By Isabelle Guindon, RD
Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash
When you hear the words “self-care”, what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s taking time to sit down with a good book, or an afternoon away at the spa. Or maybe it’s something as simple as taking a walk or getting outside. Self-care can look different for all of us, especially for those of us who are navigating life with kidney disease.
Nutrition is an important aspect when it comes to self-care for all of us, and even more so when we are living with a chronic disease the way we’re nourishing our bodies plays an important role in terms of how we feel and how we are able to function on a daily basis, both from a physical, emotional and psychological perspective.
Here are just a few ways that you can practice self-care through food when living with kidney disease:
1) Eating regularly throughout the day
For many of us, it is easy to forget to eat sometimes or skip meals and snacks when we are busy and don’t have time to eat. For those with kidney disease, it may be more challenging to eat regularly due to physical symptoms like poor appetite or nausea, as well as balancing frequent medical appointments or dialysis sessions. This may lead to decreased hunger cues/appetite, challenges with memory or concentration, lower mood and physical symptoms like fatigue or lightheadedness.
Most adults need at least 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day, and most children and teens need 3 meals and 3 snacks, in order to take in enough nutrition to stay properly fueled throughout the day. Try to eat at least once every 3-4 hours to stay consistently fueled throughout the day. If you are short on time, aim to keep some easy grab and go options, like granola bars, trail mix, crackers & cheese or fruit on hand. If your appetite is low, try to choose energy-dense meals and snacks like full-fat yogurt or nuts/seeds.
2) Choosing foods that you know you will enjoy
Enjoyment is also an important part of caring for ourselves through the foods that we eat. However, with the dietary restrictions that can come along with kidney disease, it may be a lot harder to find foods that we enjoy that can still fit within a kidney-friendly diet.
There are many online resources with delicious recipes that can fit into a kidney-friendly diet. In fact, the Kidney Community Kitchen website has hundreds of recipes that can be filtered by dietary restrictions. You can also speak with your renal dietitian for ideas for kidney-friendly alternatives to some of the foods you used to enjoy or see whether there is room to liberalize your diet to allow for some of these.
3) Balance is key
When planning meals, try to incorporate a variety of foods that will be nourishing to both your body and your soul. This means choosing a variety of nutrient-dense foods, that will provide the nutrients your body needs to function well, while also allowing yourself to have foods that may be lower in nutrients but may make us feel good emotionally. Try to avoid looking at foods as “healthy” or “unhealthy”- instead, aim to include higher amounts of nutrient-dense foods that will fuel your body, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins, while also including some “treat” foods that will nourish your soul.
4) Mealtimes as connection time
Another aspect of self-care is spending time with our loved ones- mealtimes are often social occasions and connecting with those close to us over a meal can be a meaningful way to care for ourselves. Try to take advantage of mealtimes as a time to build connections with others. Food can also play an important role in family gatherings and celebrations. Try speaking with your renal dietitian in advance of celebrations where food may be the focus so that you can feel confident knowing how to navigate this when on a kidney-friendly diet.
To summarize, when looking at ways to practice self-care through food, we want to consider how we can eat in a way that will nourish not only our bodies, but also our souls. This can look different for everyone, but typically will look like nourishing our bodies by making sure we are eating regularly, eating enough, and eating a good variety of foods that are nutrient-dense, while nourishing our souls looks like choosing foods we enjoy (regardless of their nutrient density), enjoying foods that are meaningful to us (whether that be cultural foods or meals with special memories associated with them) and connecting with others over food. By eating in a way that promotes self-care and nourishes our body and mind, you will likely see benefits in many areas of your life, both physical and emotional.