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Kidney & Cancer Diet for Diabetics

The presence of diabetes throws a proverbial wrench into any diet strategy, as nearly all diets that are not specifically tailored for diabetes will have to be modified in some way to deal with their unique needs. Although developing a diet for a combination of kidney conditions, cancer and diabetes is quite a juggling act, adhering to such a methodology can be accomplished with sufficient diligence on the part of the dieter.

  1. Diabetes

    • It's important to understand the mechanism behind diabetes in order to best structure a diet to compensate for its unique requirements. Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your body is unable to properly produce or utilize the hormone insulin---a substance that the body produces to regulate blood sugar levels. After consuming a meal containing carbohydrates, blood sugar rises depending on how quickly the meal is digested, with faster digesting carbs triggering a greater rise in blood sugar. In a person without diabetes, insulin is then released in proportionate amount to "clean up" the excess sugar in the bloodstream. In someone with diabetes, this process does not work as intended, leading to a potentially hyperglycemia state. Avoiding a spike in blood sugar by only consuming carbs that are slow digesting is the main method for managing diabetes through diet. This is accomplished by eating foods that are low on the glycemic index (GI) scale---a table that lists different types of carbs, assigning them a value depending on how quickly they are digested. Sample low-GI carbs include fruits and vegetables along with whole grains like wheat, oats and rye. Thus, the carb source in your diabetes-renal-cancer diet must only consist of low-GI carbs.

    Renal Diet

    • Consume a limited amount of protein, sodium, potassium and phosphorous to fulfill the basic requirement behind a kidney-sparing diet. A kidney-sparing diet functions to reduce the overall workload on the kidneys, and the primary way to do this is by limiting intake of foods in the aforementioned groups. Limit your protein intake to no more than 40 to 60 grams per day, but not much less than that either, as the body needs a minimal amount of protein to build and repair tissue. Regarding sodium intake, be sure to never add additional salt to any food, and always look for low-sodium alternatives for your favorite foods to further limit consumption. Regarding potassium and phosphorous, avoid the following foods: bananas, chocolate, broccoli, coffee, oranges, raisins, tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, sodas, nuts, chicken and cheese.

    Cancer Diet

    • Operate within the framework of the aforementioned sections in addition to the following rules to create an ideal anti-cancer diet. According to the American Cancer Society, a healthy diet should consist mainly of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, while striving to minimize consumption of saturated and trans fats. Thus, fitting it into the existing structure of the renal and diabetic diets discussed above should be easy. Just be sure to stick to only low-GI carbs, avoid the specific foods mentioned, and keep your protein intake low.

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