Consuming fruits and vegetables can help in reducing the risk of death from kidney diseases

People who suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD) eventually lose kidney function. Since symptoms are often not seen in the early stages CKD often goes undetected and only comes to notice at advance stages. Hyperkalemia that is high potassium levels also takes place, this happens when kidneys are damaged and it allows potassium to build up in the blood. When CKD patients lose kidney functions medical practitioners ask them to reduce potassium level in food. 

A study in Japan with people having CKD and who don’t found a lower intake of fruits and vegetables to be associated with a higher risk of death. CKD patients consume fewer meals with vegetables and fruits because of concern regarding potassium intake. Researchers have found that increasing vegetable and fruit intake to about 17 servings per week was associated with a 20% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to an intake of two servings per week.

People who eat fruits and vegetables sometimes had 25% higher risk of dying from any cause compared to the ones who eat them every day and those who never ate these kind of food had 60%higher risk of dying.

Dr. Anjay Rastogi, a professor and clinical chief of nephrology at the David Geffen school of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles stated that potassium is an important mineral for the body but patients with hyperkalemia can suffer drastically and cardiac arrest can also take place. Kristen Carli, a registered dietician and owner of Arizona-based Camelback Nutrition &Wellness, stated that patients need not have to lower their potassium until stage 4 or 5 of CKD.

Dr. Deidra Crews, a professor of medicine in the division of nephrology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Maryland stated that people with advanced CKD cannot rid their bodies of potassium through kidneys therefore fruits and vegetables which are rich in fiber may help in the process.