Nutritionist services

When you eat and drink, your body absorbs nutrients needed for your activities. Anything it doesn’t need is carried through the blood to the kidneys. The kidneys filter out excess nutrients and make urine. If you have kidney disease, some nutrients can build up and damage your kidney.

Hemodialysis removes extra fluid from your body. However, hemodialysis can remove safely at one time so much fluid. If you come to your hemodialysis with too much fluid in your body, your treatment may make you feel ill. You may get muscle cramps or have a sudden drop in blood pressure that causes you to feel dizzy or sick to your stomach. A renal diet can help protect you from kidney damage and make your treatment more comfortable.

Your choices about what to eat and drink during your life including while being on hemodialysis can make a difference in how you feel and can make your treatments work better.
Between dialysis treatment sessions, wastes can build up in your blood and make you sick. You can reduce waste buildup by controlling what you eat and drink.
The avoidance or limiting the following ingredients in your food and beverage helps your kidneys:
– potassium
– phosphorus
– sodium

You may feel better if you keep track of and limit how much liquid you eat and drink.
Potassium levels can rise between hemodialysis sessions and affect your heartbeat. Eating too much potassium can be dangerous to your heart and may even cause death.
Too much phosphorus in your blood pulls calcium from your bones. Losing calcium may make your bones weak and likely to break.

Renal dietitians encourage most people on hemodialysis to eat high-quality protein because it produces less waste for removal during dialysis. High-quality protein comes from meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
Sodium is a part of salt. Sodium is found in many canned, packaged, frozen, and fast foods. Sodium is also found in many condiments, seasonings, and meats. Too much sodium makes you thirsty, which makes you drink more liquid.

Everyone’s calorie needs are different. You might need to cut down on calories if you are overweight, or you might need to find ways to add calories to your diet if you are losing weight without trying.

You may not get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet because you have to avoid so many foods. Our nutritionist may prescribe a vitamin and mineral supplements designed specifically for people with kidney failure. For safety reasons, always talk to our nutritionist before using probiotics, dietary supplements, or any other medicine together with or in place of the treatment prescribed.