Tips for Healthy Holidays
The upcoming New Year and Christmas holidays are both long-awaited meetings with family and friends at the festive table and a serious challenge to the health of people treated with hemodialysis.
Being around friends and family is a nice reminder that there is a magical, wonderful world still spinning beyond the demanding schedule of dialysis treatments and appointments. Balancing between the need for dietary restrictions and New Year's meals is extremely difficult for hemodialysis patients. Therefore, to comfortable and "healthy" meal during the holidays, specialists of the Medical Centers "Nephrocenter" have compiled a list of holiday eating tips, especially for hemodialysis patients.
- Remember that you can prepare a delicious festive meal for the whole family that could be also acceptable to you.
- Use dishes with herbs and spices instead of seasonings high in sodium.
- Reduce or replace ingredients high in potassium and phosphorus. Low potassium foods such as rice, green beans, toppings and apple pie are the best choices. Canned or cooked fruits and vegetables are lower in potassium than their fresh counterparts.
- Limit the consumption of salty foods. Salt causes thirst. If you eat too much salt, you can drink too much fluid and possibly complicate the treatment with hemоdialysis.
- Make the filling yourself, rather than buying in the finished form, which will help you to reduce or eliminate ingredients with high sodium content, such as salt and broth.
- Use non-milk topping or whipped cream instead of ice cream for desserts.
- Calcium and phosphorus always work together in the body. However, their excessive consumption at the festive table can lead to undesirable problems. Be careful with semi-finished products, dairy products and nuts. Keep in mind that drinks are also a source of phosphorus. Choose meals and drinks carefully to prevent disturbing this delicate balance.
- Do not forget to bring phosphate binders. These medicines should always be taken with food since their main action occurs during digestion.
- Excessive consumption of sugary drinks led to the accumulation of excess fluid in the body. The majority of hemodialysis patients should limit fluid intake to 800 ml per day. Remember that gelatinous desserts and sauces (watering) are also considered liquid.
- Opt for low potassium desserts, eliminate fruit, pumpkin and chocolate desserts. After all, potassium hides in many common foods - fresh fruits, dairy products and nuts.
- Never eat dishes with raw eggs.
- For safe consumption of potatoes, it must be pre-prepared. To leach (to lower the potassium content), the potatoes should be peeled and cut into small pieces. Soak in large amounts of water (use 10 glasses of water per 1 cup of potatoes) for at least four hours. Drain the water and start cooking.
- Portion sizes are also extremely important to you. A portion of protein, for example, should be the size and thickness of a palm, and rice should not exceed the size of a computer mouse.
The Nephrocenter Medical Center team sincerely congratulates our patients on the upcoming holidays and wishes everyone good health. You will be able to enjoy the holidays, delicious food and stay healthy, following the classic holiday saying, but with some modifications: Eat (in moderation), Drink (just a little) and Be Merry (a lot)!!!
