Stopping Kidney Disease Food Guide: A recipe, nutrition and meal planning guide to treat the factors driving the progression of incurable kidney disease

This cookbook has delicious recipes that are easy to make. If you are looking to increase fruits and vegetables in your meals this is a great cookbook. Just one or two recipes are worth the price of this cookbook because once you find your favorite recipes I believe you will then make them on a regular basis. I'm eating out of this cookbook for the most part, repeating recipes each week. Each recipe has a nice photograph plus cost analysis and nutrition facts. I don't see any sugar being used in these recipes, just calorie free sweeteners of your choice. The recipes are also low-salt to no salt so you can adjust your salt-intake as needed. At the end of the book there is a handy index, lists of recipes by cook time, preparation time and price. I found these recipes to be economical but it will depend on how much you need to get to start. I already have all the dried herbs and spices. You will need a blender for the smoothies and if you want to make the ice cream an ice cream maker is needed. Most of the fruits and vegetables are easy to find. The more I looked through this cookbook the more appealing the recipes became. So far the recipes I've tried have been great. I made 8 recipes so far: Stewed Cinnamon Apples - I used apple pie spice instead of the cinnamon. Omelet with Peppers and Onion - I used a whole egg instead of just the egg whites. Pineapple with Rum Sauce - I used apple juice in place of the water and rum and just used rum extract. I cut up the pineapple into little pieces and served them with ice cream. Basic Fruit Smoothie - I used mango and strawberries plus blueberries and froze all the fruit before making. I also used orange juice in place of the milk substitutes, water and other fruit. So easy to adapt. Coconut Macaroons - I loved these - they bake fast and are really easy to make. I used rice flour instead of tapioca flour and they worked perfectly. These are delicious treats and so healthy too. Sweet Potato baked in the oven - a 15 ounce one takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (so good) Tostada Salad – I ended up making the dressing out of mayonnaise and the lime juice, plus I put the chili powder and garlic powder in the dressing. I added plant chicken pieces and used jalapeno lime tortilla chips. I also roasted some chopped red onion with the corn. (I'm making this again soon!!!!) Ginger Garlic Vegetable Ramen Bowls – I used thin spaghetti instead of the mung bean noodles and made the umami sauce with low sodium tamari and water. I also used vegetable base plus water in place of the unsalted vegetable broth. I can have a little salt at dinner. Pumpkin Chili - Possibly one of the best recipes for using canned pumpkin ever! Will make this again! (I'm now making it with even a little more pumpkin and the sauce is delicious. I think I will use half a can for each recipe and then save half the pumpkin in the freezer for later. I also use two medium zucchinis instead of the eggplant...so all zucchini instead of eggplant and zucchini) - I'm now using the Happy Belly pumpkin puree and this recipe has become even more economical. I use vegetable base and water in place of the vegetable stock. Other recipes I want to try soon include: Cherry Lemonade Vegetable Fajitas Mushroom Bourguignon Vegetable Masala Corn Soup So I think you will really enjoy these recipes and there are plenty to choose from. I am already thinking of making the coconut macaroons again or even doubling the recipe! They are so good and are made with maple syrup. I can't wait to try more recipes and I hope more delicious recipes will be created even for a second cook book. I find these so easy to make especially if you prep the vegetables the day before and have them ready to go for the pumpkin chili. Then in 15-20 minutes, dinner is served. Enjoy! ~The Rebecca Review P.S. Update 6/25/2024 - So eating more vegetables and fruit really does work. My GFR is back up to 61 after it had fallen to 58. Making the pumpkin chili all the time has been a great idea! My goal is to get it back to 68 again. With this cookbook and some supplements I'm doing really well.

This is an excellent cookbook for CKD patients on low protein diets. It is meant that you read the book Stopping Kidney Disease first, but there is enough basic information in this cookbook to get you started. I bought this one and read it first, and then I got and read the other book and read it while I was already making diet changes. I have not been able to try the keto acid supplements yet due to cost (this diet is meant to be done along with keto acids), so I just add a little plant based protein to my meals instead (like soy or beans). My bloodwork numbers really balanced out after being on this diet. My blood albumin went from low into mid-normal range. My BUN went to normal. Many other numbers normalized. My creatinine stayed the same as well as my eGFR (I wonder if following the diet more strictly and using keto acids would improve that). Regardless, my energy is way up, and I feel a lot better. The recipes are good, and you can sign up for emails for more recipes. You can tweak the recipes for more variety, too. Highly recommend if you are a kidney patient. Please note: If your kidney function is low, it can take some time to feel better on this diet. It took a couple months before I noticed a significant change in my energy levels. But over the last year I have only felt better and better. It is worth it. Make sure you are getting regular bloodwork so you can see what it is doing for your body.

As kidney recipe books go this one is probably the best. That said, it isn't perfect, which is why 4 stars. The Positive: The Introduction provides much needed guidance and is an important 34 pages to read, especially the Diet Basics. Each recipe gives nutrition facts. An appendix lists nutrients with Sample Meal Planning and another lists nutrients of Most Common Foods (although it's limited.) Each recipe has a color photo, which is much appreciated in order to see what the finished product should look like. Many of the recipes are delicious. For example, we made Vegetable Fajitas with Mexican Street Corn Salad (without the salty mayo) and loved it. I was also happy with the No-Sodium Umami Sauce, a good replacement for soy sauce in Asian recipes like the Ginger-Garlic Vegetable Ramen Bowls, also excellent. The Weak: The book is thin with only 62 pages of recipes, and about 20 of those are drinks, smoothies, fruit bowls and desserts. I'd have preferred more main dish recipes. Some of the recipes have a lot of sodium. For people with most heart conditions, sodium is a no-no. While you can always leave the salt out of many, there are some meals that depend on an ingredient with sodium, like Malathy's bread mix with 460 mg. (19%) of sodium or Louisiana Remoulade's mayo and mustard ingredients that contribute a whopping 680 mg (31%)! Likewise, saturated fat is not recommended for healthy hearts. Quite a few of the meals have much more sat fat than one would expect. Italian Pesto Zucchini Noodles contributes 24%, the Vegetable Masala adds 43% while the Portobello Steaks with Twice-Cooked Mashed Potatoes is over the top at 51% sat fat. Mr. Hull gives a choice between butter and Smart Balance, for example, but the aforementioned sodium is a problem with this brand. He also recommends coconut milk and So Delicious coconut creamer, but coconut milk and coconut cream have quite a lot of unhealthy saturated fat. For studies on the topic of sat fat in coconut, see Dr. Michael Greger, author of How Not to Die (sold on Amazon). Finally, I was surprised to see grilling and charring as a method of cooking some of the food when in Hull's previous book, Stopping Kidney Disease, he writes: "AGES mostly come from blackened and charred parts of food. The blackened part contains burned food products that are bad for us…cooking with liquids vs dry heat is the solution." Yet the Pepper Salad, Pineapple and Vegetable Kebabs and Charred Romaine with Caesar Dressing all rely on dry heat. This book is a good starting point for people confused about what to eat to improve their kidney function. I'm looking forward to another recipe book from Hull--one with more main dish recipes that addresses some of the issues I've mentioned. Hull is a valuable resource full of information that you won't get from your kidney doctors.

Yes, some people will be immediately put off by the diet, as it is almost vegan. (As far as I can see, the only non-vegan ingredients mentioned are egg whites and maybe butter.) But the author, Mr Hull, explains WHY this is—our weakened kidneys have to struggle when dealing with the high acid load in meat and a lot of dairy products. An excellent way to speed our kidney decline is to eat lots of animal protein, which is what we DON'T want! The diet is not vegan, vegetarian, or any "ian" diet; it pushes no political, philosophical, or any other agenda, other than "let's eat better for our kidneys." Many people have a problem with this as if they think that it's some sort of an affront to be expected to eat no meat! Look, Mr Hull didn't make the "rules" about what our kidneys can tolerate, he just reports what IS. And this is it. Meat, cheese, and dairy are hard on our kidneys. Complaining about this fact doesn't change anything. As for the cookbook itself, it's very helpful in explaining the different things we need to be looking for when planning our meals and the reasons for them. His other book (Stopping Kidney Disease) is important to read first because it gives a back story about the WHY (with copious medical studies backing up his conclusions). In this cookbook he gives suggestions on how to transition to this new diet. He gives an abbreviated list of food values so you have an idea of which foods have what elements in them. This helps you plan your menu and grocery shopping. The recipes themselves? I've only dabbled in a few—primarily his mainstay "pecans and cranberries every morning" breakfast. (It's great, and he's right, it's super easy to prepare and you KNOW it's good for you!) The recipes look delicious and I plan on trying a few. But even if I don't—they still give me a starting point and an idea of what I can do. As it is now, I'm happily making some similar dishes, inspired by his cookbook. He makes it clear that this cookbook is just the first edition, and that he plans further, improved editions. As for now, I think it's a great start and will help you get a clearer picture of what is possible with this diet.

I bounce between Stage 3 & Stage 4 CKD as a complication of diabetes. My Nephrologist (2 visits now) has provided me no dietary information. It's all my own research. The front part of this book has invaluable information. I learned a lot and will use this information. The recipes sound and look wonderful (nice photo's of every one of them. The author also included the Nutritional Facts for each recipe and that is most helpful. However, as a Type 2 Diabetic in remission and med free, I eat a very low carbohydrate diet to remain med free. I limit my carb intake to 30g/day. One serving of most of these recipes put me very much over my limit, I'm afraid I would not stay med free. The information is very helpful, and I am grateful. But recipes not a good fit.

Stopping Kidney Disease Diet Book literally has saved my only kidney! Just three months ago I learned that my only kidney had lost 50% of its function in just one year. My eGFR was slipping downward way too fast and was in the low 30s when a random blood test caught the issue. I was both shocked and scared! At 73 years of age with multiple chronic conditions, I realized that if I didn't make some big changes, I would be on dialysis within a few months. I found the Stopping Kidney Disease books, followed the diet and within 30 Days I completely reversed the declining eGFR back up to 74. I will continue to follow this diet with a goal of continuing to strengthen my solo kidney. I found the best way to approach the diet is to read the Stopping Kidney Disease BASICS book which condenses all the important info into a small readable book. Lee Hull does an extraordinary job of explaining the science behind the diet and why it is important to be aware of the Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) of the various foods we eat. I can't eat many of the recipes in the cookbook due to food sensitivities but was able to modify a few of them to suit my needs. I do enjoy the polenta with blackberries, the vegetable masala, the soups & Mexican recipes. I make larger batches of the recipes I like and freeze them for the convenience of having a quick meal. I am grateful to Lee Hull for his amazing effort of compiling all the scientific studies and then sharing it with all of us. His free consultations about the diet, PRAL charts and the studies are an extraordinary gift of his time and wisdom. I hope that those of you who are on the fence will take the plunge and give yourself a life-saving gift with this diet!

First it was a low price, for a specialty book. It is a cookbook with color pictures that are delightful. I love pictures in my cookbooks. There is some wonderful science in the beginning of the cookbook, and very practical insights, such as why it is so important to slow down the decline of your GFR number. 1 point or 7 points a year is a big deal. Deals with the issues of time to cook. 5 minute meal list. Price. Meals for $1.00, $2.00, $3.00, $4.00 Sample meal planning. Motivation to help you save your kidneys. Pep talks. It is a best friend, in a book and cook book. Hats off to you Lee Hull, you are trying to help everyone. Very international cooking also, and for foodies.

On 10/03/24 my eGFR was 22. I was totally shocked when the doctor told me that if it went “much lower” I would need dialysis. His only suggestion was “to drink more water” and stop taking NSAIDS. I started scouring the internet for advice and found Lee’s book. I started following the eating plan on 10/07/24. By 10/30/24 my eGFR was 39. By 11/15/25 it was 45. By 12/01/25 it was 53. By Christmas my GFR was 63. When I first started using this book researched all my medications and found that 4 of them were nephrotoxic. I stopped taking them with my doctor’s approval. My eGFR has dropped back to 53 and stayed there since 05/25. When I started using this book I followed it 100%. I did not deviate one iota for 90 days. When I started adding other foods my eGFR dropped 10 points and now I am working on raising it again. I no longer eat any processed food, nothing with sugar or added salt. I live “one meal at a time”. I have gotten out of the mentality that “a little bit won’t hurt”. I stopped ALL red meat, pork, chicken, and all seafood, except for salmon. I only eat fresh food that I cook myself. In the process I have lost 85 lbs. This book is not a diet; it’s an eating plan. If you stay with it religiously your CREATININE and BUN numbers will go back to normal and your eGFR will increase. It’s hard at first because you HAVE to make very drastic changes but you will gain living longer. And do not expect doctors to give you the answers. It is not magic or wishful thinking. You yourself have to decide what’s most important to you. PD: After seeing my results, my doctor has recommended this book to more than 100 of his patients.

This will be a great book for our US cousins but the recipes aren't that great for those of us in the UK. Some will be useful and there's a lot of useful text at the beginning so all is not lost

My husband is at end stage. If you have any % of kidney disease I cannot stress enough how much you need to alter your diet and lifestyle. I have for him and to preserve my health so I can care for him. Get both Lees books. Read and adhere to them. Dialysis is hell. Prevent it as long as you can. Drs didn’t give us the information we needed to help him, patched him up and sent him home for me to care for. This book is the most valuable information I have found thus far. Thank you to the author for sharing his education with us.

Namaste ,iam from Maharashtra India Go for right food than heavily rely on medicine .I will suggest this book to my relative who is on dialysis.

Some good recipes and info. Nice to have a paper copy to refer to without having to research online.

To cut down on shipping costs, I purchased the two books written by Lee Hull (the Food Guide and Stopping Kidney Disease). I immediately skimmed the pages and discovered a wealth of knowledge. This is a large book appropriate for both individuals with healthy kidneys and those who would like to learn more about CKD. The Food Guide includes illustrations, and Lee Hull offers recipes tailored for those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). You can adjust some of the components to fit your needs if you have diabetes, liver, or heart problems. The two books are providing you just enough advantage in your CKD journey; read with an open mind and remember that there is no one rule that fits all.