How Healthy Eating Can Stave off Kidney Disease

Eating More of These Foods May Help Prevent Kidney Disease

People that have kidney disease or are at risk for the disorder can stave the disease off by following a certain diet.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, eating certain foods can help slow down chronic kidney disease. These foods may even be able to help prevent kidney disease if you have risk factors. Generally, it is best to eat whole foods that are prepared at home. As everyone is different, it is always important to consult with your doctor or dietician to determine which foods are the best for you.

Foods to Eat

These foods, in general, are healthy for those at risk for chronic kidney disease. They can also be valuable in helping current kidney issues from getting worse.

Whole Fruits and Vegetables

A study presented at the 2016 American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions found that people with chronic kidney disease that added more vegetables and fruits to their diet had better blood pressure and used fewer medications than their counterparts that were treated with a baking soda regimen. The research subjects did not have to completely change their diet to achieve these results. They simply added more whole fruits and vegetables to their daily diet. Blood pressure is directly related to kidney failure. According to The American Kidney Fund, controlling high blood pressure may prevent kidney failure from getting worse.

Foods to Avoid

Here are foods that you should avoid if you are at risk for kidney disease or have chronic kidney disease

Red Meat

If you have chronic kidney disease or are at risk, you should limit red meat. High-protein diets are a no-no for those with kidney disease. In addition, red meats typically contain a lot of saturated fat, which is not good for someone with kidney disease. So, stay away from large quantities of animal protein.

Salt

Most foods are laden with salt, especially processed foods. Even the so-called healthy processed frozen meals have a lot of salt. If you are at risk for kidney disease, it is important to pay attention to how much salt you are getting in your diet. Definitely limit your salt intake to less than 2,300 mg a day. This equals about one teaspoon.

Soda

Sugar-sweetened sodas, whether sweetened with real sugar or artificial, are not healthy for someone that has kidney disease. These sodas contain phosphorus additives, which damage the kidneys. In addition, these drinks contain no nutritious value.

If you are at risk for kidney disease or already have chronic kidney disease, it is important to know that following a kidney-healthy diet can help prevent kidney problems or keep existing issues from getting worse. Always consult with your health care practitioner to find the best diet for your health needs.

Healthy Habits can Fight Even Genetic Heart Disease

A new study involving more than 55,000 adults looked at the effect of four lifestyle factors on the incidence of heart disease. The conclusion: Even those with a known genetic predisposition to heart disease can influence the outcome by avoiding unhealthy habits and pro-actively developing healthy ones.

The study assigned a risk factor based in part on whether or not participants carried any of 50 genes known to be associated with increased risk of heart disease. It also looked at the four following healthy lifestyle factors:

1. No current smoking
2. Lack of obesity (BMI less than 30)
3. If they engaged in physical exercise at least once a week
4. Healthy dietary pattern

Participants were ranked based on the number of healthy lifestyle factors they had. The study found that although genetic factors can dramatically increase the risk of heart disease -- by as much as 90 percent in some cases -- every health lifestyle factor helped reduce the risk.

This runs counter to what many people believe about genetic health factors. Most people wrongly believe that if you have "bad" genes, there is no fighting it. You might as well throw in the towel.

But this is not true. Diet and lifestyle make a significant impact on health outcomes, even for those individuals born at high risk due to known genetic factors. The more positive lifestyle factors, the more positive impact.

If you have genetic factors for heart disease, you can work on reducing your risk by doing the following things:

Eat Healthy
This means fewer processed foods and more fresh fruits and vegetables. It also means avoiding saturated fats, trans fat and cholesterol. Limit salt and sugar and eat a high fiber diet.

Be Active
You should exercise at least once a week. But you should also avoid sitting for excessive periods of time. If you work a desk job, get up and walk around a little every hour or so. Your heart will thank you.

Maintain a Healthy Weight
If you are underweight or overweight, work on gradually getting to a healthy weight. Then work at maintaining a healthy weight. Yo-yo dieting -- losing weight and then packing it back on -- is worse than just carrying a few too many pounds.

Avoid Tobacco and Limit Alcohol Use
If you smoke or use other tobacco products, give it up. Drink alcohol only in moderation.

Contrary the popular belief that genetic predisposition to heart disease is destiny, new studies are showing that lifestyle factors can help mitigate genetic risk. If you are at high risk, eat right, exercise, keep your weight down and avoid tobacco.

Watching Too Much Television Leads to Early Death

According to a new study, too much time in front of the television is a leading cause of death in the United States.

Background information provided in the study states 92 percent of households in the United States have televisions in their homes, and 80 percent of Americans watch 3.5 hours daily of television, on average.

TV is the most prevalent manner to spend sedentary, leisure time. The researcher’s hypothesis is that the amount of time spent watching TV is indicative of a person’s overall physical activity--or lack thereof. The results of this study join a growing amount of research supporting the idea that sitting too much is detrimental to health.

Researchers followed over 221,000 individuals from age 50 to age 71 for 15 years. At the start of the study, no participant had any chronic disease(s).

The more time spent in front of the TV, the more likely a participant was to die from cancer, diabetes, flu/pneumonia, heart disease, Parkinson’s, or liver disease, according to the study’s findings.

Risk of early death was 15 percent higher for individuals who watched 3-4 hours each day and 47 percent higher for individuals who watched more than seven hours. Researchers took into account risk factors like alcohol intake, calorie intake, health problems, and smoking.

However, this study proved only association between TV viewing and early death by these diseases.

The death risk was associated with both inactive and active individuals in the study. Exercise was not found to eliminate risks with sitting and watching television for extended periods of time. Rather time spent sitting must be replaced with active time.

This study joins others regarding the risks to our health of sitting too much.