How to get extra calories
Why would extra calories be needed?
People with kidney disease can have a condition known as uremia. Uremia happens when the kidneys aren’t working well.
Waste and toxins build up in the blood and this can make you feel sick. Uremia can affect appetite, making it hard to eat enough to get all the nutrition your body needs.
Getting the right amount of calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals every day is important for growth in children; and for health and maintaining strength in adults. Eating extra calories as carbohydrate and fat can be important when you are not feeling well.
A dietitian can help with determining if and how much extra calories you need every day.
How to get more calories
Here are some ideas on how to increase the amount of calories in your diet.
Fats
Fats such as olive, canola, and sunflower oil are considered healthier fats than butter. These oils don’t really affect the flavor of foods — so be creative and try adding your favorite to a variety of mixable foods! They can be added to low potassium vegetables, pasta, rice, and other foods to increase the calories.
Tip: You may also
want to try adding full fat dressings or mayonnaise to salads, fish and meats.
Starchy foods
Starchy carbohydrate foods include bread, rice, pasta, couscous, noodles, and potatoes. These foods provide a good source of calories. You can add spreads or oils to these for extra calories.
Remember to boil potatoes and discard the water if you are following a low potassium diet.
Dairy
Try different Full fat dairy products such as whole milk, yogurt, cream cheese, and hard cheeses like cheddar. Lower phosphorus dairy choices include parmesan cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese. A dietitian can help to determine how much dairy you can have each day, as some people with kidney disease need to limit their intake of phosphorus.
More ideas...
- Eat a meal or nutritious snack every 2-4 hours.
- Try to eat with family and friends at a table. Avoid distractions like the TV so you can focus on eating.
- Add olive or canola oil to a sauce or try cream cheese or sour cream based sauces.
- Have an omelette made with extra egg whites cooked in olive or canola oil.
- Add cream cheese or jam to a bagel or on toast. Add honey or syrups to suitable cereals to sweeten them.
- Make homemade breadcrumbs or batter to coat meats and fish. You could also try adding oil and herbs to meats, poultry, and fish before cooking.
- Add unsalted tortilla chips or croutons to salads for extra crunch.
Still Need More Calories?
At this point you may benefit from a nutrition supplement drink for kidney disease.
Renastep™ is designed to provide a convenient way to get calories, protein, and a variety of vitamins and minerals in amounts to support the management of kidney disease.
Renastep can be consumed in addition to your meals and snacks. Some choose to have one before bedtime.
It is important to check with a dietitian about which foods you can have and which foods you should limit. Everyone’s needs are different.
Nutrition Supplement Drinks
Having kidney disease can make you feel less hungry. It can be hard to eat enough and get all of the nutrition your body needs. If this happens, a dietitian can determine necessary diet changes and help with how to achieve these. Sometimes a nutrition supplement drink may be recommended.
Let's talk about nutrition supplement drinks
Nutrition supplement drinks are a convenient way to get calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Renastep is made especially for kidney disease. It is important to work with your healthcare team to ensure you’re meeting your individual nutrition needs and taste preferences. Syrups or extracts can be added to change up the flavor, or Renastep can be used in a variety of recipes.
Ways a Nutrition Supplement Drink May Help:
Get Enough Calories, protein, vitamins and minerals
Getting the right amount of calories, protein, vitamins and minerals is important for health and keeping strong. If feeling sick or frequently not hungry, a nutrition supplement drink may be helpful to provide some nutrition. A dietitian can help to determine which supplements are best for you.
Stop weight loss
Weight loss from not eating enough can affect your health and wellbeing. It is important to stop or prevent weight loss. You can do this by trying to eat high-calorie foods often and by asking your healthcare team if a nutrition supplement drink could be added to your daily meal plan.
If worried about nutrition intake or weight, please speak to a registered dietitian or your healthcare team. It is important to follow their advice about if and what type of nutrition supplement is best for you to take.