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An Introduction To Nutrition and Chronic Kidney Disease
Diet is an all important factor for people suffering from different chronic diseases. This also includes people with high blood pressure medically known as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, individuals planning to lose weight, individuals recovering from addictions such as smoking and those just in search of a better health with full of energy. In the same way, diet is an integral part of chronic kidney disease treatment plan. Doctors may recommend specific changes to your diet overtime should your kidney disease gets worse. For this reason kidney disease patients will have a number of tests done to track of their overall health. Your doctor may even involve a dietitian to help with planning your meals in order to get the right foods in the right amounts.
The recommendation to modify your diet is based on how much kidney function you have. Kidney function is tracked by what is known as glomerular filtration rate or GFR. This established through a simple blood test for creatinine. Creatinine is a chemical waste that is generated from muscle metabolism. It is a reliable method of testing renal function. If creatinine levels rise in the blood its an indication of poor clearance by the kidneys. The creatinine test also takes into account a person’s age, sex and body size. Should your GFR continues to deteriorate, your doctor will adjust the amount of protein, calories and other nutrients in your diet to meet the changing needs.
Related: chronic kidney disease, chronic kidney disease treatment, glomerular filtration rateRelated posts
Yellow Pea Protein – The Benefits in Fighting Kidney Disease
While there is no doubt that there are a variety of very useful medications available on the modern market, the problem with traditional medications is that they generally have potentially unpleasant side effects. If you take too many aspirin, for example, it can lead to stomach ulcers and liver failure. To find a medication that has no side effects at all is very rare. So what about the yellow pea?
The most recent research out of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, shows that the yellow pea has a surprising number of benefits to help individuals suffering from kidney disease, as well as the corresponding side effects of high blood pressure and cardiovascular complications. The research team came to their conclusions after feeding small amounts of pea protein extracted from yellow peas to small rats, and at the end of an eight week trial period the rats showed a 20% drop in blood pressure in comparison to rats who were untreated on a regular diet.
Related: effects of high blood pressure, side effects of high blood pressure, types of kidney diseases