Foods to eat to keep creatinine level down

Posted by richardkeenam @richardkeenam, Dec 29, 2018

Trying to keep creatinine level down. Need food list that will help.

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@kimberlyharris

Lower protein intake. They say to eat lean meat such as chicken, and only about the size of a deck of cards per day. Also watch your phosphorus intake which is found in colas, beans, organ meat, dairy, etc. You can pull up a list on the internet. I was at Stage 5 waiting for a transplant and found that watching the phosphorus made me feel much better and kept me off dialysis until surgery time.

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@kimberlyharris, yes, thanks. Good thing I'm on a vegan diet and have been quite ahwile - no animal products whatsoever are in my kitchen - no dairy, no eggs, no meat of any sort, no product which involves any animals in processing. I limit P to 800 mg or less daily, K to 1500 mg or less, Na to less than a gram and a half and no more than 35 grams protein.

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Hello everyone. I am new to the discussion and Connect. I have stage 3 CKD and am on Chemo for MPGN and a couple other diagnoses I cannot pronounce or spell. I did meet with a dietitian earlier this year and was told to limit potassium, salt and protein. I have been "cheating" alot recently because most of my favorite vegetables are high in potassium and I was missing meat. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of diet. I had joined the Mayo Clinic diet website for a while and found a lot of recipes there that could be modified for CKD. Has anyone tried the Kidney foundation to see what they may have?

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@sue1952

Hello everyone. I am new to the discussion and Connect. I have stage 3 CKD and am on Chemo for MPGN and a couple other diagnoses I cannot pronounce or spell. I did meet with a dietitian earlier this year and was told to limit potassium, salt and protein. I have been "cheating" alot recently because most of my favorite vegetables are high in potassium and I was missing meat. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of diet. I had joined the Mayo Clinic diet website for a while and found a lot of recipes there that could be modified for CKD. Has anyone tried the Kidney foundation to see what they may have?

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@sue1952, hi and welcome.You can have this copy of my recipes, there's no charge. There aren't any meats because I'm a vegetarian but you might be able to use some of them as side dishes.

Shared files

draft without sample meals DIABETIC AND RENAL FRIENDLY VEGETARIAN (draft-without-sample-meals-DIABETIC-AND-RENAL-FRIENDLY-VEGETARIAN-1.pdf)

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@sue1952

Hello everyone. I am new to the discussion and Connect. I have stage 3 CKD and am on Chemo for MPGN and a couple other diagnoses I cannot pronounce or spell. I did meet with a dietitian earlier this year and was told to limit potassium, salt and protein. I have been "cheating" alot recently because most of my favorite vegetables are high in potassium and I was missing meat. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of diet. I had joined the Mayo Clinic diet website for a while and found a lot of recipes there that could be modified for CKD. Has anyone tried the Kidney foundation to see what they may have?

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Hi, @sue1952, Welcome to Mayo Connect.

I have a liver and kidney transplant, and I try to live with some basic nutritional guidance and direction. That is all I need at the current time. I am glad that you have joined this discussion. I also want to share another discussion where some members have shared thier approach to restricrive diets: cook book for diabetic
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cook-book-for-diabetic/

I see that you are familiar with the Mayo Clinic Diet. I like to use it as my guide because it is fogviving and at the same time encouraging in those times of "cheating".
There is not a one size fits all and we do benefit by supporting each other and sharing. Are you able to recover after those cheating binges?

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@kamama94

@sue1952, hi and welcome.You can have this copy of my recipes, there's no charge. There aren't any meats because I'm a vegetarian but you might be able to use some of them as side dishes.

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@kamama94, I am happy to see that you have completed this! Thank you for your generosity in sharing the result of your hours of research.

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@rosemarya

@kamama94, I am happy to see that you have completed this! Thank you for your generosity in sharing the result of your hours of research.

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@rosemarya, I hope it helps somebody just a teeny bit. My docs are giving it to their patients but I can't help wondering how many of them will feel it's too restrictive because the portion sizes are quite small and there's no meat.

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@rosemarya

Hi, @sue1952, Welcome to Mayo Connect.

I have a liver and kidney transplant, and I try to live with some basic nutritional guidance and direction. That is all I need at the current time. I am glad that you have joined this discussion. I also want to share another discussion where some members have shared thier approach to restricrive diets: cook book for diabetic
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cook-book-for-diabetic/

I see that you are familiar with the Mayo Clinic Diet. I like to use it as my guide because it is fogviving and at the same time encouraging in those times of "cheating".
There is not a one size fits all and we do benefit by supporting each other and sharing. Are you able to recover after those cheating binges?

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Hi Rosemary. Yes. I usually cheat for a week or so then pull myself back in. Thank you for the link!

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@kamama94

@rosemarya, I hope it helps somebody just a teeny bit. My docs are giving it to their patients but I can't help wondering how many of them will feel it's too restrictive because the portion sizes are quite small and there's no meat.

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@kamama94, Portion size feels restrictive for all of us! We know what we need to eat to be healthy, but unfortunately most of us eat what we want to eat.
You have provided a very helpful tool that your doctors are already using and that is marvelous. Just imagine if just one person is helped one teeny bit, it could be a life saving change for them.

Kamama94, I remember that you began this recipe book when you were searching for a diet that you could use. Looking back in time, is there a singular event or 'discovery' that has been the most helpful to you to help you improve your numbers, and your overall health?

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@rosemarya

@kamama94, Portion size feels restrictive for all of us! We know what we need to eat to be healthy, but unfortunately most of us eat what we want to eat.
You have provided a very helpful tool that your doctors are already using and that is marvelous. Just imagine if just one person is helped one teeny bit, it could be a life saving change for them.

Kamama94, I remember that you began this recipe book when you were searching for a diet that you could use. Looking back in time, is there a singular event or 'discovery' that has been the most helpful to you to help you improve your numbers, and your overall health?

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@rosemarya, there were at least five AHA moments.

For one thing, I've read labels for years but didn't really pay much attention to them. When I started researching a renal diet and nutritional values like potassium, phosphorus, and sodium, I was shocked to discover how much "hidden" minerals are in our food, especially processed food - disodium phosphate, phosphatase, potassium chloride, MSG, etc.

Second, an equal revelation was that some of the foods we are told to limit, such as tomatoes or potatoes, can still be eaten OCCASIONALLY and IN VERY SMALL portions or - like potatoes - processed a certain way to leach out certain minerals. (That same process can help leach out oxalates as well.) Yes, we can have a thin slice of tomato occasionally. Yes, we can have a small amount of rinsed, soaked, parboiled potatoes.

Third, I also realized that what I missed was texture and flavor, not necessarily amounts. Moderation certainly isn't my middle name but in many cases a small taste of something I ordinarily would limit or avoid has almost negligible "no-nos."

Fourth, as energy challenged as I am sometimes, I can't say enough good things about baking your own bread, tortillas, biscuits, etc. and cooking things "from scratch.". I started baking bread again like I did when the children were all still home, only this time I came up with an egg-free, dairy-free, sodium-free recipe for artisan bread baked in an iron skillet and it makes scrumptious toast. Producing your own ingredients like homemade salt-free mustard or low-potassium tomato/bell pepper sauce and using whole foods and fresh produce makes it possible to know almost exactly how much phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and protein is going on my plate. This is quite liberating because it gives a bit of control over what otherwise is a maverick of a disease.

Last, as a diabetic I was told to eat whole grains, brown rice and low-carb foods but renal patients should avoid whole wheat, brown rice, etc., and if a renal patient is limiting or excluding meat carbohydrates MUST be increased in order to get sufficient protein. So I figured my blood sugars would get wacky. They did not. Although my own personal renal diet is higher in carbs than is usually recommended for diabetics, I have been able to dramatically decrease my insulin and, while I'm still not losing much weight due to being in the wheelchair, I feel more energetic and engaged and my A1cs are now normal.

I can't promise similar results to anyone using my recipes, I only can attest that they work for me. If they work for others, let's celebrate!

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@kamama94

@rosemarya, there were at least five AHA moments.

For one thing, I've read labels for years but didn't really pay much attention to them. When I started researching a renal diet and nutritional values like potassium, phosphorus, and sodium, I was shocked to discover how much "hidden" minerals are in our food, especially processed food - disodium phosphate, phosphatase, potassium chloride, MSG, etc.

Second, an equal revelation was that some of the foods we are told to limit, such as tomatoes or potatoes, can still be eaten OCCASIONALLY and IN VERY SMALL portions or - like potatoes - processed a certain way to leach out certain minerals. (That same process can help leach out oxalates as well.) Yes, we can have a thin slice of tomato occasionally. Yes, we can have a small amount of rinsed, soaked, parboiled potatoes.

Third, I also realized that what I missed was texture and flavor, not necessarily amounts. Moderation certainly isn't my middle name but in many cases a small taste of something I ordinarily would limit or avoid has almost negligible "no-nos."

Fourth, as energy challenged as I am sometimes, I can't say enough good things about baking your own bread, tortillas, biscuits, etc. and cooking things "from scratch.". I started baking bread again like I did when the children were all still home, only this time I came up with an egg-free, dairy-free, sodium-free recipe for artisan bread baked in an iron skillet and it makes scrumptious toast. Producing your own ingredients like homemade salt-free mustard or low-potassium tomato/bell pepper sauce and using whole foods and fresh produce makes it possible to know almost exactly how much phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and protein is going on my plate. This is quite liberating because it gives a bit of control over what otherwise is a maverick of a disease.

Last, as a diabetic I was told to eat whole grains, brown rice and low-carb foods but renal patients should avoid whole wheat, brown rice, etc., and if a renal patient is limiting or excluding meat carbohydrates MUST be increased in order to get sufficient protein. So I figured my blood sugars would get wacky. They did not. Although my own personal renal diet is higher in carbs than is usually recommended for diabetics, I have been able to dramatically decrease my insulin and, while I'm still not losing much weight due to being in the wheelchair, I feel more energetic and engaged and my A1cs are now normal.

I can't promise similar results to anyone using my recipes, I only can attest that they work for me. If they work for others, let's celebrate!

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I also would like to share that other than a temporary drop which has resolved, my kidney function has improved and my primary says he believes my diet took a lot of the stress off my kidney. I can't guarantee that will happen to anyone else but if it does, I'll be delighted.

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