Nature’s Lifesavers: Fruits and Veggies to shield you against death from Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease arises when your kidneys no longer function the way they should. It has been reported via research that people who consume more vegetables and fruits are associated with reduced risk of death due to chronic kidney disease.
Doctors often advise patients with advanced chronic kidney disease to consume a low potassium diet because there is an increased load on the kidney to process high potassium diet, which results in higher levels of potassium in blood.
The studies on different groups of people by the researchers, found similar baseline
serum potassium levels stratified by CKD stage based on how frequently they consumed vegetables and fruits.
The increased level of serum potassium are not related to every day consumption of vegetables and fruits, as suggested by researchers.
The kidney function is lost gradually in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is frequently occurring among the people in the United States of America with more than 1 person affected in every 7 adults, as discussed by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Due to the slow progression of the disease, it is often left undiagnosed, with no symptoms in the early stages.
The damage in the kidneys can result in a buildup of potassium in the blood sometimes, often leading to Hyperkalemia, a term for high potassium levels.
It was concluded that more than 50% of the people, who had advanced CKD, had potassium levels above the recommended range. Due to this reason specifically, the medical professionals suggest the patients to adhere to food having less quantity of potassium in them.
Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables
Vegetables and fruits have been known to be healthy since ancient times and shown to lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality even in today's technologically advanced society.
The individuals who receive hemodialysis, often consumed smaller amount of fruits and vegetables, thus were at higher risk.On the contrary, people who had high consumption were at lower risk of all-cause and non-cardiovascular death.If the servings of fruits and vegetables were increased to about 17 servings per week, there was a 20% reduction in the risk of death as compared to an intake of two servings per week.
Kidney disease and Potassium
Potassium is known to be one of the essential minerals in our body. Although, it holds a lot of importance, it can create chaos in patients with kidney disease who have hyperkalemia. It may result in Cardiac Arrest.
Therefore, it is crucial for people with CKD to consult a qualified dietician so that they can be advised to eat a diet lower in potassium and to consume more fruits and vegetables.
People who find it difficult to reduce their potassium consumption through food can also utilize potassium binders, a novel idea on the market to treat hyperkalemia.
The low potassium diet is not recommended until the patient reaches stage four or five of CKD. The concept of healthy diet is introduced when reduction in kidney function is observed as a result of disease progression, which again is rich in fruit and veggie intake.
Therefore, dietary changes (increased consumption of fruits and vegetables) might be helpful in delaying the progression to end stage kidney disease and can prevent complications.
