Kidney Transplant Diet

[spankyfrank]

Hey Dr. Steve,

I've just had a kidney transplant two weeks ago and I'm trying to adjust to the diet they have me on. One of the things I need to look out for is high cholesterol. I was wondering if you knew what's a low cholesterol level that I would be able to find on food labels, or is it simply a matter of eating low fat/low salt meals and exercising?

[Dr Steve]

Hey Dr. Steve,

I've just had a kidney transplant two weeks ago and I'm trying to adjust to the diet they have me on. One of the things I need to look out for is high cholesterol. I was wondering if you knew what's a low cholesterol level that I would be able to find on food labels, or is it simply a matter of eating low fat/low salt meals and exercising?

Ok, the problem is that dietary cholesterol isn't the whole story; most of the time only fats are labeled and then just as "saturated" or "unsaturated".

Unsaturated fats tend to be liquid...a typical "monounsaturated" fat is olive oil. Add hydrogen through a chemical process and you make the fat more hefty, solid, and with a better "mouth feel". This is called "saturation" and creates "saturated" fats.

In general: saturated fats=BAD, unsaturated fats=GOOD. So solid fats like animal fat, butter, lard, and stuff like that cause your body to produce more bad cholesterol. Liquid fats like canola oil and olive oil tend to cause you to produce less bad cholesterol and more good. However it's never as easy as that...enter the "Trans-Fatty Acids". If you eliminate transacids from solid fats, you can make them more heart-healthy. "Smart Balance" fake butter is an example of this kind of dietary engineering.

Here's an article on how to read food labels if cholesterol is an issue: http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/how-read-food-labels

Congrats on the kidney transplant! I hope it's working out for you.

A transplant healthy diet is also a healthy diet for just about anyone:


Low in Sugar -- Limit juice, soda, candy, chocolate, sweets, ice-cream.
Low in Fat -- Limit butter, margarine, red meat, fried foods, poultry skin, bacon, sausage, full fat dairy, eggs, mayonnaise and junk food.
High in Fiber -- Eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and lentils.
Moderate in Sodium -- Most patients should be limiting sodium to 3 to 4 grams a day or 3,000 to 4,000 milligrams a day


Good luck with it, and keep us in the loop!


your pal,



steve