have been diagnosed with CKD or are at risk of developing kidney disease, you need to adopt appropriate nutritional intake to help delay the progression of CKD, to prevent it from deteriorating or to delay the worsening of CKD. Making small changes to your daily meals are some key steps you should be taking to help avoid from succumbing to kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease or CKD is a silent killer that often shows no obvious symptoms and signs at its initial stage. Diabetes, nephritis (or inflammation of the kidney), drugs, kidney stones, family history and high blood pressure are some of the confirmed risk factors contributing to kidney failure or impaired kidney.

With the progress of kidney failure, you may observe some obvious signs and symptoms as follows:

Anaemia (lack of red blood cells)
Tiredness
Breathlessness on exertion
Anorexia, or reduced appetite
Swelling of the legs and/ or face
Vomiting and nausea
Skin changes (pigmentation, itchiness)

How to Delay CKD Progress with Good Nutrition?

If you are diagnosed or have been diagnosed with CKD or are at risk of developing kidney disease, you need to adopt appropriate nutritional intake to help delay the progression of CKD, to prevent it from deteriorating or to delay the worsening of CKD. Making small changes to your daily meals are some key changes you should be doing to help you succumbing to kidney disease.

Reduce the intake of salt

Salt is needed to maintain the balance of electrolytes in your body, but excessive intake of salt (sodium) can cause fluid build-up in the body, and this condition is very dangerous for those with impaired kidneys, or kidney disease. Excessive salt intake can also lead to increased levels of blood pressure, so you should reduce your salt intake. US National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP) suggests that daily salt intake should not exceed 2,300 mg.

You should always substitute salt with a mix of spices, sodium-free seasoning and/or herbs while cooking. Go for fresher veggie and fruits instead of pre-packed, pre-salted or canned foods that tend to be higher in sodium content.

Be cautious of foods with higher sodium content especially those with soya sauce, MSG (monosodium glutamate), BBQ or fish sauce added in food preparation. Make sure your meal is not served in heavy sauces if you plan to eat out. Take some serious thought while planning to eat out at fast-food restaurants be careful of foods like hamburger, hotdog, sandwich, French fries, fried wedges, fried meat as they have higher sodium content.

If you’ve purchased or purchase canned vegetables, make sure you wash them thoroughly prior to consumption. Remember to read the nutritional fact labels on packaged foods and choose the low sodium content one each time you grocery shop. The lower, the better!

Limit the intake of protein

If you are diagnosed with CKD or are at risk of developing kidney disease, you must control your protein intake. When your kidney(s) is (are) already strained, they cannot eliminate the by-products of the metabolism of protein efficiently. This will in turn cause waste build-up in your body. Still, you cannot completely omit protein from your daily menu as this will put you at risk of malnutrition. If you are concerned and do not know how much daily protein you should take, get your dietician or doctor to work out an ideal meal plan for you.

Take note that high quality protein exists in animal based foods such as chicken, eggs, meat, dairy products, fish, sea food, and etc, so you should not take too much of protein from animal sources. Even though plants do contain protein, they are not complete essential amino acids used to build blocks of protein. In comparison, protein deriving from plant sources is more ideal for CKD patients than from the animal sources. Seeds, nuts, grains, beans (especially soy beans or edamame in Japanese) are examples of protein derived from plant sources.

Go for Heart-healthy Foods

Heart-healthy foods including beans, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and etc. can do a great wonder to your kidney health. Always eat foods made from red rice, whole wheat, oats, whole-grain corn and brown rice. Choose white rice instead of brown rice for your home-cooked meals and dining out. As for your sandwiches or toast, use whole-grain bread instead.

While preparing your meal, use heart-healthy oils like olive oil, grape seed oil or canola oil. Try adopting heart-healthy cooking methods like broiling, or streaming instead of roasting, grilling or deep frying. To help delay CKD progress, try to have more home-cooked meals instead of dining out.

Read the food label carefully and only choose foods that are low in trans-fats, added sugars, sodium (salt), cholesterol and saturated fats.

Top your pizza with veggie toppings like peppers, broccoli and spinach. It is always recommended to go for vegan to reduce the workload of your impaired kidney.

Slow down on your dairy products intake. You could gradually work your way down from whole milk to 2% milk so that you could gradually become accustomed to cooking and drinking with low-fat milk or fat-free (skim) dairy products.

Besides Good Nutrition, Other To-do Lists

Keep monitoring your blood cholesterol levels regularly and maintain your blood pressure (BP) below 130/80. As you already know, cholesterol is bad for your health since the accumulation of cholesterol can lead to narrowing blood vessels and disrupt the flow of blood to the other parts of the body including your kidneys. Due to that people with impaired or diseased kidneys have higher risk of developing hardening of the arteries, you must monitor your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels regularly if you have been diagnosed or are at risk of developing CKD.

Keep a record of what you have been eating lately. This will help you monitor if you have overeaten or unconsciously taken too much foods high in calories or fat.

As diabetes and high blood pressure are primary causes of CKD, make sure you aim for ideal waistline or healthy weight and at the same time keep your calorie intake balance. Adopt regular exercise and watch the foods you eat daily particularly the intake of cholesterol, fats and carbohydrates.

Final remark:

If you are a CKD patient or a patient with kidney failure, you are advised to discuss with your doctor any plans regarding dietary modification in the first place.

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As always, stay well and healthy!