Your top tips for eating well with kidney disease

Share your top food tips with others. What’s your go-to meal or snack? You might have a particular snack or food that you never eat on treatment day, for example. Share your experiences with others so we can all learn from each other.

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My hubby is very much a creature of habit and must have two slices of toast (one with marmalade or rhubarb & ginger jam, the other with lemon curd) and a cup of tea after the first hour of dialysis. An hour or so before the session ends, it’s 3 digestive biscuits with Philadelphia cheese. This has been his routine since starting home dialysis. :grin:

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I’ve made some lovely meals over the years using recipes from these magazines. I plan to try a couple of the Caribbean recipes next. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Some delicious looking recipes in this one! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Rhubarb and Ginger jam is life support. and a daily indulgence it has been my breakfast for 30 years. Company at last !! :grin::grinning_face: Best wishes B

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It is a very tasty addition to a slice of toast @Beanbag! Nothing wrong with a wee treat now and again. Hubby also has an occasional mince pie during the festive season - but only near the beginning of a dialysis session. :wink: :rofl:

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Just discovered these website and magazines recently as my renal team recommended them and keen to try some!! Hard being neurodivergent and having CKD and stay constant in eating unprocessed, and kidney friendly food but hope to find some easy quick tasty recipes to try here!! keen to hear what recipes others have tried!

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I’ve found some of the dietary advice we were given way back when! It would be much easier if I could attach photos but I’ll write them all out as and when I’ve got time. I would say that we check with renal staff or dietician if we’re unsure about anything!

Low Potassium Diet

Avoid any foods with potassium chloride in the ingredients. Salt substitutes are also made from potassium chloride. These are the foods we’re advised to avoid:

Cereals

All Bran, Bran Buds, Cereal bars, cereal containing nuts, dried fruit or chocolate

Sweets

Chocolate, fudge, fruit gums, toffee, liquorice, caramels, marzipan

Other Foods

Bovril, black treacle, rye crispbread, oriental mix, pakora, Marmite, chocolate spread, potato crisps, Bombay mix, Oxo, nuts, twiglets, bhajis

Fruits & vegetables particularly high in potassium

Avocado, papaya, bananas, rhubarb, melon, dried fruit, aubergines, mushrooms, sweet potatoes

All other fruit & veg can be eaten but no more than 4 small portions per day. One small bowl of vegetable soup counts as one portion. One small glass of fresh fruit juice = one portion.

Potatoes

Potatoes contain a lot of potassium, however you are allowed one portion of peeled and boiled potatoes per day. Avoid potato products where potatoes have not been boiled first (chips, roast potatoes, croquettes, baked potatoes, waffles, crisps or instant mash.

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Drinks to avoid

Cocoa, drinking chocolate, malted drinks (Ovaltine, Horlicks, Bournvita), high juice squash, tomato juice, beer, lager, stout, cider, sherry.

You should only drink one cup of weak coffee each day.

Milk

Milk should be restricted to half a pint per day, including milk used in cereals, sauces and puddings.

One yoghurt or one scoop of ice cream can be eaten instead of one third of a pint of milk.

Milk substitutes

As milk is high in potassium and should be restricted, you may wish to use a milk substitute: double cream and water (one part cream, two parts water), watered down full fat or Jersey milk, coffee compliment mixed with water.

Here endeth the first lesson! This list is not comprehensive and only gives an indication of foods to avoid if you are on a low Potassium Diet.

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Add beetroot, can be very high in potassium B

When we eat potatoes they are soaked for 30 minutes , boiled and the water discarded then boiled again. Baked potatoes when boiled first but you should not eat the skin,(what is the point as the skin is the best bit) ?

Indeed, @Beanbag. All veg and fruit have potassium but I only copied the list from our leaflet. I think that we have adapted to the restrictions quite well but we don’t stick rigidly to the list. For instance, hubby has pakora maybe 5 or six times a year. I then make sure that he doesn’t take on too much potassium for a few dialysis sessions.

Maureen

We were told at the beginning of our journey that potatoes should be steeped before cooking but a few years ago we were told that we don’t need to steep them at all. I’m happy with that. Hubby had a very bad scare about 3 months into dialysis when his system started shutting down due to the amount of potassium he’d ingested. He was admitted to hospital and he was back to normal after a couple of days’ nursing. His consultant spoke very sternly to him and we know that it’s very important to keep an eye on that.

Maureen

Twiglets are my downfall ! but so far all my little expeditions into the pantry have not had a detrimental effect on my potassium levels Having said that , I am not on dialysis yet., My regular potassium checks are part of the Easi-Kidney Trial that I am on,and potassium levels are crucial to remaining on it. I think that with the exceptions of the extremely high level foods everthing is ok in small quantities if not taken to often. Another of my failures is a small Single Malt in the late evening, but, stopping that would be a step too far. Life has got to be worth living. Best Wishes B

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Well, @Beanbag, my husband was a great one for his malts! I used to buy him a fairly expensive one from the smaller Scottish distilleries every anniversary. Sadly, as he has no kidney function whatsoever, he has found out that alcohol is a total no-no. He’s heard horror stories of how bad and long-lasting a hangover would be (apparently it’s even worse while on dialysis after you’ve had a wee nip!!!). I sincerely hope that you don’t need to give up that small luxury. Hubby has coped very well, having said that!!

Maureen

Im also neurodiverse to the extent I can hyperfocus. I’m only at the start of treatment and no one can tell me how long treatment will be needed which does sit with me well

This is exactly the opposite of what I am being advised to eat for prediabetes - now I have no idea what I am supposed to eat. :disappointed_face:

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I’m quite astounded to read that so many of you haven’t been given any/much guidance on diet! I just assumed that everyone would have access to a renal dietician as we have. This could be tailored to dialysis patients, rather than the earlier stages of CKD. I would advise anyone who is unsure about diet to request an appointment with a dietician.

Maureen

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I was told by the nephrologist at stage 3a I didn’t need modifications to my diet. I’m glad about this as I love bananas, very dark chocolate and whole nuts (without salt on them) etc! I try to eat healthily.

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