In this rapidly evolving world, we don’t concentrate on certain vital things, and most importantly, we don’t care about what we eat, how much we eat, or at what time we eat. This will highly impact our health in the coming days. While paying more attention to other work, we failed to take care of our own health.
More than anything, prioritizing your health is a crucial thing. Our ancestors’ way of living and the foods they consumed, and notably, the lifestyle they lived, are completely different from what we do now. There is a wide opinion that their food habits and lifestyle are the main reason for their health. We can’t change a habit a single day so we need to practice eating healthy to nurture a better you!
Further, in this blog, let’s take a close look at foods to avoid kidney disease and foods that are good for your kidney health.
How Foods Will Impact Our Health?
As we all know, the foods we consume play a pivotal role in shaping our overall well-being. A proper diet for kidney disease should consist of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats, which are highly important for the proper functioning of our body. In contrast, a binge intake of processed foods high in sugars, saturated fats, and salt can contribute to numerous health issues like obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes just try to follow a kidney disease diet.
Whereas, some foods have been linked to inflammatory responses and disturbing conditions like arthritis and autoimmune disorders. Further, insufficient diversity in one’s diet may result in nutrient deficiencies, affecting the immune system and cognitive function, so there are foods to avoid in kidney disease. In essence, making mindful and nutritious food choices is crucial for promoting good health, preventing diseases, and ensuring optimal bodily functions.
What Foods Are Harmful For Kidney Health?
The kidney performs various important functions like:
- Filtering blood
- Removes waste through urine
- Produces hormones
- Balances minerals
- Maintains fluid balance
Whenever your kidney gets damaged or is unable to function properly, fluid will build up in your body, and waste products will accumulate in your blood, just visit the kidney disease treatment in Coimbatore. Opt for a kidney disease diet and avoid certain foods to assist in reducing the accumulation of waste products in your blood, enhance your kidney function, and prevent more damage. Further, let’s see some foods that are harmful to your kidney health.
– Sodas:
Apart from the calories and sugar, the sodas contain phosphorus most importantly dark-colored sodas. Simply, sodas are the foods to avoid in kidney disease. Most of the beverages consist of phosphorus, manufacturers add this to preserve and prevent discoloration. Usually, your body will absorb added phosphorus rather than natural ones, animal-based, or plant-based phosphorus, so just try to maintain a kidney disease diet.
Natural phosphorus is usually bound to protein, but these phosphorus in the form of additives are not like that. Rather, it’s seen in the form of salt and is more absorbable by the intestinal tract. Usually, we can see additive phosphorus in a product’s ingredients list, but it’s not mandatory to list the actual amount of additive phosphorus on the list. So sodas are one of the main foods to avoid in kidney disease.
– Canned Foods:
Canned foods like soups, beans, and vegetables are frequently bought due to their affordability. Whereas most canned foods consist of large amounts of sodium, and they add some preservatives like salt just to increase shelf life, these are the foods to avoid in kidney disease. Due to the high level of sodium present in canned items, are foods to avoid with kidney disease are advised to limit their consumption.
Prefer low sodium varieties or those products that mention ‘no salt added’ as a kidney disease diet. Further, washing and draining can significantly reduce the sodium content.
– Brown Rice:
Brown rice is a whole grain consisting of more phosphorus and potassium. Simply, a cup of cooked brown rice consists of high levels of phosphorus and potassium, when compared with white rice, try to maintain a kidney disease diet. At times, you may add brown rice into a renal diet, only in a small portion and balanced with other foods, just to avoid the high consumption of phosphorus and potassium.
There are also lower phosphorus levels in grains, try them because they are good alternatives to brown rice and serve as a good food in a kidney disease diet.
– Dairy Products:
Dairy products may be rich in vitamins and nutrients, but they are also a natural source of phosphorus and potassium. Binge consumption of dairy products along with foods rich in phosphorus can affect your bone health, most importantly for people with kidney disease. Notably, dairy products are the foods to avoid in kidney disease.
This may surprise you because we think milk and dairy products help strong bones and muscles and act as a kidney disease diet. However, people with kidney disease should reduce their intake of dairy products because phosphorus may build up in the blood, which pulls calcium from your bones. Eventually, your bones will become weak and thin after some time and increase the risk of bone fractures.
– Bananas And Oranges:
Bananas consist of high potassium and are also naturally low in sodium. You should avoid eating bananas when you are advised to reduce your intake of potassium. There are few fruits with high potassium content like bananas. While pineapples have low potassium when compared with other fruits, so they are foods good for kidneys. Simply, bananas are also one of the foods to avoid in kidney disease.
We all know that oranges and orange juices contain vitamin C, and they are also rich sources of potassium, so when you are following a kidney disease diet, avoid consuming oranges. Simply, you should avoid oranges or orange juices in your renal diet. The best alternatives for oranges are apples, grapes, and cranberries, and they also have less potassium content.
– Processed Meats:
Processed meats often pave the way for some chronic diseases and are widely considered to be unhealthy due to the preservatives added to them. Usually, processed meats are dried, salted, cured, and canned. Large amounts of salt will be added to these processed meats just to enhance the flavor and taste. So processed meat is one of the foods to avoid in kidney disease.
Further, processed meats also contain high levels of protein. If you are advised to limit protein intake for other reasons you should avoid eating processed meats as an act of a kidney disease diet.
– Pickles, Olives, And Tomatoes:
Typically, more salt is added during the process of pickling. Even processed olives can also be salty, and they are also cured and fermented to taste good. Even olive provides sodium. Nowadays, grocery shops are selling low-sodium varieties of olives, and pickles that contain less sodium than their previous counterparts. You can use them in a kidney disease diet.
Tomatoes are another vegetable that has a high potassium content. Even though you may think we use tomatoes literally in all the dishes, it is tough to avoid consuming them. But there are some substitutes with low potassium content, depending largely on your taste preference, which is crucial for a kidney disease diet. Whereas, replacing tomato sauce with a roasted red pepper sauce can be highly delicious and contain less potassium.
What Are Kidney-Friendly Foods?
Kidney-friendly foods are nothing but limiting certain foods and incorporating alternatives for them, which may be quite challenging so just visit the kidney care centre Coimbatore . Whereas there are also numerous nutritious and delicious foods that you can enjoy eating even as a part of a balanced kidney disease diet. Further, let’s see some of them:
- Low-potassium fruits
- Cauliflower and cabbage
- Fish
- Egg whites
- Garlic and onion
- Skinless chicken
- Berries
Be conscious of making adjustments as required, based on your preferences and needs for your kidney disease diet.
Final Takeaway:
If you wish to maintain your kidney health, just maintain a kidney disease diet that reduces the intake of potassium, phosphorus, and sodium, which can be a crucial aspect of maintaining it. Just limit the foods we mentioned above; likewise, if you are a person affected by kidney disease, your diet restrictions and nutrient intake can vary according to the severity of your disease. Following a kidney-friendly diet seems frustrating and slightly restrictive at times. However, closely working with your dietitian can assist you design a renal diet best suited to your needs.