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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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Choosing Between Diet Plans – Do Any of Them Really Work?

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The secret to maintaining a healthy weight, and losing any extra weight, is supposed to be fairly simple. Just start eating properly (which usually means eating less), and get regular physical activity.

Most people actually try to follow this advice, but 66% of Americans are still either overweight or obese. If it were really as simple as we've been told, most diet companies would be out of business.

However, since most types of diets, including low-calorie diets and low-fat diets, have very poor success rates, diet companies have a continuing source of repeat customers. And much of the advice we hear about 'eating right,' including the recommendations to reduce the fat in our diet and avoid all saturated fats, has actually been shown to have exactly the opposite effect than the one we're looking for. Low-fat diets cause food cravings, which tends to make it even harder to eat right.

Almost all diet experts know that low-calorie diet plans help you lose weight quickly. However, they also know that all that weight comes back just as soon as the diet is over, plus a few extra pounds. Diet experts and the overweight people who use these plans all assume the following:

1. The initial weight loss is the result of the diet (this is true).

2. The eventual weight gain after the diet is over is the fault of the dieter, who did stick with the plan. This is not true . And scientists have known it isn't true for 91 years.

The Carnegie Low-Calorie Diet Study

The 1917 the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Nutrition Laboratory did a study that was designed to find out what happened to people on a low calorie diet.

During the study careful records were kept of the psychological and physical symptoms encountered by a group of young male volunteers who were put on reducing diets of 1400 to 2100 calories a day.

If you have ever been on a 'well balanced' reduced-calorie diet in order to lose weight, the results of this study will sound familiar to you.

The Short-Term Results: The men lost 10% of their weight during the diet. This was the expected weight loss.

However, there were disturbing symptoms. The 12 men in the study constantly complained of a gnawing hunger, and they said it was almost impossible to stay warm, no matter how much clothing they wore.

Their metabolism slowed down so much that they would begin to regain weight if the daily calorie level went up over 2100 calories, even though they previously ate far more than that before the study started. Their blood pressure and pulse rate went down, they became anemic, they had difficulty concentrating, and physical activity made them weak.

One symptom must have been extremely upsetting to these young healthy men – their interest in sex was reduced, and in some cases it vanished completely.

Many of these symptoms occurred only a few days after beginning the low-calorie diet, which proves that even the short-term low-calorie '3-day diet' and other diet fads can cause unexpected problems.

After the diet was over: Once the three month study was over, the volunteers were cautioned against over-eating, but they couldn't stop themselves from doing so. They felt strong cravings for anything sweet, and indulged in every snack they could lay their hands on.

Within two weeks, these young men were back at their original starting weight, and then gained an average of eight more pounds, making them heavier than they were before their diet.

Since then, other research has confirmed the results of the Carnegie study. Low-calorie diets do cause people to gain weight. The temporary weight loss is due to starvation, and the eventual weight gain is also due to starvation – the body reacts the way it does out of natural instinct to survive. The weight gain is the fault of the diet, not the dieter.

The healthiest alternative to most popular diet plans is to stop eating the specific foods that make us fat, and eat a lot of the foods that help us get thin again.

Unfortunately, a great deal of advertising – and even government nutrition experts, have been warning us against eating healthy foods, like butter, coconut oil, grass-fed beef, and whole milk, that can help us control our weight. These foods are satisfying, so they can reduce food obsessions and cravings, and they can help overcome sugar addiction. They help us control our appetites, and they can help us lose fat without losing muscle.

Still, most health experts continue to suggest that we follow the low-calorie and low-fat advice that has been proven to make us gain weight instead of losing it.

Finding a truly healthy diet among all the diet plans out there is not easy, but the results can be improved health as well as reduced weight. The best diet plans use natural, whole foods, with enough healthy fat to keep us from getting hungry or having food cravings that can lead to bing eating. Natural, whole foods may not fit in with the latest diet fad, but they are the secret to permanent weight loss.

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Source by Jonni Good

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Introduction to a Yeast Free Diet

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A yeast free diet is for those who are adversely effected by yeast and is a solution for ridding the body of excess yeast known as Candida. The purpose of the diet is to restrict the intake of yeast thereby encouraging an improvement in the overall health of the person. The body contains some yeast and while their presence is normal, they can overpopulate your body resulting in bloating or pain in the abdomen.

There are a number of foods which one must not eat while on a yeast free diet. These include highly refined carbs such as breads, cookies, pretzels, and bagels. Foods which have been fermented or contain vinegar are also off the list. Some of these include staples such as salad dressing and even mayonnaise. Alcoholic beverages are especially off the list. Cheese and some nuts are also bad as they rely on aging. Part of why this diet is so effective is that it eliminates the sugary foods which yeast intolerant people usually crave. Chocolate, honey, pancake syrup, soda or fruit juices are all out. Even some natural fruits contain too much sugar on this diet, including citrus fruits, grapes, and alleged super foods like prunes and figs.

During the diet you can expect that in about a month, much of the overgrown yeast in your system will die away. Adjusting to the new diet is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you will start to feel a significant improvement in a short span of weeks. You will feel healthier as the yeast dies off. The catch is that all of those toxins being flushed from your system into the digestive tracts can cause fatigue and feelings of illness. Do not give up. It is important to stick with the diet and soon you will bounce back and start feeling the long term health benefits.

Even after the roughly 6 week span of time it will take to flush yeast out of your system, you should try to avoid reverting to your old diet. You can certainly add in some of the foods you used to eat but make sure as you do this, you pay special attention to how your body reacts. If you are truly yeast intolerant, you will soon realize how much yeast you can or cannot eat. The symptom’s will become easily recognizable. The great part about this diet is that it can be returned to as often as necessary.

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Source by David A. Stanley