Can Kidney Disease Patients Eat Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving Day falls on the Thursday in each November. As this day falls, the patients who suffer from kidney diseases wonder whether they can eat turkey and will it be harmful for their health. Turkey is not a forbidden for kidney disease patients, however, the intake should be limited based on their renal illness condition.

Turkey is a food which is low in fat and high in protein. It is an inexpensive source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and B vitamins. The fat and calorie content contains varies in different portions of the meat because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than the dark meat and skin. Patients with kidney diseases will need to restrict their intake of proteins since too much protein can produce excess urea nitrogen to burden your kidneys.

In a 3 1/2 ounce portion of turkey, which is about the size and thickness of a new deck of cards, the content of nutrients as follows: in breast with skin, there contain 194 calorie, 8 gram fat and 29g protein. In dark meat with skin, calorie content is 232, total fat is 13g and protein 27g. In only skin, calorie content is 482, total fat 44g and protein 19g. As we can see, the protein content of turkeys is very rich so people will have to restrict the volume.

Generally, protein supplement for healthy individuals is 0.6 to 0.8g/kg.d. That means if a person weighs 65 kg, daily total protein consumption can be balanced within 39g to 52g. If the patients suffer from heavy proteinuria, the intake of proteins should meet the protein loss from their urine. When the patient is on dialysis, generally it is recommended that daily protein consumption should be increased to 1.2 to 1.5g/kg.d. The patients in different developing stages of kidney disease need to make sure of the suitable amount of protein they can eat based on their real condition, and if they eat turkeys the consumption should not exceed the limited range for their own health.