Renal Diabetic Diet - What To Look Out For

Kidney disease and kidney failure are complications related to diabetes. For those that are facing kidney problems, there may be additional rules to follow in regards to a diabetic diet. These changes must be made to prevent the kidneys from working too hard, since they are already having trouble. Our kidneys are responsible for filtering our blood and making urine. Eating too much sodium, protein, or liquid will cause the kidneys to work harder. The goal of a renal diabetic diet is to provide good nutrition and keep blood sugar levels in a healthy range, all while avoiding putting extra stress on the kidneys.

If you have kidney problems, it is most likely that you have been diabetic for several years and are already familiar with a basic diabetic diet. Most of those concepts will not change. Your dietitian will, however, probably reduce the number of protein-containing food servings that you may eat each day. A lot of protein-rich foods do not have many carbohydrates and do not raise blood sugar levels significantly. Because of this, diabetics may be in the habit of snacking on high-protein foods when they are hungry. This is fine, but is a habit which cannot continue once kidney problems arise. Your renal diet will have a strict limit on the number of grams of protein you can have each day.

The next biggest change will be limiting your overall intake of fluids. It sounds strange, but you will actually have to measure the amount of liquid that you drink or eat in foods such as soups. Sometimes it is hard to pay attention to all of the ways that you may accidentally get extra liquid in your diet. For example, you cannot add ice cubes to your drink after you have measured it, because that adds more liquid that was not accounted for!

Sodium reduction is the third major change that you will need to make once you switch to a renal diabetic diet. When thinking about possible sources of sodium, most people think of table salt first. While it is true that salting your food adds sodium (and that will have to stop on the renal diet!), this is not the largest contributor of sodium to our daily diets. Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed foods, like baked goods and foods that come in boxes and cans. The nutrition labels will tell you how much sodium is in each serving, so be sure to read it. You can also look for low sodium versions of processed foods that you like. Be sure to experiment with spices and sodium –free seasoning mixtures when cooking. Just because you are reducing your sodium does not mean that you food has to be bland!

Restricting your protein, fluid, and sodium intake is a change, but is very important. Closely following your renal diabetic diet will keep your kidneys working as well as possible for as long as possible and keep you comfortable between dialysis appointments.

Next article: Diabetic Diet Plan