Dialysis: Skip These Two Popular Diets to Protect Your Health

You’re on dialysis. It’s your new normal. You go to a clinic a few times a week for treatment, or you get your dialysis treatments at home. It’s a critical part of managing your health when your kidneys no longer work. But what about your diet?

For most people who want to improve health, simply making better food choices, controlling portion sizes, and avoiding processed and sugary foods makes sense. It’s why the Mediterranean Diet and DASH Diet are highly recommended by many health professionals.

But do these diets make sense if you’re on dialysis? Probably not, says Texas-based Registered Dietitian Peggy Harum.

Here’s the thing. It makes sense for everyone to eat healthy to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight and lower the risk for chronic diseases. But that’s not the first objective when you’re living with kidney failure and require dialysis.

When you’re on dialysis, you still need to eat healthy. But the primary objective is to minimize the impact of excess water and toxins in your body that need to be removed through dialysis treatments.

In other words, dialysis patients need to follow a special diet. The Mediterranean Diet and DASH Diet are good. But when you’re on dialysis, you need to eat more protein-rich foods, limit water and fluids, and avoid foods high in sodium, potassium, and phosphorus.

Wondering what a Dialysis-Friendly diet looks like? Our team of professional chefs created dozens of entrees for breakfast, lunch, and dinner from fresh ingredients, that taste great, and only take a few minutes to prepare.

If you’re not sure what to eat when you’re on dialysis, talk to your doctor or dietitian for nutrition guidance or a meal plan to help you eat the right foods to protect your health.