My Philosophy on Kidney Disease Diet

Podcast #69 Released on January 22, 2018
I am talking about my personal philosophy as a dietitian on a kidney disease diet. 
I did a video on tomatoes and kidney disease and  it got a little bit of pushback because there were people who said even if your potassium is fine then you still should watch what you eat and never eat tomatoes, never eat potatoes that type of thing. 
I believe that this diet is pretty restrictive in and of itself and so adding more restrictions is counterproductive. You’re eventually with stage 4 and stage 5 going to get to that point where you have to eliminate those foods. But if there’s foods that you like that you can eat a manageable amount of. 
I can’t eat ice cream every day, I have to watch how much I eat and you have to watch how much you eat but eliminating entire food groups is just not my philosophy of how you manage as well. 
If you buy my meal plans, you’ll see there’s tomatoes and there’s some potatoes in there. It’s not everyday and it’s not even every week. But I strongly feel that you have to manage it. So, if you really wanted a little bit of potato, there is a way you can manage that into your diet. 
As dietitians we have a national nutrition month and many years ago, one of the themes was all foods can fit and at the same time I thought well of course all foods can fit but then I realized later on that not everybody sees how all the different foods can fit.
So, as I was saying, ice cream can fit into a special diet, it can be a portion of what you eat. Obviously, you’re not going to eat the whole container. I am not going to say “never eat ice cream” but there’s lots of ways to manage to manage diabetes. There’s the low carb, no carb, manageable carb, exercise, there are so many factors in how you can manage your blood sugar and how much medication you take. 
In managing your diet, you may want to eat a little differently, you’re going to have to eat a little less of some things and a little more of others but I am not the one that’s going to tell you not to eat certain foods. I feel very strongly that the minute I tell you not to eat something, that’s going to be the only that you want to eat.
Managing your food, getting different things in there, getting a snack of something that you want is not going to ruin you for kidney disease. It is the long-term management of improving your diet which is eating better vegetables, eating better fruits, eating better amounts of carbohydrates are what affects your blood sugar and your kidneys and are going to make you better off. In the long run but right now, that’s not my philosophy. That is not the way I help you manage your kidney disease.
If that’s what you’re looking for, if you are looking for yes or no’s as far as like do not eat any of these then I am not the right person to listen to you because I am going to tell you that all foods can fit and you can manage things in there. All of that said I am not your personal dietitian, so you need to manage what your doctor says; what your nurse says, what your dietitian who you’re seeing individually who knows your nutritional values says. 
So, if you come to me looking for recipes, I am going to give you recipes that are good for kidney disease and I’ll be glad that you use them and I’ll be glad that you’re eating healthier. 
Send in your questions about all things related to Chronic Kidney Disease to podcast@renaldiethq.com
 
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