Article: When you're eating with kidney disease, you need to be conscientious of your vegetable intake. While vegetables are vital to a healthy diet, not all vegetables are safe for you if you have compromised kidneys. Vegetables high in potassium should generally be avoided when you have kidney problems. Good vegetable choices include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, eggplant, lettuce, cucumber, celery, onions, pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash. You should avoid potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, asparagus, pumpkin, winter squash, and cooked spinach. These options have a lot of potassium. If you need to limit potassium, then make sure to avoid high potassium vegetables, such as potatoes. Instead, choose low potassium ones, like cucumbers and radishes. You should also be careful to watch out for fruits with high levels of potassium. Fruit is an important component of your diet when you have kidney disease, but be conscientious of what types of fruit you choose. Low potassium fruits include grapes, cherries, apples, pears, berries, plums, pineapples, tangerines, and watermelon. Try to avoid oranges and orange-based products like orange juice. You should watch out for kiwis, nectarines, prunes, cantaloupe, honeydew, raisins, and dry fruit in general. If you need to limit your potassium, then make sure to choose low potassium fruits, such as blueberries and raspberries. Protein is an important part of your diet, but you want to be careful with protein intake if you have kidney disease. If you get too much, then it may stress your kidneys. However, if you do not get enough, then it may cause you to feel tired. As protein produces waste in the body, and kidneys help remove waste, too much protein may put unneeded pressure on your kidneys. Your doctor may suggest a low protein diet. However, when undergoing dialysis, you may need to up your protein intake temporarily. Find out how much protein you are allowed to have per day and stick to this guideline. Limit high protein foods to 5 to 7 ounces per day, or less if your dietitian tell you to. High protein foods include meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. Watch for protein in other foods. Keep in mind that protein is also present in milk, cheese, yogurt, pasta, beans, nuts, bread, and cereals. Make sure to keep track of your total protein intake each day. Try eating smaller servings of protein at dinner. Keep the bulk of your plate full of healthy fruits, vegetables, and carbohydrates. A serving of protein should be no more than 3 ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards. High protein foods may be temporarily important during dialysis, so talk to your doctor if you're undergoing dialysis or will be in the future. You will want to eat high protein foods. Many doctors suggest eggs or egg whites as a good source of protein during dialysis. How you cook your foods matters a lot when it comes to slowing or reversing kidney damage. Learn how to cook foods to make your diet healthier overall. Use non-stick pans when you cook to cut back on your need for butter and cooking oils, which can add a lot of unneeded calories and fat to your diet. Use heart healthy fats like olive oil when cooking over butter or vegetable oil. When you eat, trim excess fat from meat. You should also remove the skin from poultry. When preparing food, aim to bake, stir-fry, grill, or boil food.

What is a summary?
Choose the correct vegetables. Select the right fruits. Talk to your doctor about your protein requirements. Prepare foods in a heart healthy manner.