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On this week’s show, Lori Hartwell and Stephen Furst
speak with Mary Polucci, a renal dietitian who can help add a bit of
flavor to your life.
“Parsley,
Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme” are not only the words to a flavorful 1960s pop song,
they’re also great-tasting ingredients in spicing up many foods.
Do you love to
cook? What are your favorite foods? As kidney patients, we’re know that the
renal diet can be challenging, especially restricting salt. But you don’t have
to miss out on flavor if you know how to be creative. Lori’s favorite recipe is
turkey tacos, using ground turkey instead of ground beef to reduce calories and
cholesterol. For Stephen, cooking Italian food is his favorite. Because his wife
is a vegetarian, he adds tofu to his homemade sauce. Voila... creativity!
“For renal
patients, sodium is the toughest restriction on the diet to follow,” says Mary,
but restricting sodium helps quench thirst (which means less fluid to remove for
those of you on dialysis). One way to spice up your renal diet is by replacing
salt with herbs or other flavorings. “Use parsley and lemon juice, along with a
little extra-virgin olive oil, as a rub on chicken,” suggests Mary. “It’s
terrific!”
Kidney
patients who long for flavor can use a variety of spices and flavorings. While
we have to be careful about using oranges due to their high potassium content,
lemons and limes are safe and very flavorful. “Rosemary, dill, tarragon, and
garlic are also great in dishes,” says Mary. Lori’s favorite spice is curry.
Although
overly spicy foods won’t add potassium or sodium to your diet, they will
increase thirst, so be cautious of the “heat content” that certain spices might
add. Often, “it’s not necessarily what we eat” that’s the problem, says Mary,
“but how much we eat of it.”
Kidney
patients have a variety of spices, herbs, and other flavorings to choose from.
Just remember that staying away from sodium is the key ingredient to maintaining
our fluid regimen and feeling healthier. As Mary points out, and as Lori and
Stephen agree, “The patients who follow their renal diet the closest feel the
best.”
