Renal Nutrition

A registered dietitian can translate complicated medical jargon into an understandable nutrition plan. RDs understand how kidneys work and how kidney disease relates to the bones, organs and anemia. They can also explain why you need to limit certain foods. When planning your new meal plan, the RD will include a patient’s favorite foods, including any ethnic foods.

The RD is also trained to fit a new meal plan to a patient’s schedule, whether it includes working, traveling, chauffeuring children to school activities or running with energetic toddlers. With education, the renal meal plan can fit into any schedule and the RD is the person to help you do this.

If there has been a diagnosis of CKD but the patient is not yet on dialysis, it is important to find a renal dietitian who can help with a new meal plan. Medicare will pay 80 percent of the cost of Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) with an RD trained to work with the renal diet. The nephrologist often works closely with RDs and can make a referral or can provide names of MNT-certified dietitians.

Local board certified renal dietitians may be located at www.cdrnet.org. Go to “Fellow and Specialty Online Directories Available,” then “Specialist Locator Search.” Renal patients not yet on Medicare, may be able to contact the outpatient dietitian at a local hospital. They are usually able to provide nutrition counseling for people with CKD.

Nutrition is an important part of the medical plan and following a complicated new meal plan does not happen by chance. Consulting an RD may be the most important thing a patient will do to help them feel better and help regain strength.  It can also make a difference in when they start dialysis.