Chronic Kidney Disease Diet

Diet for Chronic Kidney Disease

Diet for Chronic Kidney Disease

Diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), need not worry about your diet!

Let not the thought of a restrictive diet haunt you!!

Yes, it does need changes but slowly and gradually, you can adapt to it.

We can walk you through some tips that can help you select your food items wisely and then we shall look into some kidney friendly recipes too!

Few tips for diet in CKD:

  1. Salt restriction: It is of prime importance in CKD. Salt and fluid restriction are needed to avoid complications of CKD like raised blood pressure, swelling on feet/ face, breathlessness, etc. To get answers to some frequently asked questions about kidney diet, click here

Myth: Kidney patients should prefer low sodium salt.

Fact: Kidney patients should not prefer low sodium salt, they should rather prefer normal sodium and iodised salt but in less quantity. Also, they should not prefer a NO SALT diet, but a LOW SALT diet.

Practical tips: Avoid adding salt to chapatti, rice, salads, curd. Add salt only to vegetables/ dals and breakfast/ snacks. Avoid foods with extra salt like baking soda/ baking powder; namely breads, biscuits, khari, butter, toasts, etc.

  1. Fluid restriction: As kidneys are responsible for flushing out extra fluid from body, so when kidneys cannot perform this function; fluid can begin to accumulate in the body. This can give rise to symptoms like raised blood pressure, swelling on feet/face, breathlessness, etc. Hence, always talk to your Nephrologist about your fluid intake.

Myth: Drinking more water can help in flushing out toxins like creatinine from body.

Fact: When kidneys are not able to do their work efficiently, it leads to accumulation of fluids and hence, fluid intake should be restricted.

Practical tips: Use a bottle with measurement marks on it, to track your fluid intake. Remember to count all liquids (at room temperature) like tea/ milk/ dal/ kadi/ kadha/ buttermilk/ ice cream, etc as fluids.

  1. Potassium restriction: Potassium restriction is required in case your potassium level rises in blood. It is a dangerous element as it can lead to harmful consequences like cardiac arrest (stops the functioning of heart).

Myth: Potassium is not as dangerous as creatinine for kidney patients.

Facts: Potassium is much more dangerous than creatinine as it can lead to cardiac arrest (sudden stoppage of heart) while creatinine does not do so.

Practical tips: For lowering the potassium intake, avoid coconut water and coconut based items like chutneys, etc, fruit juices, soups, sherbats, alcoholic beverages and neera.

  1. Protein restriction: CKD diet requires restriction of proteins; however, they should not be completely eliminated from diet. Protein intake for normal individuals should be 1 gram per kg body weight. In CKD, this needs to be lowered down to 0.6-0.8 gram per kg body weight.

Myth: Proteins should be completely stopped from diet if you have CKD.

Fact: This does not serve the purpose, on the other hand; it can cause reverse outcome which is malnutrition. Protein intake should be reduced only if the intake is high and this should be done under the supervision of a Renal Dietician. Talk to your Dietician to know whether you need protein restriction. On a practical note, a Jain patient may already be eating low protein as compared to a Christian patient. So, a Renal Dietician can help you with this.

Practical tips: Avoid eating too many proteins in a single meal. Spread out proteins in every meal in limited quantity, for example – one can prefer milk or curd in breakfast, dal or pulse or egg white in lunch and dinner.

At times kidney patients have to struggle with their meals as they may not be tasty due to low salt intake, so if you are looking forward for some LOW SALT but highly tasty kidney friendly side dishes, click here

By-

Dr Rachana Jasani,

Renal Nutritionist,

PhD, RD


Hemodialysis Diet

Diet for Hemodialysis

Diet for hemodialysis

Initiated on dialysis and worried about what to eat and what not?

Relax, we can help you stay healthy and eat healthy while on dialysis.

We can walk you through some tips that can help you select your food items wisely and then we shall look into some dialysis friendly recipes too! To get access to low salt, low potassium, high protein dips for dialysis patients, click here

Few tips for diet in dialysis:

  • Salt restriction: Eating excessive salt can make you feel thirsty. Drinking excessive water can lead to fluid burden in your body which can result into accumulation of fluids in body. Hence, salt restriction is essential while on hemodialysis.

Myth: Salt substitutes are healthy for dialysis patients.

Fact: Salt substitutes like low sodium salts contain potassium which is a dangerous element as excessive potassium can cause changes in normal rhythm of the heart and can be fatal.

Practical tips: Avoid salted nuts, snacks, biscuits, dry fruits, etc. Avoid adding salt to chapatti, rice, salads, curd. Add salt only to vegetables/ dals and breakfast/ snacks. Instead of salt, you may use other flavouring agents like lime, vinegar, amchur powder.

  • Fluid restriction: Yes, fluid restriction is carried further from CKD to dialysis as well. This is because kidneys are no longer able to flush out extra fluids from the body. Dialysis begins at the last stage of kidney disease and it helps in flushing off extra fluids; along with toxins, hence fluid restriction is essential. Talk to your Nephrologist about the amount of fluid that you can drink.

Myth: Water drunk during dialysis session can get flushed from the machine at the same time.

Fact: Water drunk cannot get flushed out from the body at the same time.

Practical tips: You may opt to drink luke warm water instead of cold water as warm water is difficult to be had in a large quantity while cold water can be had easily. To reduce the fluids intake, warm water can prove to be beneficial.

  • Potassium restriction: Potassium restriction is required in case your potassium level rises in blood. It is a dangerous element as it can lead to harmful consequences like cardiac arrest (stops the functioning of heart).

Myth: Potassium is not a dangerous parameter.

Facts: Potassium is a SILENT KILLER! Especially for patients with heart problems, it can lead to sudden cardiac arrest (sudden stoppage of heart) without warning sings.

Practical tips: For lowering the potassium intake, prefer rice chapatis or bhakhris over wheat chapatis. Prefer kadi over curd. Prefer leaching vegetables and dals/ pulses. Avoid coconut water and coconut based items like chutneys, etc, fruit juices, soups, sherbats, alcoholic beverages and neera. To view low potassium vegetable recipe, click here

NOTE: Leaching is process which involves chopping and either soaking vegetables (or dals/ pulses) in large quantity of water or boiling vegetables in large quantity of water and then discarding water. This helps in reducing the potassium content from vegetables or dals/ pulses.

  • Protein supplementation: Once on dialysis, you need to eat extra proteins to compensate for the loss of proteins during dialysis procedure. If you are on hemodialysis, you need to eat 1.2 grams proteins per kg body weight per day (i.e. 20% more than the protein intake for normal individuals). To incorporate this extra proteins intake, you may need artificial supplements like high protein powders or high protein biscuits. You may talk to your Nephrologist/ Renal Dietician for same. To gain access to high protein dialysis friendly recipes, click here

Myth: Over the counter protein supplement can be preferred by dialysis patients.

Fact: Dialysis patients need special supplements which are low in electrolytes, phosphorus and high in calories as well as proteins. They are specially designed keeping the needs of dialysis patients in mind. Hence, any over the counter protein supplement should not be preferred.

Practical tips: To increase your protein intake, you may opt:

  • 4-6 egg whites a day or
  • 80-100 grams paneer (chenna/cottage cheese) a day or
  • 25 grams of defatted soya chunks

In addition, it is advisable to have cereal – pulse combination based items as they are good sources of protein too, for example – khichdi/ idli/ dosa/ uttapam/ etc.

By-

Dr Rachana Jasani,

Renal Nutritionist,

PhD, RD

Joy of Giving

Mumbai Kidney Foundation – Joy of Giving Week
Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of Kidney patients and their families?
The Joy of Giving week is here and together we can create a better World.
How can you help or contribute?
– Adopt a Dialysis Patients.
Rs. 10000/- to fund 1 patient’s dialysis for entire month.
Rs. 5000/- to fund 1 patient for half month dialysis
Rs. 2500/- to fund 1 patient for 1 week dialysis
– Adopt a Transplant Patient
Transplant, an expensive yet necessary treatment adopt a patient and fund his medicines.
Rs. 10000/- for 1 month
Rs. 5000/- for 15 days
– Provide a quality of Life to dialysis patient
It’s important for dialysis patient to maintain a balanced diet and high-protein supplements can be helpful.
Rs. 1000/- to meet one patient’s protein needs for 1 month.
– Educational help to children of Dialysis Patients
Donate to fund their educational expense.
Rs. 24000/- per child for one year
Rs. 12000/- per child for 6 months
Rs. 6000/- per child for 3 months.
For donation related queries, please get ion touch
+91 76780 92434
+91 99307 46030

Free detection of Kidney Disease and Liver Disease

Free Kidney Disease and Liver disease detection campaign was done by Mumbai Kidney Foundation at Lancelot Kidney & GI Centre, Borivali, Mumbai with Rotary Club of Mumbai and Brahmakumaris.

This campaign has done a free Blood pressure checkup, Blood test, urine test and free consultation with renowned doctors for health checkup. People had gathered in huge avail the benefit of this campaign. 

Care to Teach Campaign

In the wake of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, countless dreams were shattered, especially those of children. The closure of schools and the economic strains faced by families left many young minds without access to education, a loss that deeply concerned us at Mumbai Kidney Foundation.

Our Response: Care to Teach

In our quest to empower the future, we launched “Care to Teach.” This visionary initiative aimed to provide hope, education, and a brighter future to children who had lost access to learning due to the pandemic.

Making an Impact, One Child at a Time

We are proud to announce that Care to Teach has already touched the lives of over 500 students and counting. Each child was granted financial assistance of RS 20,000 which covered essential education expenses like tuition fees, school supplies, and stationery. This support was not limited by any boundaries; it was open to any child in need of financial assistance. A total amount of RS 1,00,00,000  and more was gathered and given for children’s education.

A Lifeline During Challenging Times

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges for families across the nation. Education became a luxury that many could not afford. However, thanks to the Care to Teach initiative, children from various backgrounds, including those studying at schools, naming a few of the many –  Smt J B Khot High School, Our Lady Of Remedy School, Mother Teressa High School, Pragnya Bodhini High School , Guru Nanak Mission High School , Holy Angels Kindergarten , mary immaculate girls high school  and colleges namely, Shri. T.P. Bhatia college of science, KES Junior college of Arts , Elphinstone college , Niranjana Majithia College, St. Rock’s College of Commerce and many many more such schools and colleges,  were given a lifeline to continue their education.

Mumbai Kidney Foundation: Nurturing Dreams

Care to Teach stands as a testament to the Mumbai Kidney Foundation’s commitment to humanity. It was not just a program; it was a beacon of hope during the darkest of times.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported and believed in this initiative. Together, we have sown the seeds of knowledge and opportunity in the hearts of these children.

Do’s and Dont’s for Dialysis Patients

Do's and Dont's for Dialysis Patients

As Dialysis Patients, we are equally responsible for our health as our doctors and team at the dialysis centres. It is important that we take adequate care of our own health by following some simple guidelines in our day to day life.

Broadly speaking, these guidelines can be divided into three aspects:


1. Adhering to the prescribed diet and fluid restrictions

This is one of the most important things under our control. It is important to restrict fluid intake and ensure that we do not gain too much fluid weight between two dialysis sessions. The average- sized human body is capable of losing only about 500 ml per hour without any side-effects during dialysis. Any fluid removal at a higher rate can result in many undesired complications such as cramps and low blood pressure. It is therefore upon us to not drink fluid to the extent that we need to remove more than about 2 litres in one dialysis session.
Salt restriction is a good way of reducing fluid intake. Consuming excess salt increases thirst that causes increased fluid consumption.
It is also important to restrict other food items that have been advised to us by the dietician our nephrologist especially foods that are rich in Potassium and Phosphorus.

2. Adhering to the prescribed dialysis frequency and medications

Nephrologists know what is best for us. When a doctor says we need dialysis thrice a week, it is important that we follow his or her advice and undergo dialysis thrice a week. In the developed world, no patient who is diagnosed with ESRD undergoes less than 3 sessions per week. We must resist getting carried away by the words of our neighbours and colleagues who are not medically qualified but keep advising us to do only 1 or 2 sessions per week. This can lead to very dangerous consequences for the heart and lungs.
It is also important to take the prescribed medication like Erythropoietin and Iron injections as well as phosphate binders and other medication prescribed by our nephrologist as these play a crucial role in controlling several side-effects of kidney disease.

3. Meeting the nephrologist once a month in the OPD

The human body undergoes a lot of changes from time to time. These changes are measurable by undergoing blood tests and others investigations as prescribed by the doctor. We must get these tests done and take the results and meet the nephrologist in the OPD as this enables a proper, detailed review of our current condition. Even though we meet him or her during the dialysis session, it is not possible to undergo a thorough evaluation during that visit. Such a review is possible only in the OPD. So, it is important for us to meet our nephrologist at least once a month and get his advice on various issues we may be having.

The role of the patient is very important in the overall care plan. Without the patient’s co-operation, proper treatment can never be given. Therefore, we must all realise this and make sure to be a part of the treatment plan that our doctor has decided for us. We must do our bit to feel better. After all, who has the most to lose if we don’t? Only us!

Know your Numbers

Know your Numbers

Yes, every Indian who is more than 30 years should know his health numbers of Blood Pressure, Weight or BMI, Blood Sugar and Blood Cholesterol. He should aim for a perfect figure of Blood Pressure < 120/80, HbA1C below 6.5, BMI < 25, fasting blood sugar below 100 and post lunch blood sugar below 140 and your total  cholesterol <200 and LDL Cholesterol below 100.

This perfect figure matrix is very important as India is reeling under an epidemic of non- communicable diseases or what is referred to as life style disease.  Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Obesity or over weight kills more than 60% of Indians and what is really disturbing is, it kills them prematurely.

Indians are genetically more inclined to develop Diabetes, obesity and high BP at a relatively younger age when they are the bread winners of the family.

The 3 illnesses of Diabetes, Hypertension and obesity, not only are life threatening but more importantly they can lead to catastrophic  complication such as heart attack, paralysis, kidney failure, blindness, amputation , fatty liver & liver failure. The treatment of these complications is angioplasty, by-pass surgery, kidney transplant, liver transplant, etc.

2/3rd of Indians cannot afford it & even if you can, do you really wish to go through it?!

So friends take charge of your life. Have a perfect figure, only you can do it.

How do I have a perfect figure?

There are 3 steps to it:

  • Measure it: Any time you go to your family doctor, get your BP, weight & sugar checked or better still, buy these instruments and measure it at home.
  • Improve it: Join our “Ek Chammach Kum & Char Kadam Jyada” campaign. Start by reducing salt, sugar & oil by 30%. Avoid processed food & calories dense food rich in saturated fats. Beware of hidden salt in soups, bakery products, bread, noodles, sauces, pasta, farsans, cola drinks, etc. Start walking from today 30 minutes daily & say no to tobacco in every form.
  • Flaunt it: Once you reach a perfect figure of BMI less than 25, HbA1C less than 6.5, BP 120/80 and Cholesterol <200.

 

BY

Dr. Umesh Khanna