Your kidneys play a vital role in your overall health which is why it’s important you look after them and give them your attention. Kidney disease is often silent. Most people with kidney disease do not notice the presence of any symptoms until it has gone on and done some serious damage.
What is the role of the kidneys?
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, tucked away below the rib cage, towards the back of your abdomen and sit on either side of your spinal cord. The kidneys have multiple important functions which are vital for life and are responsible for2,3:
- Filtering and cleaning your blood by removing waste and excess fluid from your body.
- Maintaining a healthy balance of water, salts and minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus in your blood, to regulate your blood pressure
- Making hormones that are involved in regulating blood pressure, producing red blood cells, metabolism and immune response.
- Activating and using Vitamin D absorbed from the sun and/or through supplements.
Vitamin D works alongside Calcium so that your bones are healthy and strong.
As you can see, your kidneys are always hard at work, which is why it is important they are taken care of for your health.
What is Chronic Kidney Disease?
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is defined as the presence of kidney damage for three months or more. Risk factors include1:
- Persistent high blood pressure
- Poorly controlled diabetes
- Recurrent urinary tract infections or kidney stones
- Genetic conditions such as reflux nephropathy or polycystic kidney disease.
CKD is diagnosed by analysing:
- Abnormalities in the urine – e.g. the presence of blood or protein
- Blood Tests – Glomerular Filtration Rate. This provides an estimation of how much flood the kidneys are able to filter per minute.
- And/OR a Kidney Biopsy
If you are diagnosed with CKD, your doctor and or specialist will advise you of the stage of the disease progression, which will be important in determining an appropriate plan of treatment and prognosis.
What are the effects and symptoms?
The effects and symptoms of CKD vary in severity depending on the stage and progression of the disease. Effects include high blood pressure (hypertension), electrolyte imbalance, low blood cell production, fluid retention, anaemia, micronutrient deficiencies and protein-energy malnutrition4. Symptoms may include taste changes, amenorrhoea, weight loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, lowered immunity, sleep disturbance, poor nutritional health and wellbeing.
What is involved in the treatment?
In the early stages of CKD, a dietitian can assist in your treatment by addressing risk factors responsible for disease progression. If the cause if related to diabetes, a dietitian is able to help with managing and controlling blood sugar levels. It is important that these modifiable risk factors are addressed to prevent disease progression1,2.
In the later stages of CKD, the damage is usually irreversible. The role of the dietitian is largely centred on symptom management. Due to the kidney’s weakened ability to filter excess fluid and waste from the blood, multiple issues can arise, including elevated blood electrolyte levels, accumulation of fluid in the body and malnutrition related to the loss of protein in the urine. Waste products may build up in the body resulting in altered taste, fatigue and loss of appetite1,2,4.
As part of our practice, we as dietitians work closely alongside other health care professionals to ensure that we provide excellent and quality service through nutritional counselling and dietary education, using evidenced based practice.
For more information about our dietetic services or to book an appointment with our Accredited Practising Dietitians please contact our Rooms: Penrith (02) 4721 5788 Westmead (02) 9633 1035 Norwest (02) 8814 5551
References:
- Tapsell, L, Ash, S, Campbell, K, MacLaughlin, H, McCoy, E, Chan, M, Anderson, K, Corke, K, Dumont, R, Lloyd, L, Meade, A, Montgomery-Johnson, R, Tasker, T, Thrift, P & Trotter, B 2006, ‘Evidence based practice guidelines for the nutritional management of chronic kidney disease’, Nutrition & Dietetics, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 35-45
- Lambert, K 2018, ‘Renal Nutrition Part 1 Basics of Renal Nutrition, Education in Nutrition, available with subscription only from educationinnutrition.com.au
- Blantz, R, Deng, A, Miracle, C, Thomson, S 2007, ‘Regulation of kidney function and metabolism: A question of supply and demand’, Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc, vol. 118, no. 1, pp. 23-43
- Crook, MA, Hally V, Panteli JV. The Importance of the refeeding syndrome. Nutrition. 2001; 17(7-8):632-737
