The Ideal Diet after a Kidney Transplant
A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure where your kidneys are cleansed and rebuild using the kidneys of a deceased person, in order to flush out the excessive waste fluids from the kidneys. It is of paramount importance and your dietary patterns and lifestyle should be altered after you go through a kidney transplant. Your dietician will help you out by preparing your diet chart to clearly list out the foods that you should consume and those which you should avoid after the surgery. The diet chart that would be prepared for you would be highly subjective and it would totally depend on your lifestyle, medical history, family health records, genetically transmitted conditions and such others. Apart from improving the condition of your kidney and assisting your transplant, the diet chart will also help you to lose weight, boost your metabolism and enhance your immune system. Some of the most common recommendations that your dietician may give you are as follows:
- Eating at least 5 full servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day as both are an important part of a healthy diet for a person who has just undergone a kidney transplant. The vegetables should mostly be eaten after cooking/boiling as per the suggestions of your dietician.
- Having enough of fiber rich foods in your daily diet is essential as it speeds up the process of digestion and prevents constipation by promoting frequent and easy bowel movements.
- If you are a non-vegetarian, then you should be going for lean meat alternatives which are low on fat and high on nutritional value. Examples of such meat are fishes and poultry. Additionally, you should also avoid all kinds of red meat as it is high on fat.
- Consume low-fat milk and dairy products as they help to prevent the fat accumulation inside the body and also maintain an acceptable level of calcium and phosphorus inside your body.
- Maintain a low level of iodized salt in your meals, as it helps to keep your blood pressure under control.
- Over the counter health supplements like vitamins and proteins can also be taken, if recommended by your dietician.
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