When it comes to your diet, unless you know you have kidney problems, you probably aren’t thinking too much about which foods are good or bad for your kidneys. And even if you do have kidney disease or other kidney issues, you may not know or follow the best diet for your kidneys every day.
How strict your meal plan needs to be depends on the stage of your kidney disease. It’s important to understand what you should and shouldn’t eat to help your kidneys.
Your kidneys are vital organs that help balance fluids and electrolytes in your body and remove waste from your blood.
If you have kidney disease, your kidneys are not functioning fully. Eating nutrients your kidneys have trouble processing, like protein, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus, can damage your renal organs further.
Unfortunately, not following a healthy diet for managing kidney disease can cause other health risks too, like higher blood pressure, more protein in your urine, weaker bones and heart disease.
This is because when your kidneys aren’t working as well as they should, waste and extra fluid build up in your body over time, and can cause health problems.
A kidney-friendly meal plan can limit certain minerals and fluids you eat and drink. This helps prevent waste and fluid from building up and causing issues.
So how do you know what to eat for a kidney-friendly meal?
In this video, we’ll highlight 10 of the best foods to detox your kidneys and improve renal health. We’ll also mention the worst foods you should avoid.
If you have kidney issues, be sure to consult your healthcare provider to learn what foods and drinks are advised for you, based on your specific kidney problem and treatment plan.