What Diet to Follow After Kidney Transplant?

It’s true, your diet still plays a big role after a kidney transplant. Renal failure may have limited intake of certain foods because it’s equally important to keep a healthy weight and exercise regularly.

How will your diet change after kidney transplant surgery?

While renal failure might have caused you to experience many limitations on the types of foods you could consume before your transplant, several of these dietary restrictions might not apply after transplant surgery. As there’s new freedom to indulge in various foods, and an increased feeling of hunger due to medicines, it’s easy to see why excessive weight gain is a common problem for most of the transplant patients.

After a kidney transplant, it’s a must to follow a diet low is salt and high in fiber. A balanced diet includes a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, reduced fat dairy products, whole grains, and plenty of water. At NU Hospitals, you’ll get to consult with some of the best kidney transplantation surgeons in Bangalore, who will help you understand which foods you should avoid and why.

Some germs cause bacterial infections. Some bacterial infections can be picked up from food. You can help lower your chances of infection from food by:

• Handling foods safely, like frequently washing your hands
• Being cautious when eating out
• Avoiding certain ‘high-risk’ foods because they are more likely to contain bacteria that can cause an infection. 

What are some of the ‘high-risk’ foods to avoid?

It’s recommended to avoid foods that are spoiled, moldy or past its ‘use by’ date, as well as avoid the foods listed below.

• Meat, poultry and fish
• Prawns or shrimp
• Crab
• Squid
• Crayfish
• Clams, oysters
• Sushi 

In dairy products: 

• Unpasteurized milk, cheese or yogurt
• Uncooked eggs
• Fruits and vegetables
• Unwashed raw fruits and damaged fruits
• Grapefruit or grapefruit juice and pomegranate juice
• Bean sprouts
• Unpasteurized juices or ciders

NU Hospitals, Bangalore has been successfully offering renal transplantation surgeries over the years with the aid of world class facilities and technologies.