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Malnutrition and Chronic Kidney Disease: What You Should Know

By Isabelle Guindon, RD You may wonder, what is malnutrition?  In general, most of us will think of malnutrition as […]

Featured Recipes

Savory Oatmeal with Stir Fry Vegetables and Egg

This savory oatmeal recipe offers a tasty twist, packed with veggies, creamy texture, and soluble fiber for digestion.

Get the Recipe Savory Oatmeal with Stir Fry Vegetables and Egg

Salad in a Jar

These salad in a jar are easy to prepare ahead of time for a quick meal.

Get the Recipe Salad in a Jar

Kidney community kitchen

Renal Diet FAQs

The recipes are recommended for all stages of kidney disease and are low in sodium, potassium, and phosphorus.

There are many ways to help delay the progression of kidney disease, especially if you are diagnosed in the early stages. Here are some tips that can help you protect your kidneys:

  • Eat a healthy diet: we generally recommend you follow a well balanced diet that limits sodium in order to help control blood pressure. A good way to limit sodium is to avoid processed foods (such as fast foods, canned foods, packaged foods and frozen entrees). We also recommend you avoid excess protein (see FAQ ‘how much protein do I need each day?’). In addition, replacing some animal protein with vegetable protein may help slow the progression of CKD. Avoiding phosphate additives from processed foods (like colas, processed cheeses and seasoned meats) may also help protect your kidneys.
  • Monitor blood pressure: Studies have shown that good blood pressure control can help slow the progression of kidney disease.
  • Stay active: Make physical activity a regular habit. 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day is recommended.
  • Maintain a healthy weight: being overweight increases your risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure which are major risk factors for kidney disease.
  • Stay hydrated: Drink water instead of calorie-rich beverages.
  • If you consume alcohol, drink in moderation: limit alcohol to 2 standard drinks per day for men, 1 per day for women (see FAQ ‘how much alcohol is safe for kidney patients).
  • If you have diabetes: maintain good blood glucose control.
  • Be a non-smoker: Smoking is a risk factor for faster progression of kidney disease.
  • Take medications as prescribed by your doctor.
  • Have regular checkups with your doctor.
  • Maintain a positive ‘stay well’ attitude and do things that help you relax and reduce stress.

Remember it is never too late to make positive changes to your lifestyle. Eating well and keeping active can improve long term health and help you maintain good kidney function.

Since protein requirements can be specific to your medications, other medical conditions or your overall nutritional status, it is best to speak with a renal dietitian about the amount of protein that will help you optimize your health. In general, if you have stage 1-4 kidney disease you should aim for 0.8 grams protein per kg of body weight. This amounts to approximately 1-2 servings of low phosphorus Meat and Alternatives, each about the size of a deck of cards each day. If you are on dialysis, some protein is lost during the filtration process so you should aim for 1.1-1.3 grams of protein per kg per day. This amounts to 2-3 servings of low phosphorus Meat & Alternatives, again each about the size of a deck of cards.

Being physically active does not increase your protein needs unless intense training for several hours a day is part of your routine. Additional protein requirements are recommended for pregnant and lactating women.

Renal Diet FAQs

Live Cooking Demonstration

Join Dani Renouf and Anja Webster, in a cooking demonstration, on December 3, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST, as they prepare hearty meals to nourish your kidneys.

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Meal Planner

The Menu Planner allows users to create daily and weekly plans. While you don’t need an account to use the meal planner, you won’t be able to print or save your plans without one. It’s simple to request an account here.  

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Each quarter we’ll send you The Kidney Kitchen e-News, highlighting diet and nutrition information and seasonal recipes to help you stick with your renal diet. We use MailChimp to deliver our e-News

Videos

Connect with our new Video Resource page for Renal Cooking Demonstrations and Informational Webinars