eBusiness Weekly
A bad diet and poor health habits can lead to stress and health issues that can affect other aspects of your life. Registered dietitians advise on which nutritious foods are best for your kidneys and how to use your diet to better control chronic kidney disease.
Maintaining kidney health is essential for our overall health and well-being. The effects of neglecting the kidneys can be detrimental to your health. South Africans suffer from a number of medical conditions that strain their kidneys, including diabetes, obesity, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Renal failure may result from this, which can cause chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Our kidneys are responsible for a number of things in our bodies, mainly filtering our blood, getting rid of toxins, and maintaining the right levels of acid-base, water, and electrolytes in our bodies. They also contribute significantly to the synthesis of vitamin D and hormone production.
Our kidneys work so diligently that even when they sustain some damage, by the time we may experience CKD symptoms, they have already been severely damaged. The good news is that we can stop this from happening by choosing a healthy lifestyle and diet right away.
According to ADSA (the Association for Dietetics in South Africa), people with diabetes, hypertension, and obesity should pay close attention to how these conditions affect not only their hearts but also their kidneys. All South Africans, though, are able to alter their lifestyles in a small but effective way to safeguard their kidneys.
Dr Zarina Ebrahim, registered dietitian and lecturer at Stellenbosch University highlights easy ways we can use nutrition to prevent CKD.
She says it helps in maintaining a healthy weight through healthy eating habits, portion control, and regular physical activity such as walking, swimming, cycling, running, or any other strength and aerobic exercises that you enjoy.
“If you are diabetic, hypertensive or have heart disease, it is of utmost importance to take your medications regularly and monitor your blood pressure, blood lipids and blood glucose, as the ideal control of these values are critical to kidney health. However, even if you are not suffering from any of these health conditions, you can use nutrition to help maintain the health of your kidneys,” she said.
Dr Ebrahim’s tips for healthy eating for your kidneys
Eat a variety of food — Limit processed and convenience foods, such as pies, pastries, polony, sausages, ready-packaged meals, fast foods, and soup packets. Keep your diet as natural as possible and put an emphasis on a wide range of fresh produce, whole grains, moderate amounts of healthy fats, and lean protein.
Fibre is very important for kidney health. Fibre helps to improve the gut microbiome profile. It increases the number of healthy gut bacteria while decreasing the number of unhealthy bacteria. Aim for at least 2-3 servings of fresh fruit (no fruit juices) and 2-3 servings of vegetables per day.
Increase your consumption of legumes like beans and lentils, as well as whole grains like oats, whole grain breads, and cereals.
Reduce salt intake — Limit your use of salt at the table and in the kitchen. Avoid salty foods such as chips, biltong, soup packets, and other processed foods.
Instead, use natural spices to flavour your food, such as cumin, coriander, pepper, turmeric, paprika, chilli powder, fresh garlic, ginger, lemon juice, parsley, celery, and herbs like origanum, rosemary, thyme, mint, and basil.
Protein is important, but should be portion-controlled. If you want to prevent kidney disease, avoid eating too much protein on a regular basis. Low-fat protein sources include low-fat dairy, skinless chicken, fish, and lean meats. Include more plant-based proteins in your family’s diet, such as beans, lentils, soya, nuts, peanut butter, and chickpeas.
Focus on food preparation — Avoid fast food and prepared foods that are high in fat and salt.
Instead, use healthy cooking methods such as steaming, stir-frying, baking, and boiling at home, and avoid frying foods.
Reduce your sugar intake — Limit your sugar and sugary foods in your diet, especially cold drinks, sweets, and chocolates. These add unnecessary energy to the diet and may contribute to the progression of (CKD) chronic kidney disease. — IOL Health.
