Food in peritoneal dialysis

Good nutrition is important and should be an integral part of your treatment along with dialysis and medication.

Proper nutrition is essential for:

• Provide enough protein to compensate for the loss of dialysis and to supply the calories you need.
• Control blood pressure, excessive weight gain, thirst and prevent edema by reducing salt and fluid intake.
• Maintaining proper levels of potassium in the blood by preventing cardiac arrhythmias.
• Monitor phosphorus and calcium levels to prevent bone problems.

Diet

The diet recommended for peritoneal dialysis is essentially the same as for hemodialysis, but with some considerations:

• Allows you to slightly increase your intake of:
  • Salt and liquids.
  • Proteins (meat, fish and eggs).
  • Potassium (fruits and vegetables).
• Your calorie intake has to be diminished, as some peritoneal dialysis solutions contain sugar, which already brings extra calories to your body.