Introduction

This book is about eating, drinking and good food. It is full of quick, simple and great-tasting recipes for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), along with their friends and families. Our focus is on healthy eating, and why this is so important in helping to manage CKD. We want to show those of you living with CKD that eating for health can be an easy and effective way to improve your chances of living long and active lives.

The advice in this book is broadly aimed at those people with mild to moderate CKD, categorised as CKD Stage 1 to 3, or for those with kidneys working up to 30% normal (see the Box below). People with more severe kidney disease and those needing dialysis are likely to require further or alternative advice. They may find the following book more helpful: Eating Well with Kidney Failure by Helena Jackson, Annie Cassidy and Gavin James. Full details of this and other useful resources are given in Appendix 1.

The five stages (categories) of chronic kidney disease (CKD)

Stage 1 Kidney damage with normal function

Stage 2 Kidney damage and slight decrease in kidney function

Stage 3 Moderate decrease in function – kidneys working at 30–59% normal

Stage 4 Severe decrease in function – kidneys working at only 15–29% normal

Stage 5 Established renal failure. Function of less than 15% normal. Approaching the need for/already on dialysis

Some people with kidney disease will have the opportunity to discuss what they eat with a dietitian. This book is not designed to replace this personal advice. Rather, it aims to help you be better informed when you see your doctor, dietitian or other health professionals. We hope that it will answer some questions that you may not think of or have time to ask in clinic, and that it will provide you with additional information and support.

The book is divided into two sections. The first gives some factual information about food and nutrition in relation to kidney disease. The second includes over 50 delicious recipes, to show you that eating can still be pleasurable. There are hints and tips on choosing and eating meals, including takeaways, pre-packaged meals and food for celebrations and special occasions.

As well as being tasty and simple to produce, the recipes have been chosen to help you to adapt favourite recipes and make them suitable for your particular diet. They have all been tried and tested – the finished dishes have been tasted by our friends, relatives, colleagues and patients. We are grateful for the help of all our ‘tasters’ in producing the end result.

Few of those with CKD will need to make drastic changes to what they eat. Reading this book will reassure some of you that your diet is fine as it is, or that small changes only are needed. A few readers, however, may benefit from making more changes to their diet. This will usually be either because they have other health problems, or because they wish to reduce the risk of developing such problems in the future. We hope that the recipes in this book will help those for whom this is a concern.

We have based this book on our experience as people who enjoy food, as well as our experience as dietitians working with people who have CKD. We hope that it will help you take control of this important aspect of your life, and use food in a way that successfully combines health and enjoyment.