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What Is A Healthy Kidney Diet Plan?

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A healthy kidney diet plays a major role in the management of kidney problems and the prevention of kidney disease. Whether food is “kidney friendly” or not depends on how much – or little – of the following five items are in it: fluids, phosphorous, protein, potassium and sodium.

Let’s look at fluids first. Generally speaking, drinking a lot of fluids like water is good for your kidneys – especially for preventing kidney stones. But if you are experiencing kidney problems, you have to be careful about fluid intake. When a kidney is damaged or diseased, it has trouble filtering out excess fluids and flushing them from the body in urine. Taking in even more fluids at a time like this can trigger swelling, high blood pressure and shortness of breath. So it’s important to watch your fluid intake carefully if you already have kidney trouble of any kind.

You can work with your physician to determine how much or how little fluid consumption is best for you. Remember that fluids don’t just come from things you can drink from a glass or a bottle: they also come from other sources, especially food that melts into a liquid when you eat it. Ice cream leads the list here.

Phosphorus is another important element in your healthy kidney diet plan. Phosphorus helps maintain normal nerve and muscle performance. It also combines with calcium to give you strong bones and teeth. When you have kidney problems, your phosphorus balances tend to change in a negative way. Calcium levels drop, and your body compensates by absorbing calcium from the bones. An oversupply of phosphorus results in itching, joint pain and osteoporosis.

Foods that contain lots of phosphorus include caramel, cheese, chicken liver, beef liver, and with many types of nuts and peanut butter. Some liquids are high in phosphorus too, including beer and cola.

Potassium is also an important element in maintaining kidney health. Potassium helps control the performance of nerves and muscles. But too much potassium in your diet can lead to an irregular heartbeat, which also tends to put pressure on your kidneys.

Many, many foods contain potassium, so moderation is especially important. Foods that have a high potassium content include apricots, bananas, beets, bran and bran products, broccoli, cantaloupe, chocolate, coffee, collard, mushroom, mustard, oranges, potatoes, prunes, raisins, salt substitute, and tomatoes.

Protein is another factor to consider in formulating a healthy kidney diet plan. We definitely need protein because it promotes strong muscles, helps us fight infections, and plays an important role in repairing tissue. But a diet that includes large amounts is bad for the kidneys. Too much protein produces excess waste and increases the risk of kidney problems. So it’s important to consult with your physician to find the balance that’s best for you.

Protein comes from meat and poultry products, including eggs. If you have kidney trouble, you’ll want to be careful with these foods. Low protein foods, on the other hand, include many types of cereals and vegetables.

Sodium also plays a big role in kidney health. Your body needs sodium – also known as salt – to work. Sodium helps control muscle contraction, fluid balance, and keeping your blood pressure in a normal range. But many people use way too much of it, and it can be especially harmful to those suffering kidney trouble.

Kidneys normally filter unneeded sodium out of your system. But if there’s an excessive amount, or kidneys are damaged and can’t perform their work properly, fluids start to accumulate. This results in swelling and bloating, especially in the face and joints.

A healthy diet plan kidney and eating kidney-friendly foods are essential for anyone with a serious kidney problem, as well as those who want to avoid kidney trouble in the future. Always remember that as kidney function declines, kidney dialysis or even a kidney transplant may become necessary. Both of these significantly impact your quality of life. Maintaining a kidney healthy diet plan will help you avoid these measures.

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Source by Neal Kennedy

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What Is the Paleo Diet Plan in Simple Terms?

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The paleo diet plan, which you may have heard referred to as the caveman diet, is basically a dietary plan for modern times based on what we believe cavemen ate in the paleolithic time period during the early half of the stone age.

This present-day diet is composed of food groups that consist mainly of fish and other seafood, grass-fed animal meats, poultry, eggs from cage-free chickens, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and healthy oils, such as flaxseed, coconut and olive oils. In a nutshell, the diet is based on the foods that could be hunted, fished and collected by cavemen thousands of years ago. Consequently, grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar or oils, potatoes and processed foods are excluded from the diet.

Bountiful in nutrients and free from added chemicals and preservatives, research has shown that these natural food groups contribute to a healthy body. While the intention for many is losing weight on this caveman diet, the objective of living a balanced and energetic lifestyle is what keeps so many people committed. It is interesting that medical professionals recommend the same types of foods for weight control and high blood pressure today that our primitive cavemen thrived on so many years ago.

An example of a day’s menu on this diet could consist of a couple of free-range eggs scrambled in olive oil with sautéed onions, peppers and mushrooms for the breakfast meal. A salad loaded with greens, veggies, nuts and sliced fruit for lunch speaks for itself in so far as the paleo diet health benefits. Dinner could be grilled salmon or other fresh fish and as many vegetables as desired seasoned with garlic and olive oil. Berries and fruits are a typical dessert or snack along with raw vegetables or nuts.

Paleo Diet Health Benefits

One of the first noticeable results from being on the paleo diet plan is a loss of excess fat as the body starts to convert stored fat to energy. The omission of processed foods being replaced by all natural foods will automatically cause an upsurge in metabolism rates. People who are on the paleo diet to lose weight generally feel less hungry and do not suffer from sugar cravings. Bottom line, you are eating healthy while burning fat at the same time.

While health benefits of the paleo diet to lose weight are an incentive to undergo this strict diet, the overall health benefits are encouraging. Along with weight loss, these natural foods are recognized for their support in stabilizing blood pressure and cholesterol to healthy levels while increasing energy, a task the body cannot do when overloaded with processed foods and sugar. The distinct health benefits of this unique diet are a stronger immune defense in fighting off illness and disease, thus eliminating many health risks that are so widespread today. For whatever reason you choose for being on a diet that originated thousands of years ago, the natural foods alone will have a significant improvement on your health and vitality.

Is the diet too restrictive? It may seem that way in the very beginning, but after some time most people come to the realization that their body really doesn’t need or even want these outlawed foods. It’s typical for anyone to get bored by eating repetitive foods, so it’s helpful to diversify your food choices as much as possible. There really is a large selection of foods on the paleo diet to choose from after all that are healthy and nutritious for your body. The diet provides the types of foods that your body needs to burn fat and feel energized which is not often found in most diets.

A paleo diet plan is not always easy to follow and probably the biggest downfall is not being able to come up with original meal ideas and staying consistent in putting together a meal plan. With the paleo diet growing in popularity there are a lot of menu plans and paleo recipe books available to help get your paleo diet journey off to a good start.

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Source by Margue Rite

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Do Low Carb Diets Lower Blood Pressure?

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Researchers set out to compare the effectiveness of two different weight loss plans available to everyone. The two plans included a low carbohydrate diet and a low fat diet plus Orlistat. Orlistat is a drug designed to prevent the absorption of dietary fat, such as the brand names include Xenical and Alli.

Participants were selected at the Department of Veterans Affairs primary care clinics. The 146 participants received instructions and followed either a low carbohydrate diet or a low fat diet with Orlistat and were monitored for 48 weeks. Some of the factors researchers monitored included body weight, blood pressure, fasting serum lipid, and blood sugar levels.

Study results found weight loss to be similar between the two groups at approximately 9% body weight. Researchers found the low carbohydrate diet resulted in a lower blood pressure for participants when compared to the low fat diet with Orlistat. The low carb diet lowered systolic blood pressure on average 5.9 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure 4.5 mm Hg.

Triglycerides and HDL cholesterol improved for individuals on each diet, while LDL cholesterol improved only for those on the low fat plus Orlistat diet. Glycemic parameters, such as glucose, insulin, and hemoglobin A1C only improved for low carbohydrate diet participants … although the difference between groups was not significant.

Researchers have also analyzed the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet alone and when combined with an exercise and weight managements plan and the effect on blood pressure. When the DASH Diet was combined with a weight management and exercise plan it resulted in a 16.1 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure versus an 11.2 mm Hg drop with the DASH diet alone. The average weight loss over a 4 month period for individuals following the DASH diet with an exercise / weight management plan was 19 pounds versus less than 1 pound for the diet alone.

A third option evaluated is an Internet weight-management program versus a physician-managed program. This study followed obese individuals and included a liquid diet component, structured diet, behavioral counseling, and diet medications. Results show the intensive physician-managed program to be more successful with 31 percent of participants losing more than 5 percent of their body weight versus just 9 percent of the Internet group.

When it comes to losing weight on your journey to blood pressure control, what's most important is you pick a plan and stick to if for the long term if you want consistent results.

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Source by Lisa Nelson