Diet Recommendations for Diabetic Nephropathy Patients

Diabetic Nephropathy is a kind of kidney disease, which is mainly caused by the long term unwell controlled high blood sugar. For diabetic nephropathy patients, they need to keep a well planed diet, which can help reduce the kidney burden and protect the residual kidney function.

Here are the recommended diet for diabetic nephropathy patients.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate is your body’s main energy source, but it is also the nutrient that has the greatest effect on blood sugar levels. To manage blood sugar, spread carbohydrate intake through the day into smaller meals and snacks and eat a consistent amount from day to day. Breads and grains, fruit, milk, starchy vegetables and sweets are the main sources of carbohydrate. A registered dietitian can recommend the ideal amount of carbohydrate for you, based on your weight, activity level, blood sugar and preferences. Achieving blood sugar control is essential for slowing progression of kidney damage and other diabetes complications.

Sodium

Sodium increases blood pressure, which in turn causes damage in the kidneys and increases risk of heart disease and stroke. Keep your blood pressure lower than 130/80. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report recommends limiting sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams daily. To lower your sodium intake, choose fresh or frozen fruits, vegetables and meats. Limit or avoid canned, cured, processed foods. Prepare more meals from scratch and limit restaurant, take-out and convenience meals. Read food labels for sodium content. Foods that have less than 5 percent the daily value -- DV -- for sodium are low sodium foods and those that have greater than 20 percent the DV are high sodium.

Protein

Protein is important for building and repairing body tissue. Most Americans eat about twice the recommended daily intake for protein, which increases the workload on the kidneys. The NKDEP recommends keeping daily protein intake to 0.36 to 0.45 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For a 150 pound person, this would be 54 to 67 grams of protein daily. Eat smaller portions of meat and dairy, which also helps to lower phosphorus intake. Keep meat, poultry and fish to 2 to 3 ounces cooked, providing 14 to 21 grams of protein. One-half cup milk or yogurt or ½ ounces of cheese provides 4 grams of protein. Plant protein sources contain about 3 grams of protein, including ½ cup of cooked beans rice or noodles, a slice of bread or ¼ cup of nuts.

Potassium

Potassium helps counteract the effects of sodium on blood pressure. However, as the kidney damage progresses, excess potassium may build up in the blood. If your blood level exceeds 5 milliequivalents per liter, you will need to limit intake of high potassium foods, according to the NKDEP. High potassium can affect heart rhythm, although you may not feel any symptoms. Choose fruits and vegetables that are low in potassium such as apples, canned apricots or nectar, berries, grape, grapefruit, honeydew melon, mangoes, papayas, pears, peaches, plums, pineapple, watermelon, cranberry juice, bell peppers, fresh broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, onions, corn, cucumber, green beans, kale, lettuce, fresh mushrooms, okra and summer squash. Avoid or eat only a very small portion of high potassium foods like fresh apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, prunes, oranges, raisins, winter squash, avocado, green, cooked broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chard, potatoes, spinach, legumes sweet potatoes, vegetable juice and tomato products.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is a mineral important for healthy bones and keeping blood vessels and muscles working. With kidney disease, it can build up in your blood, making bones more brittle and causing itchy skin and bone and joint pain. If your blood level exceeds 4.6 milliequivalents per liter, you will need to limit phosphorus. Because phosphorus is found in many high protein foods, start by making sure you have your protein intake from meats, dairy and beans down to the recommended level. If your phosphorus level is still too high, the NKDEP recommends decreasing your intake of foods with added phosphorus, since phosphorus additives may be absorbed better than phosphorus found naturally in foods. To do this, read the ingredient list, looking for words like "phos" or pyrophosphate, for example. Other foods that are high in phosphorus include bran, oatmeal and colas.

Above are the recommended diet for diabetic nephropathy patints, and I hope this will be helpful for all the diabetic kidney disease patients.