The Kidney Diet
Plant Based Alkaline Diet
Neutral Protein 0.6 grams/kilogram
1200 mg sodium
4 Liters water or twice your daily output
Low in Fat
Food Restriction
What is the simplified PKD Diet?
Words in brown are links.
PKD Diet is low salt diet, 1200 mg of sodium. It is a neutral protein diet. It is one where copious amounts of water are taken in to shut down vasopressin. PKD Diet is an alkaline diet.
Simplified, it is a diet where one prepares their own food consisting of plant based foods, foods that are grown from the earth, foods that are especially rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grain plants. Lay aside consuming foods that have come from an animal. Menu
How can I begin the PKD Diet?
Some go all out from the very beginning with a switch to an all plant based low sodium l ow fat alkaline diet. By preparing all foods for self, this can lead to one searching out ingredient labels and becoming an avid label reader to assure that what one is eating is beneficial.
This first group gradually eliminates harmful vegetables especially soy, nightshade, and chocolate. Many have found hot water with lemon to be a great reliever of symptoms from dietary indiscretions. To make the swing toward alkalinity, some have tried melon juices, cabbage juice, limeade, coconut water and other freshly prepared juices.
Others make gradual changes by eliminating some harmful things like coffee, tea, caffeine, chemicals, flaxseed, hormones, soy, sugars, wheat and yeast. Each day they start with hot water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some may try saffron tea if pain persists; slowly eliminating harmful foods oftentimes starting by avoiding beef and dairy. As they feel better and become more comfortable with the Kidney PKD Diet, they continue with the dietary suggestions, avoiding chicken, poultry, fish, especially oily fish and seafood. Once they see results in their own improvements in lab values and as they begin to feel even better, they might begin to see the value in giving an all plant based diet a try.
Others may go about this differently. Many who have tried the PKD diet have had favorable results. This can be begun at any stage of PKD but seems more successful when begun early in life. For those who wish to continue to eat meats there is always potassium citrate or sodium citrate, testing nightly urinary pH, and frequent checks for serum potassium levels. Others have made changes in the later stages of PKD concurrently supplementing with stronger alkalizers prescribed by their doctors and trying amino acids specifically designed for kidney patients. By following the recommendations in Coping with Kidney Disease some with failing kidneys have succeeded in halting their downward progression.
Some have seen a renal dietitian for a PKD Diet that is alkaline, low salt, and neutral protein calibrated specifically for each individual. An alkaline vegan diet that avoids soy proteins, yeast, alcohol, concentrated sugars, and all animal proteins (especially ground meats, dairy, egg whites, milk, cheese, beef, pork, and chicken), seems to make a difference and generally makes us begin to feel better. Some fruits and Vegetables are best avoided such as tomato, potato, eggplant, peppers, celery, star fruit, strawberries, plums, prunes, soy, potato chips, peanuts. In addition to these foods also avoid margarine, crisco, and salty snacks and foods.
How to Become Alkaline?
Some have found this helpful to achieve alkalinity.
Test urinary pH at night confirm it consistently runs between: 6.5, 7.0, 7.5
If your doctor permits, drink alkaline juices: melon, orange, cabbage, lemon juices.
Supplement with strong alkalizers i.e. prescribed potassium or sodium citrate.
Monitor blood pressure; keep it between 100/60 - 120/80
Check for protein in the urine and assure this is minimal.
By self-monitoring these values between doctors' visits, one can receive positive feedback on personal health.
While kidney functioning is still excellent, dietary things that help PKD symptoms are high potassium foods; plant based diets with an emphasis on raw fruits and vegetables; whole food starches such as corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, and hard winter squash. Also include a few selected pre-soaked grains (spelt, quinoa, rye, oats, kashi, brown rice) and pre-soaked nuts (almond, coconut, chestnut). Enjoy plenty of different types of leafy greens (purslance, kale, romaine lettuce, pak choy, cabbage, broccoli), radish, and different below ground root crops. Soak all beans, legumes, grains, seeds and nuts before eating. This lowers their phytic acid content, making these foods more digestible and alkaline. Salt intake and cholesterol levels are two things that we can alter. Limiting these things will alter the outcome of PKD, according to several studies.
How to Diminish PKD Symptoms
These are a few things to try to diminish PKD Symptoms:
Alkaline Plant Based Whole Foods Diet geared toward kidney and liver health.
Fruits Vegetable-Eat ripe in season local organic vegetables and fruits.
Fatty acids Essential amino acids - include in diet daily.
Low Salt - 1200 mg sodium diet (↓ blood pressure).
Neutral Protein - 0.6 grams protein/kilogram of body weight.
Water - twice output, possibly 3 liters per day (↓ vasopressin ↓ cysts).
Kidney toxins ↓ - caffeine, methylparabens, aspirin, starfruits.
↑ Kidney Blood Flow (renal perfusion) through rest.
Maintain Alkalinity - self monitor nightly urinary pH. 6.0 is good. 7.2 is a better.
Correct any existing anemia.
Diminish proteinuria.
Self monitor nightly blood pressure, ideally kept between 100/70 - 120/80.
Should blood pressure rise or spikes occur, inform your doctor.
PKD Diet Foods
These foods are suggestions to try that have been gathered from among our collective experiences - anecdotal knowledge. We are each unique. Before trying something new, check with your doctor. Eliminate toxins, especially kidney toxins. Exercise and rest sufficiently to keep kidney blood flow abundant.
With normal kidney functioning, one possibility to try, is a diet that is alkaline, plant based, geared toward kidney health, with plenty of starchy vegetables such as rutabagas, turnips, sweet potatoes, beans, sweet corn, spelt, rye, and whole grains with a sprinkling of a few alkaline nuts i.e., almonds, chestnuts and coconut.
A low sodium, 1200 mg sodium diet helps to keep blood pressure low which in turn can help keep cystic organs smaller. A low sodium diet is more easily achieved by cooking all your own foods, eliminating prepared, canned, and take out food. If salt is necessary, one can try measuring out an 1/8 teaspoon of Himalayan salt daily, then tossing any remaining salt at day's end. The following day start fresh with only 1/8 teaspoon.
Neutral protein is neither low protein nor high protein. It is neutral. What goes in, comes out. A neutral plant based protein diet that is individually calculated to 0.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is something to try for maintaining healthy cystic kidneys.
Most recently it was discovered that by drinking enough water to shut down vasopressin or about 3 liters of water per day, might help assure the health of polycystic kidneys. Assure that the body takes in EAA essential amino acids and EFA essential fatty acids daily. Talk with your doctor about any of these possible changes that you may wish to try. Avoid all caffeine. (coffee, chocolate, black tea, green tea, white tea cola, and decaffeinated beverages as well). If your doctor permits, try chamomile, rooibos, hibiscus, thyme, saffron, rose hips, linden flower, or veronica tea. For a little bubbly, try freshly pressed cranberry, apple, grape juice or an all juice blend mixed with Perrier or other fizzy mineral water. Remain alkaline.
What if I cannot avoid animal proteins?
Some test their nightly urinary pH; to maintain alkalinity while continuing to eat meat try drinking large quantities of melon juice, orange juice, cabbage juice and/or supplementing with prescribed potassium citrate or sodium citrate. Some high and low potassium symptoms are listed here. If it is not possible for you to eliminate all animal foods there are some better choices. Limit the quantity of animal proteins to 3 ounces of meat (the size of a deck of cards) or 1 ounce of cheese (the size of one dice), once or twice per week. Should you find this difficult, try eating less than three ounces of animal protein per day. Do not attempt to abstain from animal proteins for several days, then one day, splurge on a large quantity of meat. This is known as eating like a lion and this WILL reduce kidney functioning. It decreases the GFR, Glomerular Filtration Rate through the kidneys.
Diet Sleuth is a computer program for those wishing to calculate more accurately the amount of proteins, potassium, phosphorus taken daily. Here is a list of protein amounts contained in some common foods.
Diet-induced metabolic acidosis
Adeva MM, Souto G.
Source
Hospital General Juan Cardona, c/ Pardo Bazán s/n 15406 Ferrol, La Coruña, Spain. madevaa@yahoo.com
Abstract
"The modern Western-type diet is deficient in fruits and vegetables and contains excessive animal products, generating the accumulation of non-metabolizable anions and a lifespan state of overlooked metabolic acidosis, whose magnitude increases progressively with aging due to the physiological decline in kidney function. In response to this state of diet-derived metabolic acidosis, the kidney implements compensating mechanisms aimed to restore the acid-base balance, such as the removal of the non-metabolizable anions, the conservation of citrate, and the enhancement of kidney ammoniagenesis and urinary excretion of ammonium ions. These adaptive processes lower the urine pH and induce an extensive change in urine composition, including hypocitraturia, hypercalciuria, and nitrogen and phosphate wasting. Low urine pH predisposes to uric acid stone formation. Hypocitraturia and hypercalciuria are risk factors for calcium stone disease. Even a very mild degree of metabolic acidosis induces skeletal muscle resistance to the insulin action and dietary acid load may be an important variable in predicting the metabolic abnormalities and the cardiovascular risk of the general population, the overweight and obese persons, and other patient populations including diabetes and chronic kidney failure. High dietary acid load is more likely to result in diabetes and systemic hypertension and may increase the cardiovascular risk. Results of recent observational studies confirm an association between insulin resistance and metabolic acidosis markers, including low serum bicarbonate, high serum anion gap, hypocitraturia, and low urine pH."
Below are some files for additional information; a few iPhone/iPad apps are included. One surprise was the amount of fat in a food court hot dog = 28 grams of fat; a slice of pizza = 38 grams of fat.
| Useful | Alkaline Diet Trials | Avoid |
| Useful Chemicals | Low High K+ | Avoid Chemicals |
| Useful Grains | Menus | Avoid Grains |
| Useful Herbs | Recipes | Avoid Herbs |
| Useful Other | Better Proteins | Avoid Other |
| Useful Fruits | Avoid Fruits | |
| Xenoestrogens | Avoid Phytoestrogens | Xenoestrogens Avoid |
| ARTICLES | APPS | |
| Meat Carbon Footprint | Xenoestrogens Avoid | Fish:endangered |
| Meat Choose Well | Calculate neutral protein | Produce:Dirty Dozen App |
| Meat Methodology | Safe cosmetics | Produce:Harvest App |
| Sunscreen guide | EWG Endocrine Disruptors | Sunscreen App |
| City water | Phthalates | FishToxicity App |
| Moringa | Saving Failing Kidneys | Fish: Seafood Watch App |
| Fish: guide | Fish: Mercury content | Fish4Health App |
| BOOKS PKD KIDNEY | BOOKS PLD LIVER | |
| PKD Diet Kidney iBookstore | Alkaline Diet Foods App | PLD Diet Liver iBookstore |
|
|
|