What should patients on dialysis eat

Do not change your diet without talking to your doctor or dietitian. Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse call line if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take. Each person's dialysis diet may be a little different. Work with your doctor or dietitian to create a food plan that guides your daily food choices. Here are some tips that may help you follow your plan.

If you do not feel very hungry, try to eat 4 or 5 small meals instead of 1 or 2 big meals. If you have a hard time eating enough, talk to your doctor or dietitian about ways you can add calories to your diet. Every day fill a pitcher with that amount of water. If you drink another fluid such as coffee that day, pour an equal amount out of the pitcher. And remember to count foods that are liquid at room temperature as fluids. These include ice, gelatin, ice pops, and ice cream.

Always check with your doctor if you have questions about your diet. Do not take any natural health products without talking to your doctor first. And check with your doctor about whether it is safe for you to drink alcohol. Author: Healthwise Staff. There is a range of foods good for a kidney dialysis patient. However, in a dialysis patient diet chart, the focus should be kept on four key areas:.

Potassium is an essential mineral which is considered highly beneficial for dialysis patients. It is important for the healthy functioning of nerves and muscles including the heart. An increased amount of potassium in the body can lead to heart problems such as irregular heartbeats and even cardiac arrest. On the other hand, a low potassium intake can cause muscle cramps and difficulty in breathing. The key is moderation. Dialysis patients are required to monitor their potassium intake and restrict it to a moderate level.

Most fruits and vegetables are generally high in potassium. You can remove some amount of potassium from vegetables by the process of leaching. Leaching means removing potassium amount from raw vegetables by soaking them in the water at least two hours before cooking. Other food products with a high amount of potassium are nuts, seeds, coconuts, wholegrain cereals, brown sugar and more. Sodium is a necessary electrolyte for body functions that helps in the regulation of blood pressure.

Sodium also helps in regulating acid and base balance in the body fluids. Despite being necessary, an increased level of sodium can lead to multiple health problems in a kidney dialysis patient.

These include hypertension, edema and shortness of breath among others. Therefore, it is mandatory for dialysis patients to restrict their sodium intake. Sodium is most commonly found in salt. Minimising the levels of salt in your meals can be really helpful. Other items such as processed foods are some foods for a dialysis patient to avoid.

Your target weight is the weight your doctor thinks you would be when all the extra fluid is removed from your body. You will be weighed before and after your treatment to see how close you are to your target weight. Following your recommended fluid intake will keep you from going too high above your target weight. Monthly laboratory tests are done to help your healthcare team evaluate you for anemia, mineral balance, protein nutrition and adequacy of dialysis.

Following your diet will help will help keep your test results within an acceptable range. Your dietitian will also perform a nutrition assessment when you begin hemodialysis and at least yearly. Signs of nutrition problems, changes in weight and energy levels and any other problems will be checked.

It will include an individualized nutrition plan of action. Your kidneys are already damaged and cannot be cured or reversed. However, the hemodialysis diet can help you feel your best between dialysis treatments and afterward. Access free kidney-friendly cookbooks from DaVita dietitians. See kidney-friendly food and drink choices to consider when eating out at your favorite restaurants.

Choose from 12 cuisine types. Download Now. By limiting dairy—based foods you protect your bones and blood vessels. If you have or are at risk for heart disease, some of the high fat foods listed above may not be good choices for you. Ask your dietitian for details. All fruits have some potassium, but certain fruits have more than others and should be limited or totally avoided.

Limiting potassium protects your heart. Eat servings of low potassium fruits each day. Depending on your calorie needs, your dietitian may recommend high-calorie deserts. Pies, cookies, sherbet, and cakes are good choices but limit dairy-based desserts and those made with chocolate, nuts, and bananas. If you have diabetes, discuss low carbohydrate dessert choices with your dietitian. At first the kidney and diabetic diet appear to be very different, but they are alike in many ways.

Both diets recommend eating 3 balanced meals, avoiding large amounts of protein, and limiting sodium. A balanced meal has at least 3 of the food groups protein, grain, vegetables, fruits, and dairy. The kidney diet limits the amount of milk that you drink, but many people with diabetes already limit milk to 4 ounces a day. The biggest change is that the kidney diet does not have as much variety in the types of fruits and vegetable choices because some have more potassium than others.

The diabetic diet recommends 45 to 75 grams of carbohydrate with each meal and spacing meals 4 to 5 hours apart. This recommendation is good for the kidney diet, too. Both the kidney and diabetic diet help to keep your heart healthy. In some cases, you may need to make only a few changes in your diet to fit your needs as a kidney patient.

For example, you may need to limit some of the free foods you have been using may need to be limited on your kidney diet.