September is Malnutrition Awareness Month, and as Renal Dietitians we understand that the nutritional assessment of dialysis patients is among the most complex of any disease state. Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA) has gained traction as a valuable tool for assessing fluid balance and nutritional status. While BIA offers valuable insights into body composition and fluid [...]
Healthy eating often comes with its fair share of misconceptions. Today, with so much information from non-reputable and non-evidence-based sources, it’s easy to mix up sound advice with myths and misinformation about nutrition. These myths range from harmless misunderstandings to potentially dangerous misconceptions. For example, in this month’s PCA webinar we discuss several nutrition myths [...]
The national forecast for the US predicts this may be one of the hottest summers on record. Across the country heat waves and heat domes are expected to hit, meaning everyone will be looking for a way to stay cool. For a dialysis patient, this could mean reaching for more fluid than is recommended. [...]
The liver is a large organ in the abdomen, the size of a football, that performs over 500 functions per day. It is defined both an essential organ, necessary for life, and a gland, which produces hormones and proteins for the rest of the body. To highlight a few things the liver is responsible [...]
Every May in the United States the nation recognizes Women’s Health Month. The goal of this month is to empower women to prioritize their health and educate them on the steps they can take to improve their health. Empowering women who have chronic kidney disease and kidney failure can make all the difference in [...]
As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), I had the pleasure of working with people on dialysis for many years. During this time, I witnessed many success stories for my patients on hemodialysis (HD) with intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN). However, it was not until I began working with Patient Care America, where I collaborate with [...]
Every patient in the healthcare system is part of a team, whether they know it or not. Behind the scenes of every appointment or clinic visit is a world of conversation and collaboration intended to support better health outcomes. Dietitians and nurses serve as critical components of many such interdisciplinary teams (IDT). In dialysis, [...]
How many times have you witnessed unintentional weight loss in your dialysis patients? Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence that is frequently overlooked and undertreated, especially in patients who are considered obese. I can’t tell you how many times, when I was working in dialysis clinics, nephrologists or mid-level providers discounted unintentional weight loss [...]
Drawing on my own experience as a registered dietitian (RD), I found counseling patients on weight loss to be difficult. As a clinician, I understand that weight loss may be necessary for patients who need to: Qualify for transplant Improve diabetes and cardiovascular health Improve overall quality of life Yet many patients struggle to [...]
During cold and flu season there are a few things that come to mind to protect ourselves from bacteria and viruses. Things like vaccines, regular handwashing, masking in public spaces, and maybe reaching for the echinacea or elderberry. But to boost our immune systems, sometimes we need to think small, or micro. Micronutrients are [...]
