You’re likely to be restricted from certain foods if you’re someone dealing with kidney disease. Following a correct renal diet is important for kidney health. People with kidney disease need to monitor intakes of potassium, sodium, and phosphorus especially. You may also need to control several important nutrients. The following information will give you a better knowledge of drinks that you should include in your renal diet.

Carbonated & energy drinks have been associated to form kidney stones. Each year in the U.S., kidney stones causes more than 300,000 people to seek diagnosis and relief in an emergency room. Dark soda is your worst enemy when it comes to the drinks you should avoid.

Eating cranberries can also protect your kidneys. Cranberries prevent the development and growth of ulcers and bacteria in your urinary tract and can help monitor current bacteria/ulcers because they make the urine more acidic and help keep bacteria from attaching to the inside of the bladder.

However, when shopping for cranberry juice, you may have to be more careful since the potassium content varies depending on which product or brand you choose. There are some with 50mg potassium content and some tend to have around 200mg. And for people dealing with kidney disease, you really want to stay away from high levels of potassium.

Juices that are labeled ‘100% Juice’ products actually carry a lot of potassium content in them, sometimes even more than the regular ones. If you happen to be diagnosed with diabetes, this high sugar drink may not be the one for you.

Diet juices may have less sugar and lower potassium levels. However, they add artificial sweeteners to it, which is not the best for your body.

Bioactive compounds found in cranberries and their role in the prevention of urinary tract infections. Patients with chronic kidney disease may choose cranberry juice for a taste change from water as they have heard it is a fruit juice that has low potassium, as opposed to the breakfast favorite orange juice.

Cranberries contain compounds that can stop the bacteria from “sticking” to the urinary tract wall and studies in young women with frequent UTIs show that drinking a glass of cranberry juice each day may help reduce recurrent or repeat UTIs.

Overall, you may have heard that drinking cranberry juice can help with a urinary tract infection (UTI), but that’s not the only benefit. Cranberries are packed with nutrients to help your body ward off infections and boost overall health. In fact, throughout history, they’ve been used to treat: urinary issues.