WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A 10-year clinical trial suggests that eating certain fruits and vegetables may help people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) reduce hospital visits linked to excess acid in the body.
The study involved 108 adults with stage 3 CKD and metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the body contains too much acid. Researchers divided the participants into three groups of 36. One group received fruits and vegetables that help reduce acid levels, another took sodium bicarbonate, and the third received standard medical care.
Both the fruit-and-vegetable diet and sodium bicarbonate treatment were designed to reduce dietary acid levels by 50%. This allowed researchers to compare the effects of the two approaches over time.
Participants were followed for 10 years, with researchers recording 115 hospital admissions and 166 emergency department visits across the three groups. During the study, 34 participants also required dialysis.
Sodium bicarbonate is commonly used to manage excess acid in people with kidney disease. However, the study suggests that certain fruits and vegetables may provide another way to help manage this problem, with potential benefits in reducing hospital visits.
The findings highlight the importance of diet in managing kidney disease. Notably, people with CKD should consult their doctors before making major dietary changes, as some fruits and vegetables contain high levels of potassium, which can be dangerous for people whose kidneys cannot remove it effectively.
'These findings support evaluating dietary interventions in chronic kidney disease not only at the individual-patient level but also at the population level, where the cumulative clinical and economic benefits may be substantial. They also highlight the potential quality-of-life and health-system value of investing in fruits and vegetables as a treatment strategy, particularly when favorable clinical outcomes can be achieved without increasing overall costs,' said corresponding author Nimrit Goraya.
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