What are the dietary taboos for kidney failure?

Control potassium, phosphorus, limit sodium, and limit non-high-quality protein. There are no foods that are absolutely untouchable, but all intake must match your current kidney function and excretion capacity. Blind taboos or random supplements may accelerate the progression of kidney failure.

Don’t believe it. I met a newly diagnosed patient in a kidney support group. His creatinine was over 300 and he was in Stage 3 kidney failure. I heard people say that eating a vegetarian diet can lower creatinine. He ate spinach and mushrooms with brown rice every day, and even the salt was replaced with low-sodium salt that is said to be healthier. As a result, within two months, his hands and feet were numb, and he was so flustered that he couldn’t stand. When he was sent to the emergency room, his blood potassium spiked to 6.2mmol/L. If it were later, it might cause cardiac arrest. In fact, the kidneys of patients with renal failure have long been compromised in their ability to excrete potassium. If potassium accumulates in the body and cannot be excreted, it will explode at any time. High-potassium foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, and bananas are not completely inedible, but it is best to blanch them for 1 minute in advance to remove nearly 60% of the potassium. As for low-sodium salt and low-sodium soy sauce with potassium chloride added, you should really try to avoid them.

In addition to potassium, which is prone to emergencies, there is also an invisible killer that hides deeper and is phosphorus. Many old patients who have suffered from kidney failure for five or six years are so itchy that they can't sleep all night long, and their bones hurt when they walk. Most of them are caused by long-term excessive blood phosphorus. The phosphorus in natural foods is okay, but the most important thing to guard against is the additive inorganic phosphorus in processed foods, which is almost 100% absorbed by the human body. The ingredients list of ham sausages, prepared dishes, bottled milk tea, cola, and even prepackaged bread sold in supermarkets Ingredients such as "dairy creamer, hydrogen phosphate, and sodium tripolyphosphate" are all heavy hit areas of phosphorus. There are also many people who think that bone soup that nourishes the body, no matter how thick it is stewed, is full of phosphorus and fat. Drinking it will not nourish the bones, but will put a burden on the kidneys.

The sodium restriction that everyone is most familiar with actually has many misunderstandings. It does not mean that adding less salt to cooking is enough. Pickles, pickles, take-out heavy rapeseeds, and even invisible salts in commonly used seasonings such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, and soybean paste must be taken into account. Ordinary people should not eat more than 5g of salt a day. People with kidney failure are best to control it within 3g, which is about the amount of a beer bottle cap. If you have lower limb edema or high blood pressure, you have to reduce it even more.

As for the protein intake that everyone is most confused about, we can neither avoid eating meat, eggs, milk, nor blindly supplement protein powder or eat a lot of fish and meat. Give priority to high-quality proteins such as eggs, milk, and lean poultry, which produce less metabolic waste after digestion. The intake should follow the stage of kidney function, and there is no need to deliberately go vegetarian. There is another point that has been controversial in academic circles for many years: can we eat soy products? In the past, it was generally believed that soy protein was a vegetable protein and should be strictly prohibited. In recent years, more and more clinical studies have found that the protein of soybeans, such as soybeans and black beans, is also high-quality protein. As long as it is included in the total daily protein, it is perfectly fine to eat in moderation. Only miscellaneous beans such as red beans, mung beans, and kidney beans are non-high-quality proteins. You should eat as little as possible. You don't have to be afraid to touch them when you see the word "bean".

Among the kidney friends I have met, many people wanted to quit all "taboo" foods when they were first diagnosed. In the end, they ended up with low albumin and malnutrition, and their kidney function progressed faster. In fact, dietary adjustments are never one-size-fits-all. For example, your urine output has always been maintained at 15 00ml or more, and there is no history of high potassium, the potassium does not need to be too stuck. If you have entered the regular dialysis stage, the protein intake should be increased appropriately. Adjust the blood potassium, blood phosphorus, and albumin indicators with each review, which is much more reliable than copying the general contraindication list on the Internet.