Vitamins for Chronic Kidney Disease: How to Take Correctly

Vitamins along with minerals are important for everyone’s good health. However, if you are diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease or even on dialysis, damaged kidneys can’t keep vitamin balance normally. Therefore, you need to know how to take vitamin correctly.

Vitamins

Our body needs various vitamins such as A and B, but almost all of these vitamins come from the foods what we eat. Generally speaking, vitamins are divided into two classes: water soluble and fat soluble.

Water soluble vitamins contain vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, niacin, biotin, small dose of vitamin C and pantothenic acid. As its name indicates, water soluble vitamins commonly don’t build up in the body and must be supplied from foods.

Fat soluble vitamins contain vitamin A, D, E and K. Different from the former type, fat soluble vitamins are more likely to build up in the body.

How should people with Chronic Kidney Disease take vitamins?

Normally, healthy kidneys are able to help keep vitamin balance in the body. However, as kidney function declines, patients will have greater requirements for some water soluble vitamins, while they are recommended to avoid fat soluble vitamins. This is because too many fat soluble vitamins rather than water soluble vitamins deposit in the body so as to cause some complications. For example, too much vitamin A building up in the body may cause high toxic level.

Since almost all vitamins come from diet, CKD patients can correct their vitamin intake through diet modifications. However, even though we have known water soluble vitamins are more suitable for these patients, they can’t supply these vitamins without limitation, otherwise, it may cause some adverse reactions. The detailed type and dose of vitamin supplements changes from case to case.

Therefore, if you have Chronic Kidney Disease and are tested out abnormal vitamin level in your body, you should consult doctor before eating or avoiding foods rich in any vitamin.