Non-diabetic, CKD: What is salt substitute? How much sugar can I have?

Salt substitute is just that, a chemical imagination for regular table salt. It can cause health issues for some people and I personally do not like the taste. If you shop at a grocery store, look in the spice area or where they display regular salt and you’ll see it there.
As for sugar, stay away from sugar substitutes. If you’re diabetic you should ask your doctor how much you’re allowed. I stay away from any food, drinks or snacks that are loaded with sugar, like cookies, pies, cakes, sodas, ice cream and so on. I do treat myself every so ofter and I use table sugar in coffee and tea, 1 or 2 teaspoons plus I drink plenty of water. Hope this helps but you should be asking your doctor these questions. Becky1024

By the way, I also have 3rd Stage CKD. I also misread your post and you’re not diabetic, so disregard that portion of my other post. Good luck on your CKD. Becky1024,

Keep your sodium intake to under 4000 mg daily. Avoid sugar , you can look up max daily intake on your smartphone. You can also look up how much of each compound is in each of your foods on nutrition facts on you phone. If you'd like to see my food chart just ask. John

John: I would like to see your food chart. I do not keep a chart or list. I do however have a list of good or bad foods for CKD. I am nor Diabetic. I do not know how to keep track of salt.

I have CKD 3a-3b. Had to ask doctor for dietician. Don't understand relationship between doctors and dieticians. We should all be given basic diet by some qualified nutritionist but most of the time we're not.
Really don't understand what's happening in the medical world. One thing I've learned is that you have
to advocate for yourself and you have to do a ton of research. The important safety valve is having the correct
blood testing every twelve weeks. Both my nephrologist and cardiologist do this. Then you know how your
kidneys are functioning and what minerals and other substances are building up or leaking out of your body.
The balance is very tricky. Probably we should all keep food diaries. But who really wants to do this. However,
it is interesting to relate the food diary to kidney and heart function. All I can say as usual is good luck.

I agree with you 100% . I have CKD stage 3b and also suffer from kidney stones with only 1 functioning kidney. I am trying to research and figure out the 2 different diets I need to follow. I need a good renal dietician.

Ask @gingerw and @colleenyoung for my free pdf collection of kidney friendly recipes put together a few years ago but bear in mind that some values, and some nutrient amounts and recommendations do change over time. Also, DaVita has lots of CKD diet info.

@kamama94 Here are the PDFs you had posted last year!

@lizzy123 So much of our kidney health can be kept in line by following good solid nutrition that works for us. As for me, I also deal with gout, so there are additional food groups I need to be aware of everyday. If you don't know what kind of kidney stones you deal with, perhaps your doctor can tell you, so you can tailor your diet to limit certain things.

https://cdn.prod-carehubs.net/n1/748e8fe697af5de8/uploads/2021/05/DIABETIC-AND-RENAL-FRIENDLY-VEGETARIAN-1.pdf
https://cdn.prod-carehubs.net/n1/748e8fe697af5de8/uploads/2021/05/DIABETIC-AND-RENAL-FRIENDLY-VEGAN-AND-NATIVE-AMERICAN-RECIPES-2.pdf
Ginger

So-called salt substitute is potassium. Some people can't stand the taste but I find it almost indistinguishable when used in cooking and on salads, etc. That makes it easy for me to avoid salt (except the omnipresent additives in prepared food - have to check the labels).

Since you are in kidney failure, though, I have no idea what if any restrictions you may have about potassium.

BTW about sugar substitutes, I find a few not only palatable but acceptable substitutes in sweets. There are a LOT available now and manufacturers have gotten quite expert at making snacks like chocolate bars and chocolate chip cookies with them. They are NOT low calorie and they are also expensive, but in terms of satisfying ones sweet tooth they work - almost too well. Quest and Atkins are two brands that make some really tasty products.

There is some thinking to the effect that consuming sugar substitutes have a negative effect on the body, by causing a rise in insulin even though their sweetness is not through sugar. I think if you are reasonable in consumption, they're work just fine. Too much of any can cause diarrhea, though!

I prefer erythritol, Stevia and monk's fruit and eliminate all others because I think they have harmful effects on the body - again dependent on any kidney restrictions. Aspartame, saccharine and Splenda to name a few, I believe are especially harmful.

I avoid refined sugar like the plague and have even had to cut back on fruit which I love, because even though it's less concentrated, fructose has pretty much the same effect on the body as sucrose - sugar. I go along with the industry claim that sugar alcohols (also used for sweetening ) are calorie free, but I actually wonder if that's true.

I should add, my sensitivity to sugar even in small amounts is idiosyncratic. That is, I firmly believe sugar is pretty toxic for everyone because of the effect on insulin metabolism. For me though - also for one son with borderline diabetes - it's especially toxic because of my unique body function (for one thing, refined carbohydrates make my blood lipids rise).

Good luck!

Posted by marlinhampton @marlinhampton, Aug 3 6:13am

Hope you see this above, as I wrote all this in reply to your query!