Eating Fruits, Vegetables may Help Kidney Patients

Recent studies shed light on how patients with chronic kidney disease can manage nutrition and keep blood pressure under control. Nimrit Goraya from Texas A and M College of Medicine and her colleagues investigated whether adding fruits and vegetables to the diet can improve the health of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Alkaline therapy is used to treat CKD patients with severe metabolic acidosis. Dr. Goraya and his team looked to see if adding fruits and vegetables - which are highly alkaline - can benefit CKD patients with less severe metabolic acidosis.

Acute Renal (Kidney) Failure- Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Complications
Acute renal failure is the sudden cessation of the functioning of kidneys, that can be due to reduced renal blood flow, damage to renal tissues.

For the study, 108 patients were randomized to receive added fruits and vegetables, an oral alkaline medication, or nothing. After three years, consuming either fruits and vegetables or the oral medication reduced a marker of metabolic acidosis and preserved kidney function to similar extents.

"Our findings suggest that an apple a day keeps the nephrologist away," Goraya said.

Another team led by Deidra Crews from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine wondered whether poor dietary habits might help explain why poverty is linked with CKD.

Quiz on Kidney
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist, and are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine.

Healthy kidneys filter about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. The bladder stores urine. The kidneys, ureters, and bladder are partof the urinary tract.

Foods to Avoid in Kidney Failure
Cut back on salt, restrict your fluid intake and limit consumption of proteins if you suffer from kidney failure.

kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. Kidneys also remove acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals-such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium-in your blood ().

Without this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in the body may not work normally.

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Kidneys also make hormones that help

Control your blood pressure
Make red blood cells
Keep your bones strong and healthy

In their study of 2,058 individuals, fibre, calcium, magnesium, and potassium intake were lower, and cholesterol higher, among those in poverty. CKD was present among 5.6 percent of people in poverty, and 3.8 percent of those not in poverty.

"An unhealthy diet is strongly associated with kidney disease among poor individuals. Dietary interventions tailored to meet the needs of this population may help to reduce disparities in kidney disease," Crews said.

A third study looked at blood pressure control among ethnically diverse CKD patients. Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to develop kidney failure than whites, perhaps due in part to poorer blood pressure control.

Delphine Tuot from the University of California, San Francisco and her colleagues examined blood pressure using 18,864 clinical blood pressure measurements from 6618 adults (23 percent white, 34 percent black, 18 percent Hispanic, 21 percent Asian) with CKD who received primary care in a health network serving San Francisco's uninsured and publicly insured residents.

Blood pressure was nearly 20 percent higher than national estimates with smaller, though still significant, disparities between black and white patients.

"Public health care delivery systems like the Community Health Network of San Francisco disproportionately care for vulnerable patients, including those of racial/ethnic minorities, and can serve as front-line agents to reduce disparities of care through implementation of innovative programs," Tuot said.

The findings of the three studies were presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Kidney Week.

Source-ANI