Definition of Diet - chronic kidney disease:

When you have chronic kidney disease, you need to make changes in your diet, including:

• Limiting fluids
• Eating a low-protein diet (this may be recommended)
• Restricting salt, potassium, phosphorous, and other electrolytes
• Getting enough calories if you are losing weight

Your recommended diet may change over time if your kidney disease gets worse, or if you need dialysis.

Function:

The purpose of this diet is to maintain a balance of electrolytes, minerals, and fluid in patients who are on dialysis. The special diet is important because dialysis alone does not effectively remove ALL waste products. These waste products can also build up between dialysis treatments.

Most dialysis patients urinate very little or not at all. Therefore, fluid restriction between treatments is very important. Without urination, fluid will build up in the body and lead to excess fluid in the heart, lungs, and ankles.