Blood sugar concerns and kidney concerns can often go hand-in-hand. Caring for your whole body is essential to staying healthy and feeling your best. We frequently share low-carb recipes. But today, we are looking at the renal diet instead.
If you follow our blog, you know that we eschew most diets. We think the best diet is just eating a variety of healthy foods and limiting sugar. However, we always add the caveat that some diets are medically helpful. Even if they are restrictive, there may be a medically necessary reason to follow them. The renal diet is one such diet.
Your body absorbs nutrients from the food and drinks you eat. But what it doesn’t process goes through the blood to the kidneys to be filtered out through urine. For people with kidney concerns, nutrients can build up in the kidneys and blood and cause damage. The renal diet can prevent harm.
The renal diet is low in sodium, potassium and phosphorus. The nutrient most people are most familiar with is sodium, as it is a component of salt. If you follow the renal diet, it’s important to reduce salt by cooking with it less, not using it to season food and reading labels in the grocery store. Many foods have added salt. If a food has salt in the first five ingredients or more than 300 milligrams of sodium, it should be avoided.
Potassium is a mineral that helps muscles work. However, if kidneys aren’t performing well, potassium can build up in the blood and harmfully impact the heart, potentially leading to heart attacks. When you follow a renal diet, it’s essential to avoid some potassium-rich foods, including but not limited to bananas, oranges, prunes, tomatoes, dried beans, nut butters, broccoli and cooked leafy greens.
Phosphorus is another mineral that is usually considered beneficial but is dangerous for people with kidney concerns. It can accumulate in the blood and leech calcium from the bones that then builds up in the skin of blood vessels. Many sodas contain phosphorus. It is also found in foods like dried beans, leafy greens, broccoli and whole-grain products. Dairy of all kinds — milk, cheese and yogurt — contain high amounts of phosphorus. You can cut out phosphorus by switching to vegan cheese and yogurt and unenriched rice milk.
Some advice from the renal diet won’t work for people with blood sugar concerns. For instance, to avoid phosphorus and potassium, people are advised to pick white bread, regular pasta and white rice over whole-grain options. That may cause blood sugar spikes as they lack fiber and are high in carbs. This shopping list may help you as it shows foods safe for the renal diet but notes some of those high in carbs. Don’t trust it completely; white bread isn’t marked as high in carbs. But it might help as a loose guide.
Striking a balance can be difficult. If the renal diet is something that could help you. Speaking to a doctor may help you find a way to strike a balance to simultaneously protect your kidneys and blood sugar. The renal diet can slow down kidney damage and prevent other health complications. It could be hugely beneficial to your health. A doctor can help you form a plan or refer you to a nutritionist who can help you.
