There is no standard “kidney diet,” and managing your kidney diet needs can be quite challenging, especially if you have to balance two or more different diets at the same time (such as a diabetic diet or heart health diet with your kidney diet). Additionally, your kidney diet can have a big impact on your quality of life, from how well you feel to participating in family celebrations and holiday meals.
What is a “Kidney Diet”?
A kidney diet is simply a diet that has been prescribed for someone with kidney disease. It is based on the stage of kidney disease, blood work results, medications, and any other dietary needs that are unique to each person living with kidney disease. Since there is no standard kidney diet, the diet can vary from person to person and can change over time. The goals of the diet are complex but can be broken down as such:
- To prevent the build-up of the toxins that healthy kidneys normally clear out of the blood;
- To reduce the workload of the kidneys (before dialysis);
- To prevent complications that can occur from a build-up of toxins;
- To meet all your nutritional needs.
While the diet may be different from one person to another, the common themes are restricted sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and low or high protein needs. Some people may also require fluid restriction. A registered dietitian will help to devise a nutrition care plan that is individualized to meet your specific needs.
Many people living with kidney disease feel that the kidney diet is the most difficult part of treatment. Managing a kidney diet can be challenging for a number of reasons:
- There is no standard “kidney diet” – it’s complicated, and it changes over time depending on kidney function;
- Many people need to balance two or more diets, such as a diabetic diet and/or a heart health diet along with a kidney diet and they can often disagree;
- The diet can be really limited, especially if you have food allergies, intolerances and/or restrictions; and,
- Many of the guidelines and suggestions for healthy eating no longer apply when you’re following a kidney diet and you may need to reduce some fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
The kidney diet can also have a big impact on your quality of life and your social activities:
- Grocery shopping, label reading, and preparing kidney-friendly meals can seem like a full-time job;
- It can be difficult to eat out, and still control your sodium, potassium, phosphorous and protein intake;
- Friends and family may not know or understand what you can eat; and,
- You may miss some of your favorite foods and feel left out of holiday meal traditions and celebrations.
The Kidney Foundation of Canada has created the Kidney Community Kitchen to help address these challenges. This site celebrates food for people living with kidney disease—in addition to kidney-friendly recipes and meal plans, we’ve created information and fact sheets to help you manage your diet. This section of the website will continue to expand as we receive requests for information, so please let us know if there’s anything you would like us to add in the future.
