Hemodialysis Diet

While dialysis filters and purifies the blood of harmful wastes, allowing those suffering from kidney failure to continue to live productive lives, it doesn't work as well as healthy kidneys do. Some wastes and fluids may still build up between dialysis Henderson treatments, and this excess, over time can result in heart and bone problems. To avoid this, people undergoing dialysis need to follow a diet tailored to reduce accumulation. Such a diet entails limiting not only fluids, but also sodium, potassium, and phosphorous.

What to Restrict

After being encouraged all their lives to include these minerals in their diets, or take them as supplements, kidney patients are often puzzled by this advice. But this is because healthy kidneys keep them in balance, and while dialysis will do so to some extent, it will never replace fully functioning kidneys. As a result, these minerals can quickly build up to harmful levels. For this reason, doctors and dietitians work together with patients to design personalized diets that restrict the amounts supplied while at the same time, monitoring blood levels to make sure they are getting sufficient amounts for body function.

• Potassium, while easily filtered from the blood in dialysis, being found in almost all foods, it easily re-enters the body. Because potassium is essential to muscle function, dietitians formulating the food plan will include foods that supply it, but it involves walking a fine line since the heart is a muscle. Too little potassium can lead to muscle cramps and an irregular heartbeat, while having too much (hyperkalemia) can cause a heart attack.

• Phosphorous, unlike potassium, is difficult for dialysis to remove from the blood so dietitians tailor the diet to limit foods that contain it. While the mineral works with calcium and vitamin D to maintain bone health, high blood levels (hyperphosphatemia) can lead to weak fragile bones that break easily, joint pain, skin ulcers, and heart problems.

• Sodium is needed to maintain the right amount of fluid for the body to function but when the kidneys begin to fail, sodium builds up, causing the body to retain water, which is not only uncomfortable, but raises blood pressure. A dialysis diet will contain foods that limit daily sodium intake.

• Fluids and water are absolutely necessary to maintain life, but an excess will also not only make dialysis treatments more difficult, but can result in discomfort, shortness of breath, and high blood pressure. Limiting fluids entails much more than monitoring how many ounces of water a patient drinks each day since virtually every food includes some amount of water. And so dietitians take into account soups, "meltables" like ice cream and sherbet, and fruits and vegetables, all of which have high water contents.

What to Include

In addition to eating a variety of nutritious foods, dialysis patients need to make sure they are receiving all the essential amino acids their bodies need. Therefore, their diets will include high amounts of high-quality protein, including lean meats, fish, poultry, and egg whites.

The Results

Following a personalized dialysis diet plan will help eliminate health complications that can accompany dialysis; make treatments more effective; and keep dialysis feeling at their best.