Nutrition and kidney disease

Nutrition and kidney disease Emily Campbell, RD, Registered Dietitian

Duration: 2:26

Chronic kidney disease is the progressive loss of kidney function. The most common causes are related to high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, and some individuals have autoimmune or genetic conditions that can cause kidney disease.

About 10% of the world's population is affected by chronic kidney disease. The kidneys play an important role in removing waste products from our body and if the kidneys aren't able to filter these out through the blood and through the urine, they build up in the body. This can cause itchiness in the skin, high blood pressure, and it can cause electrolyte disturbances in the body. All of these things can making us feel unwell.

Changing your diet and nutrition intake at different stages of kidney disease can help to minimize the buildup of waste products, also help to lessen the workload of the kidneys, and help manage our blood pressure.

Some of the best foods you should eat for kidney disease are vegetables and fruit. Not only do they provide us with many great nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium and potassium, just to name a few, but they're also a really big source of fiber. Getting enough fiber can be a challenge for many North Americans. We often don't eat enough of it throughout the day. This is even more common with kidney disease, because many people don't know what foods to choose.

Having enough fiber obviously helps with our bowel regularity, so we don't get constipated, but it can also help to keep us full. Fiber plays a role with kidney disease to help keep our gut microbiome in check and helps us to clear the toxins and waste products from our body.

Some of the best fiber sources are things like apples, broccoli, blueberries, carrots, collard green, kale, peas, peppers, string beans and strawberries. These foods can certainly be included in a kidney friendly diet, but there are so many more that can fit as well.

In planning your meals with vegetables and fruits, make them the star and aim for about half of your meal and vegetables and fruit to help meet your fiber goals. When you're choosing vegetables and fruits, fresh and frozen are both great additions to the diet and always aim for a rainbow of color. Each day has different vegetables and fruit offer different vitamins and minerals for our diet. If you have questions about how much and how often to eat these foods with kidney disease, speaking with a local dietitian can help.

Presenter: Emily Campbell, Registered Dietitian, Toronto, ON

Local Practitioners: Registered Dietitian