What is the Right Diet for Polycystic Kidney Disease

Normally, the kidneys filter out excess toxic and waste substances and fluid from the blood.

When looking at food choices for people with polycystic kidney disease, it is important for those with high blood pressure to eat a diet low in salt.  There are six general classes of nutrients that are essential components of a healthy diet, whether or not one is nearing renal failure: Proteins, Fats, Minerals, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Water. These nutrients are needed by all people, but for those on renal diets, the requirements may need to be adjusted. It is important, then, to learn how specific nutrients interact with kidneys, cysts, blood pressure, etc., and then learn how to make the necessary adjustments for an individual situation.

Some other recommendations which play a role in a healthy diet/lifestyle include:
Reduce stress in your life: Stress causes cysts to grow faster by elevating adrenaline.
Avoid inflammation: Anything that causes inflammation in the kidney can accelerate the growth of cysts in PKD.

Eat a (mostly) vegetarian diet high in antioxidants: Diets based on plant proteins help lower blood pressure and may help slow the growth of kidney cysts. Animal studies have demonstrated that a low protein diet helps slow the progression of PKD.
Try Soybeans: Studies in lab animals show that soy protein slows the progression of PKD.

Choose low sodium foods and condiments. Try to eat less than 3000 milli-grams of sodium per day. Low sodium diets help reduce blood pressure and in lab animals, helps slow the progression of PKD.

Watch the caffeine. Caffeine may hasten the progression of PKD by elevating blood pressure.

Load up on potassium rich foods: High potassium diets help slow the decline in kidney function (Glomular filtration rate, GFR) in rats.

Get your Omega-3's: Studies with rats show that ingestion of omega 3 fatty acids helps reduce inflammation and slows the progression of PKD.

Eat high fiber carbohydrates: Recent studies have found that people with PKD and other kidney diseases may be mildly or acutely insulin resistant. High insulin levels are linked with heart disease and possibly faster rates of PKD progression.

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