Diabetic & Renal Diet

If you are a diabetic who also suffers from chronic kidney disease (CKD), you have to follow both a diabetic and renal diet. Taking both conditions into consideration, you need to limit carbohydrates, fats, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sugar. Adhering to diet guidelines may be tricky at first, but you should be able to follow a healthy diet plan with a few tips.

Good-Carb Foods

As a diabetic, you need to keep your blood sugar levels under control by following a meal routine and consuming the same level of carbohydrates with each meal. You should discuss your caloric needs with a dietitian, but try to have three carbohydrate servings (with one serving equaling 15g) at each meal.

Fruits, vegetables and starches provide "good carbohydrates," which are unprocessed and appear close to their natural state. You can eat the following low-phosphorus and -potassium fruits: apples, apricot halves, blackberries, blueberries, canned pears, cherries, cranberries, fruit cocktail, grapefruit, grapes, mandarin oranges, pineapple, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines and watermelon.

Vegetables provide a high amount of minerals and vitamins to your diet and are low in calories, phosphorus and potassium. Among good-carb vegetables you can eat are asparagus, beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, frozen broccoli cuts, green and red peppers, iceberg lettuce, kale, onions, radishes, snow peas, summer squash and turnips.

Low-potassium and phosphorus starches you can consume include a bagel, cornbread (homemade), cream of wheat, grits, flour tortilla, non-salted crackers, non-sweetened dry cereal, noodles, pasta, rice, a sandwich bun and white bread.

High-Protein Foods

Your diabetic and renal diet also should consist of non-carbohydrate high-protein foods. You can eat limited amounts of cottage cheese (which has high sodium levels, so sparingly), eggs (or a low-cholesterol substitute), fish, lean cuts of meat, poultry and seafood (without boiling in high-sodium seasonings).

Among meat and high-protein foods you should avoid are cheeses (American, cheddar and Swiss); dried beans (such as kidney, lentil, lima, pinto or soy); high-sodium meats (such as bacon, canned and luncheon meats, hot dogs, organ meats, pepperoni, salami and sausages); nuts and peanut butter.

Beverages and Milk Items

Among the sugar-free and phosphorus-free or -light beverages you can consume are clear diet sodas, Crystal Light, unsweetened lemonade or tea you make at home and water. If you are on a fluid restriction, limit your amount of fluid intake.

Since you are on a diabetic and renal diet, you should limit milk products to 2 daily servings. You can consume fat-free or skim milk, plain yogurt, sugar-free ice cream and sugar-free pudding.

What to Avoid

You should not include potassium-rich fruits and vegetables in your diabetic and renal diet; these include items like artichoke, avocados, bananas, brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, fresh broccoli, fresh pears, honeydew melon, kiwi, oranges, potatoes, prunes, pumpkin, raisins, spinach, tomatoes and yams.

On your avoid list of phosphorus- or sodium-rich starches should be biscuit, cornbread, gingerbread and pancake mixes; potato chips, corn chips and salted crackers; sugar-coated and instant cereals; whole grain cereals (such as bran flakes, granola and oatmeal); and whole wheat or whole grain breads.

Phosphorus-rich milk items you should avoid include buttermilk, chocolate milk, sweetened yogurt and sugar-sweetened frozen desserts, ice cream and puddings.

You should stay away from phosphorus-rich drinks, so do not consume beverages like beer, canned or sweetened lemonade and tea, dark colas, Gatorade, Hawaiian Punch, Powerade and Sunny Delight.

When deciding on the best diabetic and renal diet plan, you will find various options at your disposal, with some professionals even disagreeing on certain items you can eat and what you should avoid completely. For perspective on amounts you should consume on a diabetic and renal diet, visit http://www.bcrenalagency.ca/NR/rdonlyres/D33FEBC5-5B2F-46EA-942A-18CF63C968A8/25612/FridayPMConcurrentTreenaHansen.pdf.