Nutrition News

Nephrology professionals may not routinely recommend plant-based diets to patients with kidney disease due to concerns over patient acceptance and their ability to follow the diet plan, according to survey results.

A review of randomized control trials demonstrated that dietary fiber supplementation reduced the levels of uremic toxins in patients with kidney disease, most notably for those who received dialysis or who did not also have diabetes.

When considering protein-energy wasting in patients on peritoneal dialysis, use of all four of the standard diagnostic criteria did not lead to more accurate mortality predictions than the use of individualized components.

For patients with advanced chronic kidney disease, low serum zinc concentration was linked to an increased likelihood of hospitalizations due to infections. This elevated risk was especially high for individuals on proton pump inhibitors.

Patients with diabetes who consistently followed a low-carbohydrate diet for 6 months achieved a higher rate of remission — 32% — compared with mostly low-fat diets, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A cohort of adults had less energy intake when eating a low-fat, plant-based diet compared with an animal-based, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet during a 2-week period, according to study data published in Nature Medicine.

Phosphate binder lanthanum carbonate increased systolic blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease, leading researchers to suggest the drug “may reduce gastrointestinal absorption of antihypertensive medications.”

The cognitive benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet may be diminished by eating unhealthy foods, according to research published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

A meta-analysis of clinical trials suggested that diet therapy focused on lowering serum phosphate levels may be safe and effective for patients on hemodialysis, but researchers emphasized that further investigation is required.

A study of patients on hemodialysis found potassium levels that deviate outside of the target range may be a more accurate predictor of hyperkalemic events than a single measurement or time-averaged values.