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Foods with kidney disease: allowed and forbidden

Medical expert of the article

Gastroenterologist
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

The kidneys exist in the body as a filter. The less harmful substances enter the digestive organs, the less load falls on the filters. Therefore, the diet should be dominated by products for the kidneys, which are beneficial, cleanse and support the excretory system. Such nutrition is ultimately beneficial for the entire body.

Healthy foods for the kidneys

A large number of healthy products for the kidneys are in the vegetable and fruit group. And this is natural, because vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins, are easily digested, have a diuretic effect, do not irritate the mucous membranes of the urinary tract, and protect against sand formation. Of course, we are talking about environmentally friendly products grown without the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

  1. Parsley, celery, carrots, other leafy vegetables, bell peppers, asparagus, sea buckthorn contain vitamin A; essential oils dissolve stones.
  2. Pumpkin is a separate line in the list of products for the kidneys. Smoothies, porridges, purees and other dishes remove excess fluid from the body.
  3. Watermelon is an indispensable product at the peak of the melon season. It effectively cleans sand and saturates with vitamins.
  1. Apples with peel, plums cleanse the kidneys and liver from poisons and slags. Three apples a day can prevent the appearance of uric acid in high concentrations.
  2. Cranberry, juice from this berry prevents the formation of stones, removes liquid and sand.
  3. Rose hips enrich the body with vitamin C, which fights infections and turns kidney stones into fine sand.

But a healthy person eats not only plant foods. Among animal products, fish is especially useful – a source of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and many minerals. We are talking about fresh or frozen fish, but not dried or cured fish, which is processed with a large amount of salt.

Whole grain rye bread also belongs to the group of kidney friends. Vitamins and fiber improve digestion and metabolism, support the kidneys in their work.

For stable functioning of the organ, you should drink 2 liters of plain water daily. There is no need to worry about overdosing: the kidneys will get rid of the excess themselves. But if there is not enough liquid, they try to retain it "by force", and this leads to edema.

In addition to water, kidneys need liquid in the form of fresh juices, various teas, and fruit drinks. A sufficient amount of these drinks can prevent the formation of kidney stones.

Products for kidney restoration

Every minute, human kidneys pass more than one and a half liters of blood through themselves. This is a lot, but while the organ functions within normal limits, no one really thinks about how this happens.

Ideally, you don't even need to think about it, and it's possible if you follow simple rules: don't get carried away with alcohol, drink clean water, don't catch a cold, and don't burden your body, including with low-quality kidney products. Then you won't need products to restore your kidneys.

But if a failure does occur, then you can't do without recovery. And here there are options. Alternatives to pharmaceuticals can be folk methods, which must be agreed upon with a doctor.

  1. A popular method is cleansing with kidney tea. It consists of a whole bunch of herbs with anti-inflammatory properties (birch buds and leaves, nettle, elderberry, horsetail, bearberry, etc.).
  2. Vitamin tea from rose hips: normalizes the functioning of the kidneys and urinary organs.

  1. Egg mash: prepared from home eggs, milk, honey. The recipe is ancient, complex, few are ready to recover in this way, especially since it is recommended to do it twice a year.
  2. Burdock juice: effectively removes toxins from the body and kidney sand.

Alcohol-induced kidney damage is especially dangerous, fraught with complications such as renal failure, dystrophy, proteinuria, severe pyelonephritis. In chronic alcoholics or in case of a one-time poisoning with poor-quality drink, it is impossible to completely restore kidney cells. In milder cases, a menu of such products for kidney restoration is suitable:

  • spicy and leafy greens, onions;
  • carrots, sea buckthorn;
  • pumpkin, apples;
  • watermelons;
  • fish;
  • coarse rye bread.

Kidney Cleansing Products

In order for the kidney filter to work reliably and stably, it must be cleaned periodically (preferably twice a year). This procedure balances the acid-base balance, removes sand and stones, excess fluid, and accumulated mucus.

It is important to consider the following: if there are kidney stones larger than 1 cm, you cannot clean your kidneys yourself. The ducts may become clogged, which will require surgery. Therefore, there is a rule: before starting cleaning, you must do an ultrasound examination.

If you feel pain during urination or in the lumbar region during the procedure, then that is how it should be. A warm bath helps relieve the pain.

There are several proven methods of cleansing using kidney cleansing products.

  • Watermelon

It is carried out during the season of mass harvesting of ripe watermelons grown without chemical additives. During the week, you should eat black bread and watermelons. Weakness and cloudy urine confirm the fact that everything is going according to plan.

  • Cucumber

Eat fresh cucumbers and new potatoes in their skins (all without salt). The course is one to two weeks.

  • Berry

The preventive diet involves adding berries to the menu: eat a glass of diuretic berries every day for a month – cranberries or lingonberries. If you have stones, this method of cleansing is contraindicated.

  • "Juicy"

Prepare juice from a kilogram of strawberries or wild strawberries and 100 g of sugar. Keep the berries covered with sand in the refrigerator, drink the resulting juice before meals, half a glass at a time.

  • Other juices

Natural juices from pumpkin, carrot, and birch cleanse the kidneys well of toxins and sand, and at the same time strengthen the body. The drink is chosen depending on the season, the course lasts from 3 weeks to 2 months. It is important to follow several rules: drink juices between meals, prepare no earlier than 20 minutes before, and do not dilute with water. You can add a little honey to birch.

  • With radish juice

Sand and small stones are removed. The juice is obtained by grating the thoroughly washed unpeeled root vegetable. Several tablespoons sweetened with honey are drunk throughout the day. The effect is achieved after 2-3 weeks.

  • Bay leaf

A decoction is prepared from 2 leaves per glass of hot water. Boil for 2 minutes, drink during the day. And so on for 3 days in a row, then a 2-week break and a repeat course. Up to 4 repetitions are required.

  • With medicinal collection

Standard recipe: 1 teaspoon each of linden and elder flowers, flax seeds, blackberry leaves, St. John's wort, chopped pumpkin seeds and a tablespoon of chamomile, pour half a liter of boiling water, cook in a water bath for 40 minutes. Drink during the day, in 4 doses, an hour before meals. Duration - 5 days.

  • Lemon with parsley

Grind 2 fruits with peel in a meat grinder, chop a few sprigs of parsley and 2 tablespoons of honey. Take on an empty stomach, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is finished.

  • Infusions of horsetail and oat straw

First, use an infusion made from 1 liter of dry oat stalks and 2 liters of water; leave for 2 hours. Drink half a glass three times a day, adding 20 drops of calendula tincture to each serving. The course is 5 days, then a 5-day break. Then prepare a horsetail infusion: boil 0.5 liters of grass for an hour in a liter of water, leave for another hour. Drink the same way, with calendula, dose - 50 ml.

When planning a kidney cleanse, you should be prepared for the fact that the procedures are accompanied by a diuretic effect. During the procedures, you need to stick to a healthy diet, excluding hot spices, broths, strong coffee, alcohol, pickles, canned food, cheeses, smoked meats and other products from this group.

Foods to Improve Kidney Function

The kidneys eliminate all unnecessary things that appear during various malfunctions in the body. And it is clear why, with any ailments, doctors always prescribe a urine test to each patient.

If the excretory system fails, the body is poisoned. Products for improving kidney function can prevent a critical condition, improve the situation and support the body as a whole.

  1. Water in sufficient quantities (up to 2 liters) maintains water-salt balance and helps remove toxins in a timely manner.
  2. Watermelons, melons, plums, and apples are useful due to their diuretic properties.
  3. Pumpkin: smoothies and purees, porridges with cereals support stable functioning; seeds are also useful.
  4. Carrots, peppers, and greens are rich in vitamin A, which is essential for the kidneys.

  1. Natural juices, milk.
  2. Infusions of medicinal herbs.
  3. Cranberry juice is one of the favorite products for the kidneys.
  4. Sea buckthorn.
  5. Rosehip root tea.
  6. Fish.

Kidneys like boiled, stewed, steamed food. It preserves vitamins and does not contain harmful components. Frying, smoking, prolonged heating on fire - this is not for the kidneys.

Healthy foods for the kidneys and bladder

If much has been said about the kidneys, then the urinary bladder has been undeservedly overlooked. But it is directly connected to them, so it reacts to improper nutrition and products for the kidneys.

Thus, lack of fluid leads to the formation of highly concentrated urine, which irritates the mucous membrane of the bladder. Fried and spicy food, alcoholic and carbonated drinks are also undesirable, and honey and sugar, large doses of caffeine, fatty cheeses and cream, citrus fruits and pineapples can even be dangerous for this organ.

The following foods are beneficial for the kidneys and bladder:

  1. Cranberry – to prevent stone formation and protect against infection.
  2. Apples, bananas, plums – with pectin they remove toxins.
  3. Bran is rich in B vitamins, which improve local blood circulation.
  4. Rose hips are a source of vitamin C, which maintains the tone of the walls.
  5. Sea buckthorn – restores the kidneys, supports the contractile functions of the bladder.

  1. Pumpkin seeds – contain vitamin E, which is necessary for regulating accumulated fluid.
  2. Fatty fish – supplies valuable fats and vitamin D.
  3. Herbal teas – help eliminate toxins, cleanse from sand and salts.
  4. Water ensures the normal process of formation and removal of urine, along with everything harmful; it reduces the risk of inflammation and cancer of these organs.
  5. Coffee, although it contains caffeine, does not harm in limited doses, but helps the excretory organs: it washes and, according to experts, reduces the risk of bladder tumors by half.

Both the kidneys and the bladder must function in accordance with daily biorhythms: work in the morning and during the day, and rest in the evening and at night. The following regimen meets these requirements: eat heavier food in the first half of the day, and dietary food in the afternoon.

Harmful foods for the kidneys

Harmful products for the kidneys are, first of all, many popular drinks: strong and not so strong alcohol, soda, coffee. Pickles and marinades, smoked meats and fast food are also in the first places in the anti-rating. All because they are stuffed with table salt, without which long-term storage of such food products is impossible.

Excess salt (read sodium) retains fluid and displaces potassium from the blood. This has a negative effect on the heart, and a person's appearance is distorted due to the formation of edema on the face.

Products with an abundance of protein components also overload the organ, so they are considered undesirable products for the kidneys. They do not turn into simpler compounds, so they form slags and poisons. The kidneys especially do not like old beef, pork, offal; they are saturated with iron, and its excess negatively affects the functions of the excretory organs.

  • For preventive purposes, it is useful to resort to fasting days. But not to diets: kidneys do not like stress, even if it is for the good, that is, for weight loss. By the way, when losing weight, the kidneys sag, which is not good for them. Salt-free, protein and other newfangled diets are also undesirable for the kidneys.

Products containing vinegar and hot spices irritate the ducts and lead to an increase in the amount of toxins.

Alcohol destroys healthy cells, and that says it all. Abuse is fraught with serious troubles, including kidney failure. Beer lovers should know that this, according to some, harmless drink, in fact, greatly dehydrates the body and can provoke serious problems with the kidneys. So, it is absolutely forbidden to abuse beer.

Even non-alcoholic drinks such as coffee and carbonated water are unacceptable for the kidneys, as they irritate the mucous membrane of the urinary tract. And mineral water for medicinal purposes is especially prohibited without consulting a doctor.

Lovers of early vegetables and greens are advised to wait and not pounce on greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes, the first watermelons and fruits. Grown using modern industrial methods, they are often oversaturated with chemicals that sharply "hit" the kidneys and liver. The slags and poisons formed from such food accumulate in the body, since they are difficult to remove.

Some medications, especially analgin and antibiotics, have a negative effect on the system.

There is a group of products that are considered controversial for the kidneys. These are various mushrooms, hot spices, legumes. Healthy people are recommended to consume them in small doses, with caution.

The liver and kidneys suffer greatly from the whims of the stomach and bad habits of a person. It is quite simple to save them (that is, yourself) from unnecessary suffering: you just need to give up unhealthy and low-quality food, instead, introduce dishes from products for the kidneys into the menu. There are enough of them, they are tasty, and most importantly, useful - both for the kidneys and other organs and systems.


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