Potassium content of the American food supply and implications for the management of hyperkalemia in dialysis: An analysis of the Branded Product Database

Barriers and Facilitators to Adherence to a Healthy Diet Across the Spectrum of Chronic Kidney Disease

Purpose

A healthy diet plays an important role for chronic kidney disease (CKD) treatment, but adherence to nutritional recommendations is frequently low. The aim of the present study was to describe barriers and facilitators to adherence to a healthy diet in people with CKD.

Patients and Methods

Cross-sectional study; 80 predialysis (n=20), hemodialysis (n=20), peritoneal dialysis (n=20) and transplant (n=20) patients matched by age and sex, were included. Nutritional evaluation included subjective global assessment, anthropometry, quality of food consumption (Mini-ECCA v.2), self-perception about diet and willingness to change. Barriers and facilitators were evaluated with a qualitative approach (semi-structured interviews). Concepts were converted into "in vivo" and "theoretical" codes, then, grouped into categories. A second analysis was performed with the ATLAS.ti software.

Results

Frequency of malnutrition was 50% in people receiving dialysis. Quality of food consumption was healthier on people with CKD stages 3b-5 (40%) and people with kidney transplant (65%) compared to peritoneal dialysis (25%) and hemodialysis (0%). The main themes influencing adherence to a healthy diet were: need for nutritional guidance, economy, dietary restrictions, willingness to change, relationship with consequences in disease control and health status, aversion for healthy foods, bad and good self-perception, family support, feelings and emotions, environment, eating habits and CKD itself. Lack of time, work, economy, food preferences and cravings were the main barriers in people with CKD stage 3b-5 and transplant, while low willingness to eat healthy foods and dietary restrictions were the main barriers in people receiving dialysis.

Conclusion

Personal, environmental, health professional-related, CKD related as well as feelings and emotions aspects that people with CKD face in a daily basis, act as barriers or facilitators when trying to follow a healthy diet. Individualizing nutritional treatment taking into account people with CKD perspectives and situations is of utmost importance to improve adherence to nutritional treatment.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Toward Salt Consumption and Its Association With 24-Hour Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion in Adults Living in Mexico City: Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization recommends a daily sodium intake of less than 2000 mg for adults; however, the Mexican population, like many others globally, consumes more sodium than this recommended amount. Excessive sodium intake is often accompanied by inadequate potassium intake. The association between knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) and actual sodium intake has yielded mixed results across various populations. In Mexico, however, salt/sodium-related KAB and its relationship with sodium and potassium intake have not been evaluated.

OBJECTIVE

This study primarily aims to describe salt/sodium-related KAB in a Mexican population and, secondarily, to explore the association between KAB and 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study in an adult population from Mexico City and the surrounding metropolitan area. Self-reported KAB related to salt/sodium intake was assessed using a survey developed by the Pan American Health Organization. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion levels were determined. Descriptive statistics were stratified by sex and presented as means (SD) or median (25th-75th percentiles) for continuous variables, and as absolute and relative frequencies for categorical variables. The associations between KAB and sodium and potassium excretion were assessed using analysis of covariance, adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and daily energy intake as covariates, with the Šidák correction applied for multiple comparisons.

RESULTS

Overall, 232 participants were recruited (women, n=184, 79.3%). The mean urinary sodium and potassium excretion were estimated to be 2582.5 and 1493.5 mg/day, respectively. A higher proportion of men did not know the amount of sodium they consumed compared with women (12/48, 25%, vs 15/184, 8.2%, P=.01). More women reported knowing that there is a recommended amount for daily sodium intake than men (46/184, 25%, vs 10/48, 20.8%, P=.02). Additionally, more than half of men (30/48, 62.5%) reported never or rarely reading food labels, compared with women (96/184, 52.1%, P=.04). Better salt/sodium-related KAB was associated with higher adjusted mean sodium and potassium excretion. For example, mean sodium excretion was 3011.5 (95% CI 2640.1-3382.9) mg/day among participants who reported knowing the difference between salt and sodium, compared with 2592.8 (95% CI 2417.2-2768.3) mg/day in those who reported not knowing this difference (P=.049). Similarly, potassium excretion was 1864.9 (95% CI 1669.6-2060.3) mg/day for those who knew the difference, compared with 1512.5 (95% CI 1420.1-1604.8) mg/day for those who did not (P=.002). Additionally, higher urinary sodium excretion was observed among participants who reported consuming too much sodium (3216.0 mg/day, 95% CI 2867.1-3565.0 mg/day) compared with those who claimed to eat just the right amount (2584.3 mg/day, 95% CI 2384.9-2783.7 mg/day, P=.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Salt/sodium-related KAB was poor in this study sample. Moreover, KAB had a greater impact on potassium excretion than on sodium excretion, highlighting the need for more strategies to improve KAB related to salt/sodium intake. Additionally, it is important to consider other strategies aimed at modifying the sodium content of foods.

Ultraprocessed foods and chronic kidney disease-double trouble

High energy intake combined with low physical activity generates positive energy balance, which, when maintained, favours obesity, a highly prevalent morbidity linked to development of non-communicable chronic diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). Among many factors contributing to disproportionately high energy intakes, and thereby to the obesity epidemic, the type and degree of food processing play an important role. Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are industrialized and quite often high-energy-dense products with added sugar, salt, unhealthy fats and food additives formulated to be palatable or hyperpalatable. UPFs can trigger an addictive eating behaviour and is typically characterized by an increase in energy intake. Furthermore, high consumption of UPFs, a hallmark of a Western diet, results in diets with poor quality. A high UPF intake is associated with higher risk for CKD. In addition, UPF consumption by patients with CKD is likely to predispose and/or to exacerbate uraemic metabolic derangements, such as insulin resistance, metabolic acidosis, hypertension, dysbiosis, hyperkalaemia and hyperphosphatemia. Global sales of UPFs per capita increased in all continents in recent decades. This is an important factor responsible for the nutrition transition, with home-made meals being replaced by ready-to-eat products. In this review we discuss the potential risk of UPFs in activating hedonic eating and their main implications for health, especially for kidney health and metabolic complications of CKD. We also present various aspects of consequences of UPFs on planetary health and discuss future directions for research to bring awareness of the harms of UPFs within the CKD scenario.

Results of the BfR MEAL Study: The food type has a stronger impact on calcium, potassium and phosphorus levels than factors such as seasonality, regionality and type of production

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Analysis of calcium, potassium and phosphorus in 356 foods of the BfR MEAL Study.

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High mean levels were found in milk, cheese, nuts, legumes, spices and oilseeds.

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Differences in organic and conventional foods were determined for some MEAL foods.

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Lower potassium levels were determined in boiled compared to fried potatoes.

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Similar levels of phosphorus were found in most foods sampled regionally/seasonally.

The BfR MEAL Study aims to provide representative levels of chemical substances in foods consumed by the population in Germany for dietary exposure assessment. Calcium, potassium and phosphorus (Ca, K, P) are essential to obtain physiological functions in humans. Levels were investigated in 356 foods. Foods were purchased representatively, prepared as typically consumed and pooled before analysis. High mean levels were found in milk, dairy products, legumes, nuts, oilseeds and spices as well as chia seeds (Ca, K, P), chewing gum (Ca) and cocoa powder (K). Different levels comparing organically and conventionally produced foods were determined among others in cereal cracker (puffed), olives and tofu. Higher K levels were found in fried compared to boiled potatoes. Similar P levels were mainly found in regionally and seasonally sampled foods. These data provide a substantially improved basis to address dietary exposure assessment of the population in Germany for Ca, K and P.