A kidney transplant offers a new lease on life, and a crucial part of ensuring its success lies in adopting a nutritious and balanced diet. While a successful transplant allows for fewer dietary restrictions compared to dialysis, certain guidelines must be followed to protect the new kidney and maintain overall health. Nutrition plays an important role in your life after transplant. Your relationship with food will need to be safe and positive; one to help you protect your new kidney and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The Importance of Post-Transplant Nutrition
After your transplant, it’s important to eat a nutritious, balanced diet to help encourage your transplant to work well. A healthy, balanced diet will help prevent high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess weight gain and promote overall wellness and health. Good nutrition plays a key role in successfully recovering from kidney transplantation.
General Dietary Recommendations
Generally after transplant, you may need to follow a diet low in salt and high in fiber. Aim for at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and plenty of wholegrain foods that are high in fibre. Avoid too much sugar, saturated fats and salt. A balanced diet includes a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, reduced-fat dairy products, whole grains, and plenty of water. It is important to keep your new kidney hydrated, so drink plenty of water and limit drinks with caffeine. The Wellness Ambassadors know first-hand how exciting it can be to no longer have to follow a dialysis diet. You will still, however, need to be careful when making decisions about the foods you eat.
Foods to Embrace
Focus on incorporating these elements into your daily meals:
- Fruits and Vegetables: Aim for at least five servings daily, choosing a variety of colors to maximize nutrient intake.
- Whole Grains: Opt for wholegrain foods that are high in fibre.
- Lean Proteins: Select lean meats, such as chicken, turkey, and fish (not fried). Vegetarian selections high in protein.
- Reduced-Fat Dairy: Include nonfat dairy products, such as skim milk.
- Hydration: Drink plenty of water to keep your new kidney hydrated.
Foods to Avoid or Limit
Along with a healthy diet, you may need to avoid eating certain types of foods. Your healthcare team can help you understand which foods you should avoid - and why. Be mindful of the following:
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- High-Risk Foods: It is recommended to avoid foods that are spoiled, moldy or past the “use by” date, as well as avoid the foods listed below.
- Salt: Most people still need to limit salt after they get a transplant, although it is different with each person.
- Sugar and Saturated Fats: Avoid too much sugar, saturated fats and salt.
- Unpasteurized Products: Avoid drinking unpasteurized milk. Avoid cheeses made with unpasteurized milk, such as brie, feta, and camembert
Specific Foods to Avoid
- Undercooked Meats: Avoid undercooked food specialties such as rare steak, seared tuna, and unpasteurized, refrigerated pâtés or meat spreads.
- Deli Meats: Deli meats and luncheon meats should be heated until they are steaming hot before consuming, to destroy harmful bacteria.
- Certain Fruits and Juices: Do not eat or drink grapefruit or grapefruit juice, pomegranate or pomegranate juice, or eat starfruit or pummelo fruit, especially if you are taking cyclosporine or Prograf (specific immunosuppressive medicines).
- Unwashed Produce: Do not eat unwashed raw fruits or damaged fruits, unwashed raw vegetables and unwashed salads, unpasteurized juices or ciders, food from salad bars or buffets, alfalfa or bean sprouts.
Food Safety Practices
The way you handle your food post-transplant is important as it will help protect your new kidney from infection. Another side effect of your anti-rejection medicines is that they weaken your body’s ability to fight infection. Taking these medicines increases your risk for getting sick from germs, such as bacteria. These bacteria can cause infections. Some bacterial infections can be picked up from food. You can help lower your chances of infection from food by:
- Proper Handling:Handling foods safely, like washing your hands often, especially after touching raw chicken or eggs.
- Avoidance of High-Risk Environments: Avoiding salad bars and food buffets when eating out.
- Reheating: Reheating hot takeout food to a safe temperature if needed.
Managing Weight After Transplant
Weight gain is common after a kidney transplant, especially in the first year. Weight gain is a common concern after receiving a transplant, as it affects about two-thirds of all kidney transplant recipients. The pre-transplant diet can be very restrictive so patients sometimes gain weight once they are able to eat a wider variety of foods. You may also regain or experience a better appetite after transplant, leading you to consume more food (and calories) than before. In some cases, you may have experienced malnutrition and weight loss pre-transplant, so the weight gain may be positive. Although immunosuppressant medications are essential to help avoid rejection of your new kidney, they can also contribute to weight gain (and potentially other health complications).
Strategies for Weight Management
- Balanced Diet: Eating foods high in fiber, such as vegetables and fruits.
- Lean Protein Choices: Choosing lean meats, such as chicken, turkey, and fish (not fried).
- Hydration: Drinking mostly water, with some unsweetened tea, coffee or milk.
- Planning: Planning ahead! Having daily or weekly menus makes it easier to choose healthy foods
- Exercise: Increasing the amount of exercise you do and taking extra care with your diet.
Salt Intake and Kidney Health
Most people still need to limit salt after they get a transplant, although it is different with each person. Transplant medicines, especially steroids, may cause your body to hold on to fluid, and salt makes this problem worse. Increased fluid in the body raises blood pressure. Controlling blood pressure is very important to your transplant.
Foods High in Salt to Limit
- Table salt
- Cured meats, such as ham, bacon, and sausage
- Lunch meats, such as bologna, salami, and hot dogs
- Pre-packaged frozen dinners
- Canned soups and pasta sauce
- Pickled foods, such as olives, pickles, and sauerkraut
- Snack foods, such as salted chips, nuts, pretzels, and popcorn
The Impact of Transplant Medications on Diet
The anti-rejection medications or immunosuppressants, you’ll take after your transplant will also have an effect on what you can and can’t eat. The anti-rejection medicines you take after a kidney transplant change the way your body works by lowering your immune system and interacting with some foods. Some of these medicines can change how you feel, affect how your body processes foods and nutrients, or put you at higher risk for issues like gaining weight and getting sick.
Steroid Medications
Steroid medicines after transplant The biggest change you may notice is right after transplant. If you take steroids, such as prednisone, they can:
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- Make you feel much hungrier
- Increase blood fat levels (cholesterol & triglycerides)
- Increase blood sugar levels
- Cause salt and fluid retention (too much fluid in the body)
- Can make your muscle and bone tissue break down
Herbal Supplements and Medications
Many supplements and herbal products have interactions with anti-rejection medicines and may increase risks to your health and your new kidney. Please talk to your transplant doctor or pharmacist before starting any new supplements or herbal products. Some of the more popular herbal products that can have adverse interactions include: Vitamin CSt. John’s WortHerbal teas: green tea, chamomile, peppermint, dandelionEchinaceaGinsengFeverfew.
Additional Lifestyle Considerations
Keeping active is very important after a transplant. In the first few weeks, you should try to walk a little every day to prevent blood clots. As you recover, you can do more. This could be walking, jogging, swimming or cycling. Taking regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and keeping to a healthy weight are very important for controlling blood pressure.
Other important points
- Sun Protection: Cancers, especially skin cancers, are more common in patients who have had a kidney transplant. Avoid staying out in the sun for long periods, and wear factor 50 sunblock, long-sleeved shirts and a hat if you are in the sun.
- Smoking Cessation: If you smoke, it’s time to stop. Ideally, you should quit before your transplant. Smoking increases the risk of strokes, heart and lung problems, and hernias in transplant patients. Giving up cigarettes will help prevent problems during the transplant surgery and maintain your health after your transplant.
Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Team
Your healthcare team can help you understand which foods you should avoid - and why. The dietitian at your transplant center can help you find a diet that is right for you.
- What foods or supplements/vitamins should I be taking after transplant? What ones should I avoid?
- Are you concerned about me gaining weight after transplant? How will the team help me stay healthy?
- Do you have a dietitian on the team who can help me after transplant?
- Based on my personal culture and the foods I like, what should I look out for? Is there anything I should adjust or think about?
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