Effects of orange juice for kidney disease

Kidney disease

Orange is one super food, because not only its fruit but also its peel, tangerine pith and seed have many health benefits and medical values. For people with high creatinine level, they always try to find a healthy beverage. Can they drink orange juice?

We know kidneys have the ability of keeping the balance of electrolytes. When the kidneys fail, they can no longer remove excess potassium out of the body, so potassium level builds up in your body. High potassium in your blood is called hyperkalemia. Under this condition, You can prevent or slow down your chronic kidney disease by eating the right foods and avoiding foods high in potassium, phosphorus, sodium and protein. You know high potassium can also burden the heart, causing muscle weakness, cramps and irregular heartbeats. As a result, if you experience CKD and your blood tests reading shows that your potassium level is high, you should not drink orange juice because of its high potassium level(Why CKD patients can not eat high potassium foods?). However, You can choose low potassium juice like apple,cranberry or grape juice which is low potassium.
Creatinine, one waste product, is generated from creatine. Normally, kidneys are responsible for eliminating it from the body. Most often, creatinine won’t be higher than the normal unless more than 50% of kidney function is lost. Additionally, dehydration, heart problems, high blood pressure, and some other factors can also cause elevated creatinine level.

Orange juice is made up of fresh orange, so it can preserve most nutritions of organs. Firstly, orange is abundant in vitamin C, carotene and some other antioxidants, so it can help protect remaining kidney tissues. From this point, orange juice is helpful to manage creatinine levels to some extent.

The second benefit of orange juice is that it can help flush out waste products and toxins, because it can help increase the urine output. However, urine output declines or even stops along with the obvious increase of creatinine level. In this case, patients should control their fluid intake and avoid foods that have the diuretic property. If you have this problem, you should limit your intake of orange juice.

Finally, orange juice is low in sodium, fat and protein, so it can help reduce the production of creatinine and prevent creatinine from rising. However, orange contains rich potassium. If patients are tested out high potassium level, they should also pay attention to the amount of orange juice to drink.

People with CKD, the doctor or dietitian may not recommend them to drink orange juice. But it does not mean you can not drink it at all. The amount of orange juice you drink depends on your own condition and before drinking it, you should consult your doctor or dietitian. Your doctor or dietitian may give you the proper amount of how much you can drink.

Now, we have had a general understanding about orange juice consumption for patients with high creatinine level.And if you want to know more about the diet or you do not know the right amount you should eat, please feel free to leave us a message or consult our online doctor directly.
Email:sjzhospitalrenal@hotmail.com