Are you avoiding beans, lentils and chickpeas because you’ve heard they’re high in potassium and phosphate.
Firstly, please be reassured that you do not need to reduce your intake of foods high in potassium or phosphate, unless you are advised to do so by a health professional.
In fact, foods which are naturally high in these minerals play a big part in a healthy balanced diet and can protect your kidney function.
Plant-based proteins such as beans, lentils and chickpeas are full of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and can help:
- Manage our blood glucose levels
- Keep our blood pressure in check
- Lower our cholesterol levels
- Reduce the inflammation which is associated with chronic kidney disease
- Improve gut health
- Plus,
- Their breakdown in the body puts less pressure on our kidneys than animal proteins.
- When metabolised by the body, they produce an alkaline effect. This is better for both our kidneys and our bones than animal proteins which create an acidic effect. .
What if your potassium and phosphate levels are high?
- The potassium found in plant proteins may be less well absorbed than that from animal products. So your body will have less to deal with,.
- If you choose tinned beans, lentils and chickpeas, you can reduce their potassium and phosphate content by simply draining them and rinsing them. They have been cooked in the tin and a good proportion of the minerals will have leached out into the water. Easy!
And don’t forget all the other wonderful plant proteins such as nuts, seeds, tofu and Quorn.
With tofu and Quorn based products, try to opt for the plainer products and add your own flavours. Otherwise you may, unknowingly, be eating lots of added phosphate and potassium. This type of added phosphate and potassium is very easily absorbed by our body and we don’t want to undo all the good we’ve done by choosing plant proteins!
For wonderful plant protein recipes, take a look at the Vegetarian or Vegan Society websites:
https://vegsoc.org/eating-veggie/recipes/
https://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/recipes