Diet plays an important role in patients with chronic kidney failure. In particular, people with chronic kidney failure without dialysis, if they have a suitable diet, will help control chronic kidney failure better.
1. What role does diet play in patients with chronic kidney failure?
Patients with chronic kidney failure are mostly due to chronic diseases that cause complications such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, gout, diabetes, glomerulonephritis, kidney stones, prostate tumors, nephrotic syndrome, ...
In patients with chronic kidney failure, diet plays an extremely important role in the treatment and control of the disease, especially for patients who do not have to undergo dialysis. A diet that ensures nutrition and follows the doctor's instructions can bring the following benefits:
- Limit malnutrition.
- Adjust metabolic disorders, helping to preserve kidney function.
- Slow down the progression of the disease, thereby delaying the indication for dialysis.
- Improve and enhance the quality of life.
2. Dietary principles for people with chronic kidney failure without dialysis
Patients with chronic kidney failure without dialysis need to ensure the following dietary principles to control the disease:
- Sufficient energy: Patients with chronic kidney failure are often malnourished due to having to abstain from many types of food and metabolic disorders in the body, ... leading to poor appetite, or vomiting after eating. Therefore, each meal of patients with chronic kidney failure needs to ensure adequate energy to prevent malnutrition. The energy requirement for patients with chronic kidney failure without dialysis needs to be 35 - 45 Kcal/kg/day.
- Reduce protein: Patients with chronic kidney failure need to reduce the amount of protein in their diet to reduce kidney activity and excretion, limit waste accumulation in the kidneys and complications of increased blood urea, and help reduce symptoms of the disease such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, etc. The appropriate protein requirement in the diet is 0.8g/kg/day.
- Limit salt: Patients with chronic kidney failure need to limit salt and sodium in their meals to avoid putting pressure on damaged kidneys, limit sodium accumulation in the body, thereby reducing high blood pressure. The appropriate sodium requirement is from 1 - 2g/day, depending on the degree of kidney failure, edema and blood pressure of the patient.
- Limit potassium: People with chronic kidney failure also need to limit potassium in their diet because impaired kidney function cannot ensure potassium filtration like normal kidneys. The reasonable potassium requirement is 2 - 3g/day, however, when the potassium concentration in the blood increases, the patient has edema and little urine, it should be reduced to 1g/day.
- Limit phosphorus: Patients with chronic kidney failure without dialysis also need to limit phosphorus in their diet to limit the accumulation of phosphorus in the blood, which can increase the risk of bone fractures and bone and joint problems. The reasonable phosphorus requirement is less than 1.2g/day.
- Water requirement: Depending on the stage of the disease, the level of edema and the amount of urine, the patient should drink water appropriately. The average daily water requirement for patients with kidney failure is equal to the total amount of urine, the amount of fluid lost in the body (due to vomiting, ...) and about 300 - 500 ml.
3. What should and should not people with chronic kidney failure eat?
Below are some foods that patients with chronic kidney failure without dialysis should and should not eat, based on the eating principles mentioned above.
- Foods to eat: Foods that provide high-value proteins such as eggs, milk, lean meat, fish. Low-protein starches such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, taro, tapioca starch, ground rice, vermicelli. A variety of green vegetables, tubers, and fruits with low sugar content such as oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, apples, etc.
- Foods to avoid: Foods high in sodium that should be limited such as packaged foods, processed foods, canned foods, fish sauce, dried fish, etc. Foods rich in potassium that patients with chronic kidney failure should limit include beans, dark green vegetables (water spinach, Malabar spinach, amaranth, etc.), fresh and dried fruits (avocado, dragon fruit, grapes, dried bananas). Foods rich in phosphorus such as beef, egg yolks, dried shrimp, soybeans, dried lotus seeds,... Foods high in harmful fats such as animal organs, butter, cheese, ...
4. Suggested menu for people with chronic kidney failure without dialysis
Based on the principles and foods that patients with chronic kidney failure without dialysis should and should not eat, below is a suggested menu for patients:
- Breakfast: 1 bowl of beef vermicelli including 70g vermicelli, 20g beef.
- Morning snack: 200ml milk and 1⁄2 slice of bread.
- Lunch: 2 bowls of rice equivalent to 100g rice, 20g braised lean meat, 150g stir-fried water spinach, 50g soup cabbage, 100g orange.
- Afternoon snack: Tapioca sweet soup including 70g taro, 15g tapioca, 20g sugar.
- Dinner: 2 bowls of rice equivalent to 80g rice, 30g braised mackerel, 50g cabbage soup.
Total energy value in 1 day equivalent to 1800Kcal.
Patients with chronic kidney failure without dialysis need to develop a reasonable diet to help maintain and preserve kidney function while slowing the progression of the disease and prolonging the time of dialysis treatment.
Diet plays an important role for patients with chronic kidney failure because maintaining a reasonable diet will help patients stabilize their health as well as protect kidney function to work better.
Vinmec International General Hospital is not only famous for its quality of professional medical examination and treatment services but is also famous for having successfully treated many complicated cases under the guidance of highly specialized and experienced doctors. In particular, the team of doctors at Vinmec is always ready to listen, advise and treat diseases as well as advise on nutrition and foods that are good for the health of each patient.
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