Fruits safe for kidney patients

Just as fruits are delicious, they are highly rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre as well. They are good for the health. However, people suffering from chronic kidney disease are prohibited from eating certain fruits. Let’s check out which fruits kidney patients can eat and which they cannot.

Fruits kidney patients are allowed to eat and which are completely prohibited to them depends on factors like the stage of the disease, how the level of potassium in the blood, how much potassium and oxalate the fruit contains, etc.

Meanwhile, kidney patients who are on dialysis can eat fruits of their choice despite high potassium content of the fruit, before dialysis. For, that will be drained through dialysis.

Kidney patients will be able to consume fruits that are low in potassium. For example-

Pineapple: Among the local varieties of fruits, pineapple contains the lowest amount of potassium. So kidney patients can eat pineapple without any concern.

Pears: There is very low potassium content in pears. Besides, pears lower the cholesterol in the blood. Kidney patients are allowed to eat this fruit.

Apples: It’s a common saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples are safe to consume for the kidney patients as well.

Berries: Any sorts of berry, for example, strawberries, cranberries, blueberries are beneficial for the kidney. In addition to that, these fruits help reduce kidney and urinary tract infection also. Strawberries are now being produced locally and cranberry juice is found in almost every super shop.

Watermelon: Watermelon contains potassium in a very low amount and so i’s safe for kidney patients. However, there’s high water content in watermelons. So, patients who are supposed to drink water is fixed measure have to be a bit careful about eating watermelon.

Banana: A medium-sized banana contains about 422 milligrams of potassium. Kidney patients with a potassium level of more than 4.5 milligrams in their blood must exclude banana from their diet.   

Oranges: Although oranges are highly rich in vitamin C that is beneficial for kidney, they are also rich in high content of potassium and that is detrimental for kidney. A large orange contains about 330 milligrams of potassium. The level of potassium in orange juice is even higher. So, kidney patients either must avoid orange and orange juice altogether or drink it in low quantity.

Star fruit: The fruit kidney patients should not eat at all is star fruit. If there are complications in the kidney, star fruit creates toxicity in there and that’s highly dangerous. The kidney can suffer a sudden failure from this which can lead to even death.

Dry fruits: Nowadays many of us love to eat dry fruits as an afternoon snack. However, 65 grams of dry fruits contain about 755 grams of potassium. So, the kidney patients should consult physicians before consuming dry fruits like dates, raisins, and nuts.

Apart from that, some exotic fruits like apricots and kiwi that are now available in our country are full of potassium. As kiwis are highly rich in oxalate, they produce stones in the kidney. So, kidney patients must be cautious before consuming these fruits.

The quantity of fruit a kidney patient can consume depends on the level of potassium in their blood. Now there are a lot of apps on the smartphones that can calculate the amount of potassium in any type of food we are consuming. How much fruit a kidney patient can eat should be determined after consulting a physician and a nutritionist.

*Dr Aflatun Akter Jahan is a medicine specialist, internal medicine department, Square Hospital Limited, Dhaka