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Published on September 22nd, 2020 | by Michaelw

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3 Snacks to BOOST Kidney Health

Hello everyone, today’s video is all about snacks you can eat to boost your kidney health!
Yes, you heard it right: there are 3 yummy, delicious and healthy snacks you can eat and that are healthy for you if you have kidney disease.
And I’ve ranked them for their health benefits, so you’ll also see which one will help you the most.
Yes, this is that one in a million video where you can find foods that you will like as much as your kidneys will!
And we are also going to answer the Age-Old Question: can people with kidney problems eat cheese?

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So, let’s talk about snacking. That’s a guilty pleasure so many of you have been advised against.
Because most snacks are often filled with bad fat, calories, sugar, salt, and other ingredients that can be harmful to the kidney.
But this doesn’t apply to the 3 snacks of today’s video!
Let’s see immediately what they are!

Watch on Youtube

Our number 3 is…

Brie cheese
Brie is a soft cow’s milk cheese that originated in France but is now popular worldwide.
It’s pale yellow with an edible rind of white mold.
Now, brie cheese is… yummy. I love French cheese and this is one of the finest examples.
It’s usually served with bread, but it can also be accompanied with fruits.
Apples, pears but also almonds are really healthy and appetizing with some brie cheese.
Now, When it comes to cheese, people often say they love it so much they can’t live without it – but hate that it can make you fat and causes heart disease.
And, it also contains a lot of phosphorus and sodium.
So the big question is: can people with kidney disease enjoy brie cheese? Is it healthy?
Let’s take a look at the nutritional values of this cheese.
Brie contains protein and fat along with vitamin B12, riboflavin, and, as we have seen, calcium and vitamin D3, making it very nutrient-dense.
It offers 100 calories per 1 ounce (28 grams).
Also, we need to consider that brie has some sodium and phosphorus. For one ounce, brie has 170mg of sodium and 53 mg of phosphorus.
But, can you add it to your diet?
The answer, in my opinion, is yes. 53mg of phosphorus are not that bad for cheese.
Actually, brie is one of the cheeses with less phosphorus and sodium.
And it even has health benefits!
It’s a good source of vitamin D3, maybe the most important vitamin for your kidneys, but also of calcium, really hard to get in a renal diet.
Also, like many real cheeses, brie contains Conjugated linoleic acid, CLA.
Research has suggested that CLA may help prevent obesity, heart disease, and reduce inflammation.
Also, it’s a myth that the fat in cheese can contribute to heart problems.
Full fat dairy is associated with a healthier body weight and does not appear to increase your risk of heart disease.
So, if eaten in moderation, this one is a great snack. It may promote feelings of fullness and aid appetite control, which can in turn promote weight loss.
Is still caloric dense and contains some phosphorus and sodium.
So, keep that in mind if you want to add it to your diet. And also don’t forget to talk to your doctor before trying any new food.
Actually, I don’t recommend eating this one every day, but maybe it could be a nice snack one or two times per week.
Especially if you keep the portion to something like this, about one ounce.
Remember that having a varied diet is the best way to give your body the nutrients it needs without overloading on those it doesn’t need.
For example, if you eat brie twice a week your body is going to treasure the Vitamin D, Vitamin B and calcium it has.
But if you eat it every day or in large amounts, the excess of sodium and calories will outweigh all these benefits.
A question for you guys, do you eat cheese? Are you going to try brie after today? Let’s talk about it in comment section!
Now, let’s see immediately another food that may help you having a varied and kidney healthy diet.
You’re going to love this one

Number 2 is…
Hot chocolate!
Ok, ok, I know this may seem too good to be true. But, trust me, Hot Chocolate, if made the right way, is a healthy snack.
First of all, because there’s a research published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology stating that consuming a cocoa product can help patients with kidney failure to improve their blood vessel function and to reduce blood pressure.
Now, I’ve said this a million times but I’ll keep saying it. Heart health is crucial if you want to improve your kidney function. The healthier your heart, the healthier your kidneys.
The researchers also stated that to get the benefits from chocolate you would need 200 mg of cocoa flavanols, equivalent to 2.5 grams of raw, unsweetened cacao powder.
That’s not a lot, actually, just about 1 teaspoon.
Ok, to get the benefits, and these are impressive benefits we’re talking about, we need to prepare hot chocolate the right way.
We’re not going to use milk. We already got plenty of phosphorus with brie, so we don’t want more dairy.
Use coconut milk instead! Coconut milk is not just going to add flavor to your hot chocolate, but it’s also healthy!
Instead of the phosphorus you would find in cow milk, coconut milk has important nutrients such as manganese and copper.
It’s also a source of medium-chain fatty acids, great to give a creamy taste to the hot chocolate.
If you don’t like the taste of coconut milk you can also use water or experiment with soy milk or almond milk.
I also like adding some powdered spices to my hot chocolate.
what we have here:
cinnamon
ginger
nutmeg
turmeric
again, experiment with these and find a combination you like. They all have health benefits: cinnamon can help lower blood sugar levels, ginger and turmeric fight inflammation.
Let’s see how to do it!
Start by bringing the coconut milk to boil.
Put in a cup a tablespoon of cocoa powder. This is about 7.5 grams of powder.
More than enough to get some healthy flavanols without getting too much potassium.
Add the spices you want.
Add the coconut milk slowly, and stir.
Now, let’s add some dark chocolate. We’re not going to use a lot of it because it contains sugar.
So, try to find the dark chocolate with the highest cocoa percentage. 70% is good, 80% is even better.
Now, the unhealthiest part of hot chocolate is… the sugar you put in it.
Even for people not suffering from diabetes, sugar is still unhealthy. It may even increase your blood pressure, undoing the good done by the cacao powder.
My advice? Avoid sugar as much as possible.
Even a small amount of sugar is a step in the wrong direction. Use a sweetener instead.
There are various options, sucralose, stevia and many other. They all have benefits over sugar.
My favorite sweetener is stevia, especially because it is supposed to have benefits for your kidneys:
A recent study suggests that consuming stevia may help Lowering High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol levels.
There’s also a study in which stevia was tested on people with ckd and the result was an improvement in kidney function in the test subjects.
Stevia might sound like the miracle solution for people looking to improve their kidney health, but these studies are not definitive yet.
There’s no conclusive evidence that sugar substitutes help hamper a person’s sweet tooth or keep them from overeating.
Also, I don’t like when advertisement lies to us. This is why I must tell you that stevia is not really 0 calories. Unlike what certain brands write on the boxes.
Yeah, this is a lie.
So, stevia may be healthy for you, it’s a lot better than sugar, still don’t rely too much on it.
Unlike our next snack. This one is going to have only benefits, I promise!

Number 1,

Fruit salad!

You wouldn’t think that something so good looking and juicy is also healthy, right?
Well, a fruit salad is one of the healthiest things you can eat!
Eating fruit salads regularly can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and have several other benefits.
Every single one of the fruits you’ll put in the salad has health benefits and the more the different colors, the more the benefits!
Yes, choosing a colorful assortment of fruits is important, as each color carries its own set of unique disease-fighting chemicals called phytochemicals.
And we are also going to choose all those fruits that are lower in potassium and fully suitable for a renal diet.
With all these fruits we can make a fruit salad for 6 people.
If you are making it just for yourself or for two, use just 3 or 4 of these fruits.
Remember to count the potassium you get from these fruits in your potassium allowance.
Let’s see what we have here:

  • red grapes
  • Kiwi- It is a good source of vitamin C, K, E, folate, and manganese. One single kiwi has about 200mg of potassium
  • Oranges- Oranges are rich in vitamin C, vitamin B1, pantothenic acid, folate as well as vitamin A, calcium and copper. A large orange like this one has 170 mg of potassium.
  • Apples, one of the healthiest fruits, also very low in potassium. Apples are rich in antioxidants, flavanoids, and dietary fiber. The phytonutrients and antioxidants in them may help reduce the risk of developing cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. Use half an apple cut into slices and keep the peel!
  • pears
    Ok, you may have noticed that I’m not peeling these fruits.
    This is because half the nutrients and fiber of these fruits are in or just below the peel!
    It tastes delicious and it’s very good for your health as well.
    There’s also

All these fruits are great for people with kidney disease. Like I did, choose the ones you prefer.
dice them, add lemon… and your fruit salad is ready!

Ok, this was our last one for today. I hope you enjoyed this video and that you’ve found out something you didn’t know you can eat.
In the journey to beat kidney disease every little thing counts, …

And this Friday I have something really special to show you.
This is all for today, see you next time!

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About the Author

Hi, my name is Michael and in this blog I'm gonna share the story of how I got off kidney dialysis for good. Getting off dialysis isn't easy at all, and that's why I'm trying to help people as much as I can.



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