Foods to Lower Creatinine

Creatinine is a lab test to examine how well the kidneys are working. Kidney disease patients with elevated serum creatinine are told to make dietary modifications according to their individualized illness condition, which will help to control their serum creatinine level and delay further damage on the kidneys. What is a proper diet for people with high creatinine? The following will introduce some main points on this topic.

What kinds of foods will lower serum creatinine? Creatinine is a common lab test to examine how well the kidneys are working. Many who are detected with normal range of creatinine think that this means their kidneys are functioning well. This is actually a misunderstanding. High creatinine can not timely reflect renal functions. Only when the kidneys are severely impaired and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has decreased by 50 percent will elevation of creatinine be obviously detected. The concept that normal result of serum creatinine indicates the kidneys are functioning well should be corrected.

Creatinine is a by-product of creatine from the activity of muscles. Creatinine is discharged out of the body through the kidneys. As the muscle total in individuals stay stable, serum creatinine level also seldom changes. The kidneys have good compensatory abilities. Imagine that, if both of the kidneys are functioning well, as long as one kidney performs normal functions, serum creatinine will be kept within normal range. In other words, only if kidney function has been decreased by over 50 percent will serum creatinine rise obviously. Thereby, serum creatinine level doesn’t reflect early stage and moderate renal function decline.

When serum creatinine begins to increase, the patients will need to restrict their intake of meat products. Beef, mutton, chicken and other meat products provide some extra creatinine to human body and increase creatinine level. Protein products should also be restricted as they will produce more urea nitrogen to make kidneys work harder. Choose animal proteins such as egg white and milk instead of plant proteins like beans.

Supplementing vegetables and fruits will be beneficial, except that people with reduced urine output or kidney failure need to limit the high potassium foods. One with high blood pressure, edema or heart failure should control their intake of water and sodium. Moderate aerobic exercise is possible, but strenuous exercise is not suggested because strong physical activity will produce more creatinine. Get rid of smoking and alcohol if you are in the habit. Stay positive and boost up immunity. Every time when you feel depressed, communicate with relatives/friends around or your doctor and you will feel warmed and encouraged. Take care to prevent any chance of infections. Avoid overstraining yourself and learn what can do so that you can well manage the illness condition yourself.