Sometimes I look at the label on a food after eating it and discover the sodium content is much higher than expected. The lesson learned is to read the label before eating or better yet, before buying foods.

But why is it that some foods that are really high in sodium don’t taste salty? For example, many people get a surprising amount of sodium from the bread products. One slice (1 oz) of white bread averages 150 mg sodium. A couple slices of toast at breakfast, a sandwich at lunch and a couple of dinner rolls easily adds up to 900 mg of sodium. A bakery size bagel and submarine sandwich roll provide 1170 mg sodium—before anything is added!

According to a Medscape article titled “Halt the Salt”, Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, MD notes that most of the sodium we consume, up to 75%, comes from processed foods and restaurant foods. From the remaining 11% we get only 6% from salt added at the table and 5% from salt added in cooking.

So why is there so much sodium in processed and restaurant foods? It’s because sodium-containing additives in addition to salt are added to enhance flavor. Additionally sodium is used as a preservative, a thickener, a stabilizer, an ingredient binder and to enhance texture and color. It can enhance sweetness in cookies and cakes and disguise metallic taste in soft drinks.

Salt is an acquired taste so the more salt or sodium you eat the more you will want to make your food taste good. When you reduce your sodium intake for several weeks you will discover some of the foods you usually eat taste too salty. That’s because your taste buds easily adapt to a lower sodium diet.

If you have high blood pressure or chronic kidney disease (CKD) reduce your sodium intake to help protect your kidneys. Your heart and brain will also benefit because reducing sodium lowers risk of stroke and heart attack.

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Phosphorus Challenge

Today I received a question about the best cereals for a person in stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD) to eat. Instead of sending my answer to only one person I thought I would share it with all of you as well.

Some good hot cereal choices include cream of wheat, Malt-o-Meal, grits, and even oatmeal a few times a week. (Stick with the cook and serve cereals instead of the higher sodium instant ones.) Many diet guides place oatmeal in the limit or avoid list because it does contain more phosphorus than the other hot cereals listed.

For ready-to-eat cereals look on the Nutrition Facts label and select the brands lowest in sodium and phosphorus. Lower sodium choices help with blood pressure control. Many cereals give the % Daily Value for phosphorus rather than milligrams. Try to go with those containing 10% DV or less. In general, cereals with added nuts or whole grain tend to have higher amounts of phosphorus.

Read more…

The period between Christmas and New Years is a great time to wind down, reflect and gear up for the year ahead. I always like to take some ‘self’ time to think about upcoming events, schedules, goals and yes—a few New Year’s resolutions.

So after the family and guests have gone on Christmas day and in-between planning the New Year’s bash, set aside a few hours each day to contemplate on being healthy with chronic kidney disease in 2010. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Read more…

Recently my mother sent me a copy of her lab report because she was concerned about her Hgb A1-C, cholesterol and triglyceride results. I was surprised to see her glomerular filtration rate (GFR) indicates she has stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The biggest surprise is that her doctor didn’t discuss the fact that her kidneys are losing function or that she could make some changes to help slow the progression. This probably is not uncommon considering the numbers. There are over 26 million people in the US with chronic kidney disease, many who are unaware.  Nearly one in ten Americans has a relative with CKD. Read more…

When you were first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease one of your first questions may have been ‘What can I do to save my kidneys so I don’t need dialysis?’ Blood pressure control, managing glucose for diabetics and adjustment in dietary protein intake can make a difference in kidney disease progression according to the research.

High Protein Foods

If you eat lots of protein and have CKD, you may want to make a few changes because a high protein diet is hard on your kidneys. On the other hand, a diet too low in protein is even worse for you. When you don’t eat enough protein, your muscles begin to break down. A blood protein called albumin begins to fall. People starting dialysis with low albumin levels are more likely to be hospitalized or die within the first 3 months compared to those with normal levels (4.0 mg/dL or greater). Following a low protein diet may buy some time before Read more…

Much of the sodium we consume comes from prepared and processed foods and salt-containing seasonings in addition to the salt shaker. For people with chronic kidney disease or those on kidney dialysis treatments, too much sodium could ruin the holidays. Excess sodium can raise blood pressure and cause swelling due to water retention. It can also increase thirst beyond control—leading to fluid overload and difficulty breathing.

Here are some sodium facts and low sodium suggestions to help Read more…

Did you know most people with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) also have cardiovascular disease? CKD is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For this reason, CKD non-dialysis patients and those on dialysis are encouraged to take preventative actions to protect against heart disease.

Some of the things to do include:

• exercise
• stress reduction
• avoid smoking
• take prescribed medications
• keep normal levels of phosphorus and calcium
• lower blood fats and cholesterol
• make healthy dietary changes

Many people already know techniques to lower cholesterol and saturated fat intake. Those in early stages of CKD benefit from following a DASH type diet Read more…