Food and drink

If you've been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), it is important to try to eat a healthy balance of food in order to stay as healthy as possible. This also helps to stave off other health problems such as high blood pressure - to help prevent heart disease, and maintain healthy blood glucose levels - to help prevent diabetes. Aspiring to protect yourself against heart disease and diabetes will help you protect your kidneys from further damage and ensure your journey through life with CKD is as uncomplicated as possible.

If you already have heart disease or diabetes, each one of our Kidney Kitchen recipes has a ‘healthier option’ listed in the Food Facts which accompany every recipe.  Don't worry we know how important good, tasty food is to you and how important it is to be able to prepare food the whole family will enjoy too.  We have done our best to ensure most of our Kidney Kitchen recipes are adaptable to suit the added guidelines that apply to both heart disease and diabetes. However, if you are not sure about any aspect of either the ingredients or the Food Facts please get in touch with your renal dietitian and discuss this with them.

You may have been advised by your renal dietitian to control the amount of fluid you take in during the day.  By doing your best to adhere to their guidelines you limit the pressure you put your failing kidneys or, if you are already on dialysis, enhance the efficacy of your dialysis. This might seem tough at first, but we have lots of information on managing your fluid intake, and managing your salt levels.

Find out more about managing your diet, fluid balance, and exercise when you have kidney disease in our Lifestyle section.