Be aware of the Kidney Kitchen

Editor,

Did you know that there are currently 242 people in need of a kidney transplant in Greater Manchester whose diet will be restricted due to kidney disease?

It is likely that they will be on fluid restrictions of around just 500ml of liquid a day (including liquid found in foods like sauces and ice cream).

That’s roughly the equivalent of only being able to have a small cup of tea and one can of soft drink for the whole day. 

In addition, they are likely to have to limit the potassium and phosphate in their diet which means missing out on enjoying foods like chocolate, bananas and tomatoes.

Sadly a lot of the advice given to patients focuses on the foods to avoid but we want to make the kidney diet about all the things kidney patients can eat and to bring enjoyment back into food which is why we’ve launched the Kidney Kitchen.

Research shows that only 57% of the general public in the North West are aware that kidney disease can restrict your diet, and just 36% are aware that having kidney disease can restrict the amount of liquid you can consume every day.  

We hope that the Kidney Kitchen will help raise awareness amongst your readers so that everyone living with kidney disease in Bedfordshire can enjoy healthy and delicious food with their family and friends.

All of the recipes have been developed with the support of renal dieticians and each recipe comes with facts to help those cooking and/or eating the food how the recipes fit into their diet. If you are, or if you know a kidney patient, make sure you check out: www.kidneykitchen.org

Yours sincerely

Paul Bristow

Acting chief executive of Kidney Care UK

The views expressed are those of the author of the letter and not those of Oldham Chronicle.