Towards population-specific dietary recommendations for kidney transplant recipients
Towards population-specific dietary recommendations for kidney transplant recipients
People who have received a donor kidney face greater health risks than the average person. Diet plays an important role in this. We investigated what kidney transplant recipients actually eat, and what they actually need.
The research of Sietske Doorenbos showed that most patients eat too few vegetables, fruit and fibre. We also found that current protein recommendations may be too low: patients who ate relatively little protein had a higher risk of dying, even when they did not yet appear malnourished. Women proved to be particularly vulnerable in this regard.
Vitamin C also emerged as a concern. Patients with kidney disease structurally have lower vitamin C levels in their blood. More than half had inadequate vitamin C status.
In addition, we studied creatine, a substance important for muscles and energy. Higher creatine levels in the muscles were associated with better survival, particularly in women. A small study showed that creatine can be safely administered via the dialysis machine.
The conclusion: kidney transplant recipients would probably benefit from a high-protein, predominantly plant-based diet, supplemented where necessary with vitamin C and possibly creatine. Tailored advice, also based on sex, is important in this regard.