More studies are showing the benefits of a healthy diet. In some cases, such as the case of chronic kidney disease, a good diet can be even more beneficial than medications and can even reduce the damage a disease like chronic kidney disease can do.

A recent case looked at a 69 year old man with several medical conditions. He conditions included stage 3 CKD, class 2 obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and type 2 diabetes. This required him to take approximately 210 total units of insulin daily (140 units insulin glargine and approximately 20–25 units insulin lispro at three meals daily).

Doctors had him eat whenever he was hungry. He was told to eat as much as he had to in order to feel comfortable and told not to count calories, carbohydrates or restrict any portions. He was given a list consisting of common foods in area grocery stores consistent with a doctor provided food guide.

Additionally, he was given a restaurant guide to to help him eat right while eating out. He was asked to start a vitamin B12 supplement. The results of these changes on his health were apparent very early on. Very quickly, he had to decrease the amount of insulin he was taking. Later, he had to stop taking blood pressure and other insulin medications as they were no longer needed. He began to lose weight and his kidney function began to improve. For more diet information on chronic kidney disease, be sure to peruse our backlog of articles, sign up for our newsletter and give us a like on FaceBook.