A nutritious diet keeps you in good health and has to include the essential food groups of a balanced diet. However, a renal diet or a diet for a person suffering from renal cancer has to avoid certain foods.

The reasons being:

• Some of the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat, and dairy products cannot be a part of the diet because of their high content of potassium and phosphorous.
• Kidneys affected by cancer cannot regulate the fluid balance and process waste effectively. When minerals like potassium and phosphorus are excess amounts, they cause many complications like edema, weakness, nausea, weakening of bones, and an irregular heartbeat.
• High levels of phosphorus affect the bones making them weak by lowering calcium and magnesium in the blood.

Food high in potassium that cannot be included in the renal diet:
Some fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidants and fiber. They are known for their nutritive element in regular diets, but people with cancer in the kidneys have to avoid them and find alternatives, because of the high content of potassium.

• Avocados
• Tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato sauce
• Oranges and orange juice
• Bananas
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Prunes
• Lentils
• Spinach
• Brussel sprouts
• Pumpkin
• Dried apricots
• Raisins

Food rich in phosphorus that cannot be included in the renal diet:
Phosphorus-rich foods are essential for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells by the body protein. However, the renal diet has to limit foods rich in phosphorus. Phosphorus is stored as phytic acid and it is difficult for the body to digest and absorb.

Further, the high levels of phosphorus cannot be processed by the diseased kidneys. Also, when it is released in the blood, it affects the bones, making them weak and prone to fractures.

The phosphorus content in dairy products, meat, whole grains, beans, lentils, and nuts is higher compared to fruits and vegetables.

Dairy products such as cheese, milk, and yogurt are rich in vitamins and minerals. However, because of the high content of phosphorus in such milk products, they have to be avoided. Dairy products also contain high protein content and this buildup in the blood should be avoided.

Certain types of meats like pork, beef, organ meats, like the brain and liver, and some varieties of fish, like carp, sardines, and pollock, are rich in phosphorus. The intake of such food need to be limited.

Nuts like Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, peanuts, and pistachios, and seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds are good sources of phosphorus. As a result, they need to be avoided. Macadamia nuts have relatively lesser in phosphorus.

Whole grains like wheat, oats, and rice have a high content of phosphorus. Instead, they can be replaced by refined carbohydrates, which may not be a nutritious option for health-conscious people. However, this excess phosphorus cannot be advised for renal cancer.