Why Is Nutrition Important for Children with Chronic Kidney Disease?
Eating the right foods in the right amounts may improve your child’s growth, help your child feel better, and prevent or delay health problems from chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Healthy kidneys balance the salts and minerals—such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium—in blood. When your child has kidney disease, his or her kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. What your child eats and drinks can help maintain a healthy balance of salts and minerals in his or her body.
Eating right can also make your child’s CKD medicines work better.
Your child’s health care team will work with you to create an eating plan with the right foods and nutrients in the right amounts for your child to grow properly. The team may suggest changes in both the amount and types of food your child needs as he or she gets older or if your child’s kidney disease gets worse. Learning about nutrients in food will help you understand what changes you need to make to your child’s diet. You should always talk with the health care team before making any major changes to your child’s diet.
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)