A Bit of History

   

Our journey of 34 years together is a strong, loving, varied one, with the occasional bumpy road.  Recently we hit a bit of a curve...we had been on one of those 'lean, high protein' diets in hopes of losing a pound or two. Well, we lost the weight but in the process, my husband’s kidney function also took a big hit. No matter what they say, these high protein diets (even lean animal protein) can be hard on the kidneys of even the healthiest of people; our bodies are just not made to filter out the waste from tons of animal proteins.

Our doctor said to get off the high protein diet and begin eating a very low animal protein diet. We eliminated animal protein altogether and happily became Vegans for a month while waiting for our appointment with a Registered Dietitian.  I personally feel really good about a Vegan diet and for the most part I am sticking to this way of life.

We have met with our Dietitian once so far and have a good outline of what we should and should not eat.  At this point she wants my husband to have 2 ounces of high quality, lean protein at each meal….so for us this means; no more than two eggs a week and 2 ounces of organic chicken and or fish at each meal. 

It turns out that while a Vegan diet is a good one; there are some plant foods which our Dietitian wants us to refrain from because they are naturally high in phosphates or potassium which can compromise already weakened kidneys…..so begins our journey into the low sodium, low phosphate, and low potassium world.