I do not currently have any known kidney problems but I am aware of the importance of a good renal diet for, not only people who have known kidney disease but anyone who is aging. As a cat owner, I know that kidney disease is a common cause of death in older cats, but this isn't the pet section, so let's stick to people's diets. I don't ordinarily post threads on topics that I don't have a good amount of personal knowledge about, but this is something that has come up in the forum and which has been on my mind, so I thought I'd start the thread. As you may know, although some doctors are comfortable with a more holistic approach, most doctors don't get much into diet information, beyond maybe suggesting you avoid some things. Their training is more along the lines of figuring out which medication or surgery to recommend, and not so much on healthy diets. However, the Mayo Clinic website has what looks to be a large number of recipes for renal diets, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website includes a page of suggestions for renal diets, while the American Kidney Fund website has a section on healthy eating and activity. While I don't know everything about everything, I do know that this is true of doctors as well, even specialists, who see a large number of patients and who are unlikely to take the time to give much in the way of consideration to my particular situation beyond that which they consider their job. Whether our particular health problem is related to our hearts, our kidneys, or some other body system, or whether it's simply a matter of facing the normal problems of aging, and wanting to remain as healthy and active as possible for as long as we can, I think it's important to be proactive, insofar as we are willing. By that, I mean that I might not be willing to give up everything that I should probably give up, or eat something that I really hate, but that shouldn't mean that I simply quit trying and deal with whatever happens. I'm sure that some of you may have faced this specific problem, which is what I'd like to focus on here. While I don't have any known kidney problems, this is something that we should all have some concern over.
My heart doctors hadn’t even told me that i had kidney failure, even though the heart failure can lead to kidney failure. It was my primary care doctor that told me, and showed me that my GFR was around 37, which was a lot lower than it should be. Even then, when I asked my doctors for more information, they pretty much said that both the heart and kidney failure would continue to get worse over time, and not get better. They always gave me the handout from the heart center that showed the heart-healthy diet, but no real information about my kidneys; so it has been pretty much up to me to do my own research and be my guinea-pig to see what helps and what didn’t. Changing my diet has helped both the heart and the kidneys to improve. I will probably always be below normal kidney function, but as long as they are still working and I am pretty much holding my own, I am good with that. One of the things that happens here in the US, is that we mostly eat a lot more protein foods than we need, and any protein that is not used immediately can’t be stored, so it is filtered out through the liver and the kidneys. We worry about getting enough protein, and never worry that we are getting too much of it, but none of us has ever seen anyone who has been diagnosed with a protein deficiency , unless they were being starved for some reason and not eating at all. I used to drink the high protein shakes, but once I realized that getting too much protein was as bad for me as not getting enough, I now try to moderate what I eat and get enough without getting an overload to put stress on my kidneys. https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/common-health-problems/kidney-disease/
As I have said before, my mother had kidney failure and was on dialysis for the last 5 years of her life. It was horrible, time-consuming, and heart-breaking watching her go through that. Hopefully dialysis treatment has improved since my mother died in 1991, but I know that I NEVER want to suffer like she did. I don't eat any particular diet since I wasn't even aware that there is a "kidney diet." I've been told to avoid too much salt or alcohol but that's about it. I need to do some research on this topic for myself. I do know that it is very important for a person to be proactive with their health care; doctors are NOT infallible. For example, I like my PCP very much and feel that she is an extremely competent doctor. However recently she proposed changing my blood pressure prescription to include a diuretic. I had to remind her that I have gout and lymphedema... and any diuretic is contra-indicated for those conditions. Doctors are only human, so it is important that we advocate for ourselves and do the research about our conditions, including special diets.
Interesting! I skimmed over the Mayo Clinic diet and the one item I didn’t see on the menus is beef which is understandable in a way because it’s high protein but then again, I see chicken IS included. I took a quick look around to do a little research to find out why and the main thing I found that isn’t good for renal health about beef is that it has a lot of phosphorus. Note: Sparrow is also high in phosphorus so ya’ll can avoid eating ‘em just for the sake of renal health. Sorry guys, I don’t make the rules. So far as kidney disease goes, I know it depends on what type one might have but from my understanding, it’s low protein for maintenance and high protein if one is on a dialysis machine.
Proactive is the key word. A diet with the correct ratio of fats, carbs, and protein is good for all ailments. My vestibular diet is nothing more than the Dr. Sears diet with a few modifications. That same diet will work for any ailment with special mods addressing the specific ailment. As we age and change so do our digestive systems. There are so many factors to consider like if we have teeth and can chew our food well and the fact that some animal proteins are harder to digest than they once were. The list goes on. Kidney and liver damage are closely associated. The use of the many meds we may be prescribed as seniors is a concern because our livers and kidneys are not as resilient as they once were. Then many times daily long term use is prescribed with some proven kidney and liver damaging drugs. It is an important juggling act trying to take a minimum of needed drugs, deal with the pain, get necessary sleep, and eat a balanced diet taylored to ones personal needs. Think of it as a lifestyle regimen and what is good for your immune system. Anything that strengthens the immune system is kidney and liver friendly. Stress is also a factor in causing kidney problems. Let me repeat that ... STRESS can cause kidney problems. This is commonly seen in children living in high stress conditions and seniors dealing with loss of love ones and all the stress that old age brings. Things like meditation, prayer, or other calming disciplines can do more for healthy kidneys than most of us are aware.
Healthline's list of the 20 best foods for people with kidney disease: Cauliflower Blueberries Sea Bass Red Grapes Egg Whites Garlic Buckwheat Olive Oil Bulgur Cabbage Skinless Chicken Bell Peppers Onions Arugula Macadamia Nuts Radishes Turnips Pineapple Cranberries Shiitake Mushrooms
Dr Michael Gregor writes about kidney health in his best selling books about “How Not to Die”, and he is definitely in favor of having plant protein in the diet as much as possible over animal protein. I am not ready to be a complete vegan, but I am leaning more towards being a vegetarian, because I think that it is healthier, especially with the antibiotics, and growth hormones, and other shots being given to food livestock nowdays. Here is a screenshot from one page about kidney function and protein.
I think our love affair with meat (all types) causes much of the problems with kidney function. And protein is touted as something wonderful, so the more, the better. I was watching a TV program where a surgeon brought human digestive organs on the show & discussed the function of each. One thing that surprised me was how small a human stomach is. It occurred to me that if we eat lots of meat, there isn't much room left for fruits & vegetables. Since meat is high in protein, maybe we are filling ourselves up with lots of protein & stressing our kidneys as a result. Milk is also high in protein. Typical American meals that include bacon & eggs for breakfast, a sandwich with turkey or ham for lunch & beef, chicken or fish for most of the dinner probably has way too much protein. Salad? Well, a bit of parsley next to the steak for garnish is not salad & it's ignored, anyway. Remember that old quote from a guy who broke up with his girlfriend: "I left her like the parsley on the plate at a truck stop diner." I've chatted with many diabetics who brag about always eating lots of meat because it has no carbohydrate & is therefore healthier for diabetes. Since a diabetic's kidneys are already under strain, I don't think the excess protein they're getting is doing them any favors.
High protein diets of any kind are hard on the kidneys. A ketogenic diet is designed to be bad for the kidneys and was a principle criticism of the Atkin's Diet when it was introduced all those years ago. Ketones are theoretically good for the brain but hard on the kidneys, so take your pick. I have a grandchild who is type 1 DM. His mother has put the entire family on a keto diet based on his blood sugar. I have tried my best to talk her out if it, as keto diets are not recommended by anyone I have read for long-term in children under 16. It is said to cause neurological problems in people who are still growing rapidly. We'll see. He seems pretty normal so far. They DO eat a lot of veggies now, but almost no digestible carbohydrates.
After my stay in the hospital for very low GFR number (22) and then, after two days, got it up to 58, I was thinking a lot about how much salt I was taking in. We stopped drinking Dasani water (that has salt in it) to Evian water that contains no salt. Just doing that got me into big trouble with my sodium level number (124). Basically speaking, I was not eating hardly anything before going in the hospital the second time for very low sodium. Once in the hospital, I got my taste buds and appetite back and started eating very good. That brought my GFR number up to 59 and sodium number up to 134. I had potatoes for breakfast last Sunday AM and potato chips with supper Sunday evening. That's most likely why my GFR number went down to 57. A GFR of 57 is still good, but I'm backing off from potatoes somewhat. Fish and pineapple are very good for kidneys, as well as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, cucumber that I'm still eating. I have a fruit cup with breakfast and supper each night. It is a must that I keep some salt in my diet, like I did in the hospital. I boiled some eggs and tried to eat the egg white only. That darn near made me vomit! I'll contine to eat the entire egg, whether that's hard boiled, in an omelet or scrambled. And, like I had in the hospital, a couple of breakfast link sausage once in a while for breakfast or a little ham in an omelet isn't going to hurt me. I won't let myself go overboard with either!
Here is what the Healthline website shows for normal GFR counts for adults, and especially for seniors.
Well, don't know about that, but the hospital doctor discharged me with a 58 count and my last blood lab (last Monday) showed 57 count. My wife's last blood lab showed her at 59 and her doctor stated that was fine. My VA doctor seen my 57 count and never called me about it as neither did the hospital doctor that seen my last blood lab report on Saturday morning. The 57, 58 and 59 count shows that my kidneys are working fine or very close to fine that neither doctor (VA or Hospital) are complaining about it to me. And, remember what the report stated: Lower than 60, MAY be an indication. The word "maybe" isn't a "yes you do".
Be aware that there are two different eGFR calculations out there. One is only based on creatinine and race (Cockroft-Gault) and the more modern one includes Cystatin C in the calculation. Make sure everyone is comparing apples to apples.
I was not aware of that. Lab Corp always puts mine at the mid 70s, while my urologist's in-house lab always puts it in the high 90s. edit to correct: Labcorp cites it as eGFR, and it's always high 80s to mid 90s. My doctor's in house analysis also says eGFR, and that's historically been in the mid 70s. The most recent ones are in the mid 80s. There is no "normal reference range" (age-adjusted or otherwise) cited for either.