Hemodialysis Diet Is Key To Making Renal Failure Healthier
Hemodialysis is the medical method of cleaning waste and free water from your blood if your kidneys go into renal failure, and is one of three ways—transplant and peritoneal dialysis being the others—in which renal replacement can be performed. With a hemodialysis diet, there are fewer dietary restrictions than you might have to face dealing with other renal replacement treatments, but the restrictions are still there.
What the Hemodialysis Diet Requires
According to the National Kidney Foundation, a proper hemodialysis diet customarily requires that you eat more high quality protein foods, eat fewer foods high in salt, potassium, and phosphorus, substitute herbs, spices, and low-salt flavor enhancement for pure salt, and stay away from potassium-made salt substitutions.
This is not as difficult a hemodialysis diet plan to follow as you may fear, though it is certainly not a simple one, either. Your physician or specialized renal dietitian will prescribe a meal plan for you to follow, and there are several resources on which you can lean to make a sensible and easier-to-follow scheduled meal plan from those prescriptions.
How You Can Plan Your Hemodialysis Diet Meals
Online, you can get assistance in planning your meals from such several resources. Many of these will help you develop a balanced meal plan in which you can make food substitutions using basic principles, because the meal categories include the same nutrients you need to maintain your body during your dialysis period. After you receive your doctor or renal dietitian-outlined diet plan, those resources will usually help you plan for daily or weekly diet maintenance, or even both, and many also include specialized renal diet recipes which are easy to follow , and you can and keep a printable record for follow-up with your doctor or renal dietitian about your hemodialysis diet meal plan.
What You Can Eat On A Hemodialysis Diet
So what can you eat on a hemodialysis diet? Among other things, you can eat lean meat and poultry, fish, and egg whites, all high in protein and all carrying the amino acids you will need especially to control your weight and body fluids between dialysis sessions. You will find yourself monitoring not merely the fluids you drink but those which might be hidden in some of your food, such as gravies, sauces, and desserts like gelatin and sherbet. Your doctor or renal dietitian will outline the precise amount of fluid you can consume safely between dialysis treatments on your hemodialysis diet, because your damaged kidneys cannot take excess fluid from your blood and you must maintain your weight between treatments for the maximum benefit.
Your doctor may also prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements, depending on your actual condition, because of what you may be missing now that you must avoid certain foods. Beware, however, to take only what your doctor does prescribe, because off-the-shelf supplements may harm you.
A Sample Meal Plan for A Hemodialysis Diet
Based on examining several kidney disease research and diet resources, if your doctor or renal dietitian has decided you should have restricted potassium, phosphorus, and fluid restrictions, one sample menu plan for a hemodialysis diet could resemble this:
Breakfast—A breakfast sandwich consisting of scrambled egg whites with two ounces of thin-sliced meat on toast or an English muffin, and four ounces of non-acidic fruit juice.
Lunch—A salmon or other fish salad consisting of a cup of romaine lettuce, an eighth of a cup of raw broccoli, a tablespoon of slivered or chopped nuts, three ounces of cooked salmon, and low-fat dressing, with a small white roll buttered with trans-fat-free margarine on the side, and a four-ounce glass of a water or non-carbonated beverage.
Snack—Low sodium or sodium-free Ritz crackers with low-sodium cream cheese.
Dinner—Three ounces of grilled skinless chicken, half a cup of squash, half a cup of cabbage atop a cup of cooked pasta, substituting two tablespoons of olive oil and half a cup of low-sodium chicken broth for pasta sauce, half a cup of cherries, and a four-ounce glass of water, with orange sherbet for dessert.
Be sure to consult with your doctor or renal dietitian to determine which beverages and other fluids are safe for you. Most resources indicate Diet Sprite or Crystal Light as safe choices, but your doctor or dietitian will know others you can drink on a hemodialysis diet.
Did you find this information useful? Please pass it along!