Menu Planning for Kidney Disease

Renal Diet Menus and the Important Part they Play in Your Overall Wellness

Patients who have been diagnosed with Kidney Disease or renal failure may become overwhelmed with the news and the knowledge that their life will now include the care and maintenance of a serious illness.  When the physician diagnoses the disease and the type of treatment that will best to correct the illness, medication or possibly dialysis treatments will begin along with a recommendation to follow a proper renal diet menu.

Why is a good renal diet plan important to managing renal failure?

Along with dealing with medication and treatment, diet becomes a serious consideration on the path to wellness.  The foods you eat and the liquids you drink play a big part in how quickly your body will stabilize.  Your diet is not a cure by any means but it definitely makes a huge difference in how the body is able to function and recover.  For instance, think about what you would do if you had a cut on your arm.  The cut needs to be cleaned and properly dressed so it has the opportunity to heal.  Everyone knows it is best to use an antibiotic ointment and then apply a clean bandage.  If the wound is not cleaned and covered, dirt will infect the open area causing problems when it heals.  The diet plan you follow for your failed kidney problems works the same way.  Loading your system with too much sodium, fat, sugar, chemicals and high proteins will only cause more of an overload to your already struggling kidneys and impede the success of any medication or dialysis treatments you may be using to correct the problem.

Facing some hard truths:

Menu planning for kidney disease is not a choice but a necessity.  An individual, who suffers from renal failure, especially when accompanied by diabetes, does not have the luxury of overloading their body with the wrong food and drink choices.  It is not only about proper food and drink choices but also about the combinations of foods consumed at one time and the amounts consumed at one sitting as well as throughout the day based on overall intake.

An individual who has a normally functioning kidney may overeat or eat very bad choices of foods like those loaded with salt  but in a couple days their body is equipped to correct the overage and bring things back to balance eliminating all the  overindulgence.  In the case of someone who has renal failure, especially coupled with diabetes, the body is just not able to correct overdoes of sodium or other wrong foods and liquids even with the aid of medication and treatments.

The cold hard truth is you must do you part to help your body heal.  Your part is sticking to a well planned out menu for renal failure problems.  This may sound  difficult at first but in truth, the only ingredients you need are a good menu plan and the mind set of changing the way you eat and drink to accommodate your body’s special needs.

Are renal menu plans hard to follow?

The good news is if you can follow any recipe you can create meals that will make your struggling kidneys very happy.  Just because these are recipes geared to your specific health needs does not mean they are boring and tasteless.  Your physician may suggest a menu plan to follow but there are actually many good choices readily available to the individual who suffers from renal failure even when it is combined with diabetes.  The menu plan you follow needs to be a balancing act between the proper amounts of fluids, sodium, proteins, potassium and more in the proper amounts.  If the menu plan has too much salt or too much liquid or too much protein the malfunctioning kidney will not be able to handle the overage even with dialysis resulting in a life-threatening situation.

If you do not have a degree in nutrition and are not fully aware of all the guidelines that are critical in menu planning for kidney disease it is wise to turn to the experts.  The right menu combinations of foods and liquids that are best for your body is a balancing act that only an expert in the field of nutrition can create.  Choose a menu plan that meets your specific health needs and stick with it not as a diet plan but as a new way of eating.

Click here NOW to learn more about our kidney disease meal plans – Choose Predialysis or Dialysis Meal Plans, or Renal Diabetic Meal Plans