Diet & Cooking Tips for Kidney Failure

Kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease or stage 5 chronic kidney disease, requires a special diet. Incorporating the appropriate foods into your lifestyle can help block toxins from accumulating in the body between dialysis sessions. When in the end stage of kidney failure, a renal dietitian is best suited to guide patients to the best diet by reviewing lab work. Based on the type of dialysis chosen, those with kidney failure are often looking at either a hemodialysis diet or a peritoneal dialysis diet.

Hemodialysis diet

• The hemodialysis diet focuses on lessening fluid and waste buildup between hemodialysis treatments. There's a strong focus on protein in this diet from food sources such as poultry, egg whites, fish and lean meat. This diet limits intake of sodium, potassium and phosphorus, which can be damaging to the heart, bones, joints and muscles. The amount of fluids, even those derived from certain foods such as melons, will also be restricted.

  Although the diet can certainly maintain your health between dialysis treatments, it's important to understand that this diet is not able to reverse damage done to the kidneys.

Peritoneal dialysis diet

• Since this type of dialysis is performed daily, the diet is more lenient, compared with the hemodialysis diet. Adequate protein is still a necessity with this diet. Also, potassium-concentrated foods are needed, such as tomatoes, bananas and oranges. However, foods with phosphorus will need to be largely avoided or limited. Consume moderate levels of sodium and fluid, based on your practitioner's guidelines.

  An individual with kidney failure may be advised to reduce the number of calories consumed. This is because the solution used for dialysis contains dextrose, which is somewhat absorbed by the body. It can translate to an extra 500 calories consumed daily. Again, this diet will not heal kidney damage; it just serves to maintain good health.

What to watch out for

• A potpourri of cooking tips include the following.

  1) Steer clear of salt substitutes containing potassium.

  2) Stay away from enhanced meats, which include those injected with water, salt and sodium phosphate.

  3) Limit calcium intake.

  4) If you are following the hemodialysis diet, you may want to watch intake of high-potassium foods, such as bananas, oranges and spinach. However, the peritoneal diet does require a certain amount of potassium-rich foods, so the limits on potassium don't need to be as strict with this diet. Consult your physician or dietitian when deciding how much potassium to consume.

  5) Avoid high-phosphorus foods, including cheese, milk, cola, nuts and peanut butter.

  6) Watch sodium intake, especially in processed meals, cured meats, and chips and pretzels.