Firstly I would like to thank you for visiting my blog. If you are looking for a comprehensive review of Rachelle Gordon’s Kidney Diet Secrets Guide then you are in the right place.

I want you to realise that I will be giving you a thorough and honest review of Rachelle’s guide, thereby giving you the opportunity to think seriously about it before you get a copy.

This is a review site. Click here to visit Rachelle Gordon’s Kidney Diet Secrets website

So what exactly is Rachelle Gordon’s ”Kidney Diet Secrets”, the renal nutrition benchmark?

“Kidney Diet Secrets” is a comprehensive guide written by Rachelle Gordon a registered nurse who has been a working in the field of nephrology for the past 10 years and in that time has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience around all issues of treating and preventing kidney disease. She has utilised the research of specialists all round the world to put together a complete guide to aid people in gaining a better understanding of their kidneys and the best ways to look after them.

Obviously there is a focus on maintaining the right diet but she particularly concentrates on issues relating to proteins. And showing ways that people can maintain an adequately low-protein diet without losing out too much on the foods they love. As well as this she includes information about renal diabetic exchange lists and incorporates them in the recipes in the second half of the guide.

As a sufferer of kidney disease myself for the last 3 years I am fully aware of the need to follow a healthy diet, however finding all the information to put that diet together has been a laborious task, one which has been made much easier by Rachelle’s uncomplicated advice to aid development of a renal diet plan.

Click here to visit Rachelle Gordon’s Kidney Diet Secrets website

So what about the “secrets”
There is a chapter within the book that I was particularly interested in as it looked at dietary issues and tips for different types of kidney disease including what I have, nephrotic syndrome. .There was a long list of sodium –rich products as well as foods that should be avoided where possible. I certainly was not aware that baking powder was high in sodium or instant hot cocoa mixes were for that matter also.

Other conditions to get the dietary once over include Acute Renal Failure and Renal Calculi (or kidney stones as we English prefer to say) including prevention tips for their formation in the first place.

What are my criticisms about Rachelle’s Kidney Diet Secrets

Obviously nothing in this world is perfect and there are a couple of things I wish to point out.
• The book is very top heavy at the beginning with regard to anatomy and physiology of the kidneys. As a result people may feel put off with what they consider to be an overload of information, although I can see why Rachelle wants people to feel as informed as possible.
• Secondly, I realise that the guide is about renal diets and renal friendly recipes I just feel there could have been more information around lifestyle. Maybe that’s why there was a bonus book covering that very subject.

And the good things about Kidney Diet Secrets ?

• I really appreciated the fact that even though Rachelle is a qualified nurse with many years of experience, I didn’t feel that I was being lectured to but kept well informed all the same
• Although I have made little mention of them I have to say the wide range of recipes detailed and the way they are put into sections such as Appetizers and Snacks, Breakfasts, Desserts etc was extremely helpful.
• Something I was looking for and really glad to see was a section showing the symptoms of kidney disease developing and some common sense approaches to prevent it happening in the first place. It therefore makes sense to say that this could be a book that anyone may find useful especially if they are in those categories that are most at risk such as diabetes, obesity, smokers etc.
• I like the fact that the book is regularly updated, its readers get informed about those updates and are then provided with them free

Overall, what do I think?

Kidney Diet Secrets, I feel can consider itself an authority in the fight against kidney disease and all that it encompasses such as dialysis and transplants, notwithstanding the debilitating effect it has on those that suffer with it

The fact that there is now something available that pulls together all the dietary issues that sufferers have to endure, meaning that they don’t have to spend endless hours trawling through websites (I’ve done that) to find what is and what isn’t suitable for their condition has to be a good thing. Rachelle’s authority and knowledge of her subject is clearly seen throughout.
As a result I definitely feel you should get yourself a copy of Rachelle’s guide and make your life and future a whole lot easier

I hope my webpage has helped you

Dave

Click here to visit Rachelle Gordon’s Kidney Diet Secrets website

Fats

 Fats are interesting due to the fact that they maintain physical health as their consumption is necessary for essential fatty acids, energy and fat soluable vitamins. Fats also protect the internal organs. However due to them being the slowest source of energy a non physical lifestyle can lead to obesity. Be that as it may, due to the fact that they supply the body with twice the amount of calories per gram than protein does they are perfect for when the body requires more exertion than usual 

Carbohydrates 

The major roles of carbohydrates, simple (such as glucose and sucrose) or complex (such as starch and dietary fibre) is to provide energy for the brain and serve as a source of calories to maintain body weight. Therefore if an individual is consuming enough carbohydrates to supply the energy needs of the body then protein can be spared 

Proteins 

Rachelle points out the negative effect that proteins can have on diseased kidneys have been aware of since at least 1869 and without a good kidney disease diet that is low in protein a person can rapidly enhance their kidney failure, thereby encountering dialysis and transplant at a much earlier date, something we all would like to avoid I’m sure. 

Diet secrets 

Obviously the book covers many areas of diets as well as a comprehensive recipe section but the advice on having a workbook around maintaining a low protein intake is particularly useful. Rachelle recommends 25g/day. This covers 3 main areas

1. How to work out your current daily intake
2. How to maintain an intake of 25g/day
3. Targeting the right sort of low protein foods so your renal diet plan still contains your favourite foods

She points out that it may seem complicated at first but the benefits of having a much healthier life free from dialysis must make it worthwhile. You have to do some recording of your dietary intake over a short period of time and work out your protein intake but don’t worry she provides you with the information to complete the tasks set. 

From this you can then progress onto the  masses of renal diet recipes in the second half of the book thereby ensuring that at least you have one less thing to worry about due to the fact that you will not only be eating well but healthily to boot.

For those that are fortunate enough not to have kidney disease Rachelle identifies 10 tips to prevent it occurring in the first place. They are easy to understand and could be considered to be plain common sense. Tips such as taking regular exercise, avoiding smoking (I didn’t give up smoking until I was admitted for my biopsy!) and reducing your salt and fat intake. This is not to say that it is too late for those who have already been hit by kidney problems, far from it. Rachelle focuses on various aspects of kidney disease, acute, chronic, renal calculi etc. and delivers dietary pointers and nutritional guidelines for all of them. First time I’ve seen a kidney stone diet. 

The overall impression I was left with was that prevention is better than cure, however having kidney failure is not the end of the world. If we focussed a bit more on simple things like developing a renal diet plan that included low phosphorus products for example then our future can indeed look much rosier. Looking at all the menus, recipes and diet secrets included in the book at least that plan will be considerably more interesting and varied than I could ever have imagined.