New Diets to Manage Health
February 26th, 2024
Why start a new diet? Diet can feel like such a dirty word, but Webster’s dictionary defines diet as “food and drink regularly provided or consumed.” You always hear about some person you know going on a diet or the next fellow saying diets don’t work. Media outlets try to cram all these fad diets and “nutritional” information down our throats. In this case, we are changing diet habits to create a better health outlook.
Recently, my nearly 90-year-old grandma saw a nephrologist (kidney doctor) to start managing CKD (chronic kidney disease). She’s my grandmother and Ann’s mother and being the people we are it was time to read up on the disease and research the next steps, so what does managing CKD mean? What will this look like in the long run?
To start, Grandma’s chronic kidney disease came about due to other medical issues that I won’t get into right now, but I bring it up to inform others that being aware of your body, your health, and any symptoms that may lend to the presence of medical issues is pertinent. You’ve got one body, one life; take care of yourself to the best of your ability and get help when it is needed. Seek out medical professionals that have knowledge of the issue you may be experiencing and take ownership to learn more, ask questions, and this one is key, if you are forgetful — WRITE IT DOWN. Having one medical issue can sometimes lead to another, so any new symptoms might be ones that you want to record and talk with your doctor.
Thankfully, this disease Grandma has is manageable. Someone may ask, why bother she’s lived a long life? Everyone deserves to have quality of life and in this case, the goal to remain off of dialysis and maintain the remaining kidney function. After Ann spoke with the specialist and we had information to go on, we played Google doctor for a minute to find information that could be printed out for later use. From our internet search, we learned that the diet for managing CKD is called the DASH diet. Shortly after the first of many appointments, I went to the local bookstore, Schuler Books, to search for more information. I tried the Cookbook section and was then directed to the Health section instead where I picked up a book written by medical professionals and dieticians regarding all things DASH diet and kidney friendly foods.
The basic information, in a nut shell, is to reduce sodium, potassium, and phosphorous. Now equipped with this basic knowledge, we are taking the tedious and eye-opening step of reading the ingredients labels on everything. Spoiler alert, there is so much sodium and sugar in way too many items; it’s no wonder the nephrologist told Grandma to eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible and to avoid canned, processed, or boxed foods, etc.
This is not insurmountable and my advice to anyone experiencing diet changes for medical reasons or otherwise:
Read labels
Meal plan
Write a food journal
Buy a book to have information at your fingertips.
Remember it is okay to not be perfect, but over doing it on things that can harm your body every day is not a cheat day - that is a bad habit. If you “cheat” everyday it becomes harder to form better food habits, and it’s not to say that you can never have a treat again. Just moderate and be conscious. Diets are hard, but sometimes necessary for your health. I hate the idea of dieting, but when cuts or reductions must be made at the end of the day it is for the betterment of your health.
~Ginny
