To maintain good physical condition on dialysis, it is essential to eat well and to have a varied diet. However, certain components of the food that the kidney eliminates during normal functioning can accumulate in the body and cause various health problems.

Certain dietary rules must, therefore, be follow. They must adapt according to the nutritional needs of the patients, the quality of the dialysis they receive, their possible residual renal function, and their biological results. Some dialysis structures offer the help of a dietician.

Mineral Intake

Potassium and phosphorus are minerals very present in the food, necessary for the good functioning of the organism, but which can accumulate there with sometimes serious consequences when one is dialyzed.

Potassium is present in large quantities in pulses, dry fruits, oilseeds, certain vegetables and fresh fruits, chocolate, instant drinks. In hemodialysis, these foods should be limited. Replacement salts are contraindicated.

Phosphorus is present in large quantities in hard cheeses and processed cheeses, organ meats, canned fish, oleaginous fruits, industrial foods containing phosphate additives (certain cooked dishes, certain meats). Some sodas provide phosphorus in the form of phosphoric acid. In dialysis, these foods should be limited.

There are specific drugs called chelators. Which can prevent the intestinal absorption of potassium and phosphorus and therefore use in addition to the diet. Even if these measures are follow, it is essential to take these treatments, which can alleviate nutritional constraints.

Water Supply

When the kidneys are functioning less well or not at all, the water can no longer be adequately removed. It accumulates in the body’s tissues, causing edema (mainly in the ankles and under the eyes), sometimes leading to pulmonary edema. Dialysis corrects this accumulation, provides that the water intake between two sessions is moderate.

These liquid restrictions can be difficult to bear because one does not drink “when thirsty.” Certain measures can limit the feeling of thirst, eat low salt. Some tips can help: drink in small containers, in small sips and suck on ice cubes (which quench thirst despite a small volume of liquid).

Salt Intake

Two main reasons can lead to the establishment of a low-salt diet: the existence of hypertension, which is relatively common in dialysis, and water restriction since salt makes you thirsty. Concretely, it involves cooking without salt, but with flavor, not adding salt to food, avoiding salty food, or even eating bread without salt.

In hemodialysis, Eating well is consuming:

• Fruits and vegetables: 4 per day: 1 raw vegetable, a cooked vegetable, a fresh fruit, a cooked fruit
• Starchy foods and/or bread: with each meal
• Meat or fish or eggs: 2 times a day
• Dairy products: 2 to 3 per day
• Fat: with each meal. Favor vegetable fats (rapeseed oil, soybeans, olives, margarines with guaranteed omega 3 content)
• Sweet products: in moderation, which does not prevent pleasure

Water Intake

In hemodialysis, the recommended quantity of drink is 500 ml + the volume of daily diuresis
For people who no longer urinate, the volume of the drink is 750 ml per day

Dietary Specificities in Peritoneal Dialysis(home)

As long as a residual renal function is preserve. Which is often the case, in a lasting way, in peritoneal dialysis, the regime is more flexible. Thanks to daily exchanges, the diet is not restrict in potassium.

On the other hand, the peritoneal dialysis solution contains sugar, which imposes a limitation on sugar intake (except in the elderly). Salt intake should also check.

To avoid undernutrition, the patient on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis must have the correct energy and protein intakes. Meat, fish, eggs, or ham must include in both meals: lunch and dinner.

The Specificity of the First Hour of Hemodialysis

The first hour of hemodialysis allows you to take advantage of foods that are usually limit. Very salty, or mainly rich in potassium. Indeed these minerals will be eliminat during the rest of the treatment. These are moments of pleasure and conviviality that should not be overlooked.

While the trend for sweet desserts is taking hold among renowned chefs and pastry chefs, large-scale distribution is also following the trend. And there are more and more alternatives to replace refined sugar on the shelves. Presentation of these products to be used in cooking as in pastry to replace white sugar. Not very interesting from a nutritional point of view.

Why is it Good to Replace Refined Sugar?

Without firing red bullets at refined sugar, the trend for raw products exposed to the nutritional poverty of white sugar. Indeed, white sugar, which has no other flavor than that of sugar, brings – apart from calories no added value to a dessert or a cake. While other unrefined natural sugars like muscovado, rapadura or whole cane sugar, bring more flavor to preparation while having a higher sweetening power than white sugar.

The Many Alternatives to Replace Refined Sugar

Agave Syrup

The advantage of agave syrup, extracted from blue agave, is that it is sweet and works wonderfully in dessert as in pastry. Thanks to its low glycemic index, it is ideal for people with diabetes, unlike white sugar, which has a high glycemic index (so will cause a spike in blood sugar). In addition, its other advantage in cooking is that it dissolves easily in the cold, and does not need to be heated to be worked.

Honey

More aromatic than refined white sugar, why not use honey in our recipes? In addition, since there is no single sugar, there is no honey, but honeys! Acacia, chestnut, rosemary, fir, lavender, orange tree, thyme, kinds of honey are numerous and all different. But beware, when you replace refined sugar with honey in a recipe, you don’t put the same grammage. Indeed honey has a strong sweetening power, which allows reducing the quantity.

Also, honey is a “liquid” product where sugar is a portion of “dry” food. In pastry making, this can, therefore, also have an impact on the consistency of a cake. Finally, to avoid “fake honeys,” we are rather moving towards whose origin is clearly indicated. To avoid “mixtures” based on industrial sugars from corn, wheat, rice, dyes, flavors… Honey must contain honey. Point.

Maple Syrup

With its many minerals and its typical flavor, maple syrup is a choice substitute in the kitchen. Perfect on pancakes, it is also ideal for lacing meat, cake, flavoring Greek yogurt, or softening a hot drink.

Kitul Sap

Too little known, kitul sap is yet a perfect alternative to replace refined sugar. Vitamins, minerals, the perfect combination of the three sugars (fructose, glucose, and sucrose) preventing the storage of these carbohydrates, low glycemic index, usable cold as hot. But what are we waiting for to use it?

Coconut Sugar

In terms of calories, coconut sugar (386 kcal / 100g) and white sugar (399 kcal / 100g) are equal. So this is not where the first one stands out. In fact, this caramelized sugar contains vitamins and minerals that refined sugar does not have. Also, in use, it has a higher sweetening power, and can, therefore, be consume in less quantity.

Fruit Compote

To replace refined sugar in a recipe, you can also use fruit compote, homemade, if possible. Thanks to the natural sugar contained in fruits – fructose  we can prepare a 100% fruit compote that will give taste and indulgence to any cake dough.

Visible / Hidden Sugar

Obviously, all these alternatives are perfect in the case where we go to the stove and prepare our recipes from A to Z. Unfortunately, sugar is very often added to industrial products, and in this case, is called “hidden sugar.” If technical cookies, for example, do not hide their excess sugar, other products are widely provided with them – sliced bread, prepared dish, pizza – and definitely hide their game well. Purchase, you must take the time to decrypt the labels to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Fats are important to enjoy good health and proper body function. They are an essential energy source and improve the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. However, excessive fat intake or consumption of the wrong type of fat can harm our health. In addition, fats bring a characteristic texture, appearance, and flavor to food. This article provides a summary of the types of fats we eat, the foods that contain them, their effects on health, and the recommended levels of consumption.

What are Dietary Fats?

Dietary fats are a macronutrient present in food. They belong to a bigger group called lipids, along with waxes, sterols, and fat-soluble vitamins. These help in reducing joint pains like arthritis.

What are the Main Categories of Fats, and What Foods are They Found in?

Fats are triglycerides form by a combination of different basic components; glycerol and fatty acids. They are classified as saturated or unsaturated (monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, or trans) depending on their structure.

Fats are part of most food categories, and in general, everything we eat contains various saturated and unsaturated fats. The fat composition in each food influences its physical and functional characteristics and the consumer’s health. Products with a high proportion of saturated fat. Such as butter or lard, are solid at room temperature and usually of animal origin. Foods that contain a high proportion of unsaturated fats. Such as vegetable oil and fish oil, which contain omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, respectively, are usually liquid at room temperature. However, some vegetable oils, such as palm oil or coconut oil.

Why Should we Eat Fats?

It is important to eat adequate amounts of the correct types of fats for different reasons. Dietary fats are one of the main energy sources of our body and act as structural components of human cells. The body cannot absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K without the help of fats.

The presence in our diets of some fats. Such as omega-3 and omega-6, is essential since the body cannot produce them. And, therefore, we must ingest them with food. Some vital processes, such as the brain, eye, and cardiac function, growth, and development, cannot be performed without them.

How Much Fats Should we Eat?

It is recommended that 20-35% of the energy intake of adults comes from fats. Thus, a woman with a moderately active lifestyle and a daily energy intake of 2,000 kcal should consume between 44 g and 78 g of fat per day. A man with a daily energy intake of 2,500 kcal should consume between 55 g and 97 g of fat per day.

The usual recommendation is that less than 10% of the total energy intake corresponds to saturated fats or, what is the same, 22 g in women and 28 g in men, and the remaining percentage, of unsaturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. It is advisable to consume the least amount of trans fat possible, without exceeding 1% of the total energy intake, that is, less than 2 g in women and less than 3 g in men.

Does Eating Fats Make you Fat?

Weight gain is not related to a single nutrient but is based on total daily energy intake and the balance of energy ingested and energy expended. Consuming extra calories than the body needs causes them to store as body fat, regardless of the source of the calories (fat, protein, or carbohydrate). What matters is the global energy balance.

However, fats are rich in energy: 1 gram of fat contains 9 kcal, that is, more than double the calories of 1 gram of carbohydrates or protein (4 kcal / g each). Therefore, foods that are high in fat provide relatively more energy than low-fat foods, and we should try not to consume them in excess.

What Health Consequences does Overweight/Obesity or Excessive Fat Intake have?

People who are overweight(obese) face an increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.

In general, a higher level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood is associated with excessive calorie intake, but also with high fat intake. Some types of fats also carry more severe health risks. For example, trans fat consumption above the indications may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Recent studies also show that increased intake of saturated fat may not be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Despite this, reducing the consumption of saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fat has been shown. Especially polyunsaturated, could further reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

How Much Fat do we Eat?

Many people exceed the recommended total fat intake, ranging from 37% of total energy in the west to 46%. This situation is most likely due to excessive calorie consumption, as evidenced by the levels of obesity.

The intake of saturated fats exceeds the maximum recommended in many countries, while the intake of unsaturated fats, both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, does not reach the recommended levels.

Initiatives aimed at reducing trans fat consumption through food reformulation have recently been successfully implemented. And, consumption appears to be in line with the nutritional recommendation of less than 1% of total energy intake, and some countries have yet to reduce their levels further.

How Does the Type of Fat Influence the Properties of Food?

The fats improve the texture, the appearance, and the sensation in the mouth and transmit the fat-soluble flavors. Important characteristics for food production and cooking.

Unsaturated fats tend to be less stable and more sensitive to heat, light, and air. In domestic use, such as frying pan and baking. It is advisable to use fatty spreads and oils rich in both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. When using the same oil several times, for example in cooking fries. It is recommended to use oils with mainly monounsaturated fats. Such as refined olive oil or peanut oil, since they are more stable than polyunsaturated oils. Such as corn or soybean oil, and its reuse is safer.