Nutrition Page - Red Moon Dialysis -

Our Mission Statement is to treat patients as we would like to be treated if we had kidney failure and were on dialysis.

Nutrition

Good nutrition is key to feeling well while on dialysis. When your kidneys do not work well, waste products build up in your blood. The dialysis machine removes some, but not all, of these wastes. That is why following a renal diet is so important. You can help control the amount of waste products in your blood through good nutrition.

There are different nutrients that dialysis patients need to pay attention to in their diet to achieve optimal nutrition intake. They are: calories, protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and fluid.

Calories
Calories provide energy for your body. Undergoing dialysis treatments is taxing on the body, so you may need more calories than you did before starting dialysis. However, sometimes people on dialysis become less active than they were before starting dialysis and need less calories. It is a good idea to watch your weight after dialysis treatments. If it is decreasing consistently and you feel more sluggish during your regular, daily activities, you may need to eat a little more. If you are gaining weight, you may need to decrease the amount of food you eat. The dietitian can help you manage your weight and help you eat the right amount of food for your needs.

Protein
Protein helps you keep muscle and repair tissues. Before you were on dialysis, the nephrologist may have advised you to eat a low protein diet. Now that you are on dialysis, your body loses a little bit of protein each time you dialyze. You need to replenish this, so your protein needs are even higher than they were before your kidneys started to fail. Make sure that you eat high quality protein each day. This is beef, fish, poultry, pork, lamb, shellfish, and eggs. The dietitian can help you learn the right amount of protein for your diet.

Sodium
Sodium is found in table salt and other foods. Sodium makes you thirsty and makes your body retain fluids. If you retain fluid, your heart has to work harder to manage all the extra blood volume, your hands and feet may get puffy with extra fluid, and it may become difficult to breathe. So it is best to try to limit your sodium intake to about 2000mg per day. One teaspoon of table salt has 2300mg of sodium, so it is a good idea to cut out the salt shaker at the table altogether. Use herbs and spices to flavor your food. Be wary of “salt substitutes”, which often contain potassium chloride. Potassium is another mineral dialysis patients need to avoid. Try to eat fresh foods, and avoid convenience foods like canned foods, frozen dinners, deli foods, cured or processed meats and cheeses, and fast food.

Potassium
Potassium is a mineral found in many foods, especially milk, fruits, and vegetables. It affects how steadily your heart beats. Eating too much potassium can be very dangerous to your heart, and may even cause death. Some of the most common high potassium foods to avoid are: milk, yogurt, bananas, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, oranges, potatoes, avocados, tomatoes, apricots, and dried fruits. Low potassium fruits and vegetables include: apples, blueberries, fruit cocktail, grapes, lemons, canned peaches and pears, pineapple, strawberries, watermelon, carrots, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, and onions. Ask the dietitian for a comprehensive list of low, medium, and high potassium foods.

Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a mineral found in many foods naturally and used as an additive in convenience foods. If there is too much phosphorus in your blood, calcium is pulled from your bones, making your bones weak and likely to break. Too much phosphorus in your blood can make you feel itchy, too. High phosphorus foods include milk, cheese, yogurt, beans (refried, black, kidney, pinto, etc.), peas, colas, nuts, peanut butter, and chocolate. It is best that dialysis patients limit their intake of these foods to one, small serving per day, i.e. ½ cup of milk, 1 oz. of cheese, ½ cup of beans. Dialysis patients often take a medication called a phosphorus binder to control the amount of phosphorus absorbed by the body in between dialysis sessions. The most common binders are Renagel, Phoslo, Fosrenol, and Tums. These binders are taken with each meal and soak up much of the phosphorus in the meal, so it does not get into the blood. The phosphorus is passed out of the body in the stool. Because the binders can’t soak up all of the phosphorus in food without limit, it is important to follow a low phosphorus diet. Ask the dietitian for a comprehensive list of low, medium, and high phosphorus foods.

Fluid
As a dialysis patient, it is important to limit the amount of fluid that you drink. Having extra fluid in your body can make your heart work harder. When you dialyze, the machine will take off the fluid that accumulated in your body in between dialysis sessions. However, it is hard on your body to have large amounts of fluid removed at one time. Try to limit your intake so that you gain no more than 5% of your body weight in between treatments. Usually this is about one kilogram (kg) or 2 pounds per day. So this is usually a 2-3kg weight gain between treatments. Any food that is liquid at room temperature contains fluid. This includes soup, Jell-O, ice cream, ice, and any beverage. Fruits and vegetables often have a high water content and contribute to your daily fluid intake. These include grapes, apples, lettuce, celery, and watermelon.

Tips to control your thirst:
Drink to thirst only.
Salty foods make you thirsty, avoid them.
Do not drink out of habit or to be social.
Try having allowed fruits and vegetables ice cold between meals.
Try sliced lemon wedges to stimulate saliva and moisten a dry mouth.
Use sour hard candies and chewing gum to moisten mouth.
Rinse your mouth with water, but do not swallow it.