2023-12-20 13:26:29
Nutrition and lifestyle represent an irreplaceable ally in the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially in the early stages, in which it is possible to intervene effectively. Currently, according to the experts of the Italian Society of Nephrology (Sin), we are witnessing a “clinical paradox”: given the availability of therapies – traditional and innovative – capable of slowing down the progression of nephropathies towards the dialysis phase, only 10 % of patients manage to be treated promptly and therefore seize this opportunity, due to late diagnoses. The global prevalence of MRC – Sin underlines in a note – has increased by 29% in the last decades (from 1990 to 2017), above all due to the increase in average age, hypertension and diabetes, and in parallel the related mortality (+41%). Preventing chronic kidney disease is a priority in terms of public health: it is estimated that in 2040 it could represent the fifth cause of death globally, with huge costs for the National Health Service, currently estimated at several billion euros.
“Prevention – explains Stefano Bianchi, president of Sin – means first of all following correct lifestyles, favoring the Mediterranean diet, with little salt and an adequate potassium intake, but also practicing physical activity, avoiding exceeding situations of being overweight and obesity, conditions that are constantly increasing in Italy, starting with children, and especially in Southern Italy. Leading a correct lifestyle is the best way to avoid developing those conditions that represent risk factors for the onset of chronic kidney disease: diabetes , obesity/overweight and arterial hypertension”.
Maintaining a balanced protein and carbohydrate intake is the first step to not overload the kidney. To this we must add a moderate consumption of salt. In view of the Christmas holidays, Sin therefore reiterates the recommendations for a kidney-friendly diet.
These are the tips: 1) Prioritize the Mediterranean diet. 2) Avoid complex sugars. 3) Reduce the consumption of red meat, preserved foods and animal fats in general. 4) Prefer the consumption of proteins with high biological value and the consumption of fish and proteins of plant origin (legumes). 5) Reduce your salt intake. 6) Maintain adequate water intake. 7) Moderate your intake of alcoholic beverages. 8) Completely abstain from smoking. 9) Practice physical activity in a manner commensurate with age and clinical conditions.
The Mediterranean diet – which includes exercise and conviviality as a lifestyle – allows you to reduce the incidence of hypercholesterolemia, the tendency to diabetes and arterial hypertension, among the main risk factors for the development of kidney disease, highlight nephrologists Sin. In Italy alone – concludes the note – there are over 3 million patients with MR. To contribute to a reversal of the trend of this prevalence it is necessary to promote correct lifestyles and actively search for the disease in people at risk, through simple diagnostic tests (measurement of creatininemia to estimate renal function and albuminuria to highlight the presence of kidney damage).
#Health #kidneyfriendly #Mediterranean #diet #Christmas