Low sodium foods
Patients with kidney disease usually have edema and high blood pressure. Sodium, or salt plays a role in the regulation of blood pressure and is related to edema. Too much sodium or slat intake will worsen edema and high blood pressure, which may make your kidney function reduce sharply. Therefore, removing high sodium or salt foods in your diet and replacing them with lower sodium/salt foods, and your kidney function can be greatly improved. Foods that are high in sodium include pickles, bacon, canned foods and processed foods, etc.
Fruits and vegetables
Patients with kidney disease often hear their doctors or nurses say they have high blood urea nitrogen. High blood urea nitrogen does have some relation with kidney function. Urea is a byproduct of protein metabolism. And if they intake high levels of protein, high levels of urea are relatively forced through their kidneys, making their kidneys failing to remove other toxins from their blood. Thus, in daily diet, they should eat more fruits and vegetables instead of consuming too much protein. Low protein intake can help control the amount of urea that kidneys have to filter.
Cherries
These tasty little fruits help reduce redness and swelling and contain a healthy amount of vitamin C as well as vitamin K, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, and citrate. The more tart the cherry, the higher the level of citrate. Citrate reduces uric acid in the bloodstream which can lead to gout and arthritis.Those who eat cherries have been found to have lower uric acid levels and a lower risk of gout attacks.
Olive Oil
Like fish, olive oil provides a healthy serving of nutrient dense, unsaturated fats. Olive oil is also the basis for the ‘Mediterranean Diet.’ A recent study found individuals suffering from chronic kidney disease who adopted this diet experienced improvements in both symptoms and survival. The active components in olives improve the life of those suffering from chronic kidney disease and will certainly provide kidney support to those looking to maintain kidney health.
