An Introduction To Nutrition and Chronic Kidney Disease

Diet is an all important factor for people suffering from different
chronic diseases. This also includes people with high blood pressure
medically known as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, individuals
planning to lose weight, individuals recovering from addictions such
as smoking and those just in search of a better health with full of
energy. In the same way, diet is an integral part of chronic kidney
disease treatment plan. Doctors may recommend specific changes to your
diet overtime should your kidney disease gets worse. For this reason
kidney disease patients will have a number of tests done to track of
their overall health. Your doctor may even involve a dietitian to help
with planning your meals in order to get the right foods in the right
amounts.The recommendation to modify your diet is based on how much
kidney function you have. Kidney function is tracked by what is known
as glomerular filtration rate or GFR. This established through a
simple blood test for creatinine. Creatinine is a chemical waste that
is generated from muscle metabolism. It is a reliable method of
testing renal function. If creatinine levels rise in the blood its an
indication of poor clearance by the kidneys. The creatinine test also
takes into account a person's age, sex and body size. Should your GFR
continues to deteriorate, your doctor will adjust the amount of
protein, calories and other nutrients in your diet to meet the
changing needs.When treating chronic kidney disease, doctors are
interested in you getting enough calories. Enough calories form an
important part of your overall health and well-being. Calories
particularly supplies your body with energy, they help you stay
healthy and a healthy weight and they assist your body use protein for
building muscles and tissues. When your diet is modified to meet your
health needs its possible to limit on protein as well as cutting down
on important sources of calories. Consequently you need to get extra
calories from other foods. There are simple sources of calories
available such as carbohydrates like sugar, jam, jelly, hard candy and
syrup. Tub margarine and oils such as canola and olive oil are also
good sources which are low in saturated fat and have no
cholesterol.Your weight is also important if you have chronic kidney
disease. Individuals suffering from chronic disease will need to gain
weight or maintain their current weight.