Suitable foods after transplantation

Before your transplant, your kidneys were not working properly. As a result, you probably had to strictly follow many rules and or even do without some things. Drinking quantity restrictions or potassium and phosphate reductions have probably been particularly challenging. The good news: many things that were relevant while you were on dialysis will change positively for you after a successful transplantation. You will notice that you now have much more freedom with your new kidney. However, there are a few basic things you should keep in mind to protect your new kidney and and help it acclimatize to your body as gently as possible. After all, you definitely want to keep it working for as long as possible! We will now take a closer look at how exactly you can support your new kidney after transplantation.

Nutrition after transplantation - what do I have to keep in mind?

After your transplant, your medical team will prescribe medications that are mandatory for you to take to maintain the function of your new organ. These drugs are called immunosuppressants and ensure that your body's own defense system (=immune system) is reduced. This prevents your body from rejecting your new kidney. However, these medications also make your body more susceptible to infection.

For this reason, it is extremely important, especially in the first few months after the transplant, that you protect yourself as much as possible against pathogens. This also applies to your diet. But don't worry, we are talking about a low-bacteria diet or a bacteria-free diet. Bacteria are almost everywhere and also possess partially useful functions for your body and your health.

In the kitchen, it is best to follow common hygiene standards and practice a high degree of cleanliness. Wash your hands often, especially before eating and preparing food, and do not eat food that is spoiled or past its best-before date. Even with these simple tips and a bit of knowledge from this article, you are already in a great position. If you want to learn more about this topic, you can also read the other articles on the topic of hygiene in the kitchen in the app. You'll see that with a few tips and tricks, it's not that hard and you can do your new kidney a huge favor.

Which foods are suitable for me after transplantation and how should I prepare them?

We already know that hygienic food handling is important to protect your new kidney. But which foods can you eat without hesitation and which may contain bacteria that can harm your new kidney? In the following section, we will take a closer look at the most important food groups.

Vegetables

It's no secret that vegetables are healthy and provide your body with valuable vitamins, minerals and fiber. The great news is, that you can safely eat vegetables after your transplant. However, it is important that you thoroughly wash them before processing. Especially with vegetables that you eat raw, you should make sure to remove the peel if possible, because bacteria can be deposited here. Vegetables that you buy yourself and process fresh usually pose less of a risk. What you should avoid, however, is pre-cut fruit and vegetables, for example from supermarket fresh food counters or buffets. Bacteria like to hide in foods like these.

If you want to be on the safe side, the motto is: cook it, boil it, peel it or leave it! When in doubt, you can boil, cook, fry, or peel your vegetables and fruits (in addition to washing them thoroughly).

You can also coo k with canned vegetables. In order to preserve them for a long time, most bacteria have been killed during production. With frozen vegetables, you should make sure that you process them immediately after taking them out of the freezer and only eat them when they are cooked. You should avoid keeping thawed vegetables at room temperature for extended periods of time, as bacteria can easily grow in such conditions. 

Fruit

Similar to vegetables, eating fruit provides you with important vitamins, minerals and fiber. According to the German Nutrition Society (DGE), regular consumption of fruit (and vegetables) reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes. All the more reason that fruit should now be back on your menu! And the best news, you can now eat fruit without worrying (for the most part) about high potassium levels.

You should be especially careful with raw fruit - such as apple, pear, kiwi, melon or orange - and make sure that you thoroughly wash and remove the peel before eating. Fruit with a natural peel is particularly suitable for transplanted patients in its peeled form. Peel or not, however, it is always very important that you dispose of fruit and other foods at the first sign of mould.

Fruit that cannot be peeled or scooped out of its shell (e.g. raspberries, currants, blueberries, gooseberries, blackberries or strawberries) should be eaten cooked or boiled. This also applies to frozen fruit. For example, compote or puree made from the above-mentioned types makes a delicious treat.

You can also use canned fruit without any problems. Bulk and uncooked dried fruit should, however, be left out of your menu, as they can harbor mould spores. If in doubt, the same applies here as with vegetables: cook it, boil it, peel it or leave it!

Although you are encouraged to eat fruits, grapefruit, grapefruit, pomelo, pomegranate or star fruit should be avoided. They contain ingredients that negatively influence the effect of immunosuppressants. For this reason, they should not be consumed neither raw nor processed (e.g. as juice or compote).

Bread & Pastries

You can integrate bread and pastries into your diet. You can eat fresh bread and fresh rolls without hesitation. When freshly baked, baked goods (e.g. bread rolls, pretzels) can also be part of your diet. This also applies to toast and crackers.

A little caution is required with baked goods containing with cream, curd, pudding or fruit. In these cases, it is usually not possible to check whether the ingredients were properly refrigerated. Also, avoid buying baked goods at self-service counters as it is possible that other people have touched the pastries. Bread that has already been sliced and packaged also tends to have a higher risk of pathogens- so be careful here too. But usually the bread tastes much better straight from the baker anyway! In general, fresh bread and baked goods are a good choice after transplantation.

Grains and Cereals 

Grains provide carbohydrates to our bodies and are therefore an important source of energy for you. So in the future you can bake and cook with all types of grains and whole grain flours (e.g. from wheat, spelt and rye). You can also integrate rice, semolina, millet, amaranth, quinoa, bulgur, couscous, pearl barley, polenta, noodles and wholegrain pasta, cereal flakes (for example, rolled oats), freshly prepared muesli and cornflakes into your diet. With muesli you should make sure that you prepare it fresh, because packaged mueslis often contain dried fruit. As mentioned before, you should be more careful with dried fruit. For example, you can replace dried fruit in your muesli with fresh fruit or a spoonful of compote. 

Potatoes

Finally, the news you have all been waiting for. As long as your phosphate levels are back within the normal range, potatoes can now also be part of your diet again. You can eat them without hesitation as freshly mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, boiled potatoes or freshly made potato dumplings. If you make your own potato salad, make sure you keep it well chilled and only eat it fresh. You should definitely avoid raw eggs when preparing your potato salad. The same applies to pasta salad and industrially produced deli salads. Be careful with open potato salads from the fresh food counter. You should avoid these because of the chance of bacterial contamination. 

Milk and Dairy Products

In the industrial production of milk and dairy products, there is a process that ensures that these products have a longer shelf life (=pasteurization). In pasteurization, the gentle heating of food ensures that bacteria and microorganisms are destroyed. When shopping, you should make sure that you buy pasteurized foods, as they are - generally speaking - less likely to contain harmful bacteria. 

For dairy products, you can easily tell by looking at the packaging. As soon as there is the note „Made from raw milk“, the dairy products were not pasteurized. You should therefore avoid these products. If there is no such indication on the packaging, then pasteurized milk was used for the production and you can consume the product without hesitation.

Dairy products with herbs or nuts (e.g. tzatziki, yogurt with chocolate or crunchy flakes, muesli yogurt dishes and nut cheeses) should be reduced as much as possible as they may contain unwanted bacteria. The same applies to dairy products from the fresh food counter (e.g. marinated feta cheese, cheese salads). Whipped cream served in cafés, ice cream parlors and pastry shops should also be avoided for hygienic reasons.

Eggs

Eggs provide your body with important animal proteins and are therefore an important part of a healthy diet. In cooked form you can eat eggs without hesitation. When buying eggs, make sure that the shell is intact. You can also eat uncooked products in which pasteurized eggs have been processed without any problems. However, you should avoid foods that contain raw or undercooked eggs (e.g. cream dishes, chocolate mousse, tiramisu, freshly made mayonnaise or cocktail sauces with an egg yolk base). As a little tip, you can often look for vegan recipe alternatives here. They do not contain animal products and nowadays often taste almost identical to the original recipe. And what's even better is that they and are safe for you. Soft boiled eggs or fried eggs can also still be partly raw - here, too, a little caution is advised. Instead consider making yourself an over-easy egg. To do this, crack the egg into the pan as usual and finally flip it over again and finish cooking.

Meat & Fish

Fish and meat also provide your body with protein as well as various vitamins and minerals. Cooked meat and fish can be added to your diet without hesitation. This is because cooking and simmering kills some bacteria and significantly reduces the risk of infection for your kidney. So from now on you can include fillet, steaks or roast beef in your recipes again. Just make sure they are cooked through and no raw spots are visible.

Canned fish, cooked seafood, fresh cold cuts, cooked or fried sausages, cooked and cured products, e.g. cooked ham, may be consumed without hesitation. The important thing with cured products is that they have also been cooked beforehand (for example, cured salmon is usually made from raw salmon and should therefore not be consumed). When in doubt, you can always check the packaging of the products. There you will find information on how the food was prepared.

You can also use frozen products. Just make sure to minimize any temperature fluctuations. For this reason, it is best to take a cold pack with you when you go shopping and freeze the products as soon as you get home. As soon as the products are defrosted, they should be processed as quickly as possible. Ideally, you should avoid raw meat and fish products (e.g. tartar, carpaccio, salami, certain sausages, sushi, fish carpaccio, raw seafood, cold-smoked fish, and smoked, pickled or salted fish that have not been cooked through beforehand).

Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices can also continue to spice up your dishes! Also, the strict salt restrictions are no longer in effect. Nevertheless, keeping up with the low-salt diet may be a good idea. Less salt is much healthier for your body anyway. Plus, you'll find that you can conjure up a much more varied flavor with spices.

When cooking, try to add the spices before cooking. This way you can make sure that they do not pose a risk of infection. For example, add the cinnamon to the rice pudding at the beginning and cook it with the rice. Then you are on the safe side, as far as bacterial contamination is concerned!

Sweeteners and Candies 

With industrially packaged sweets, you don't have to worry about bacterial contamination. The same applies here as for everything else: make sure you only snack in moderation. This is especially true if you are overweight or suffer from diabetes.

Sugar, honey, jam or jelly are also safe for you in terms of bacterial contamination and may be used for cooking, baking or eaten on bread. However, it is best to make sure that you always use clean serving utensils. This way you can prevent bacteria from getting into the food, and it will also last longer.

Beverages

When it comes to drinks, make sure above all that you – if you don't drink the beverage all at once – use a glass. Of course, you don't have to change glasses every 5 minutes, but you should avoid having the juice open at room temperature, for example, and then finishing it two days later. Saliva can cause the first bacteria to spread in the bottle in just a few hours. It is therefore best to store opened bottles in a cool, dark place and consume them within 24 hours. You should always let tap water run a little before drinking it. This ensures that the stagnant water in the tap is flushed away. The best way to do this is to hold your fingers under the stream of water – as soon as it's cold, you can assume it's fresh.

Tea and coffee should always be prepared with boiling water and drunk fresh. You may enjoy juices again. You should only make sure that they are pasteurized. Juices are pasteurized if they are stored unopened and not chilled. Once you have opened the bottle, you should consume the juice promptly and store it in a cool, dark place. You should be careful with water dispensers (e.g. Sodastream and water dispensers in public shopping centers). Tap water treated with water filters or drinking water purifiers (e.g. from BRITA) should also be treated with caution. There are many germs and bacteria lurking there that can harm your body and your new kidney.

Do I need to be afraid of bacteria now?

Phew, so now we've done it and gone through the major food categories once. You'll notice that with your new kidney, you now have a lot more freedom again than when you were on dialysis. So, if we now summarize the most important information once again, it's more about the right way to handle food than about banning food. When it comes to food, always rely on your eyes and your nose: if something doesn't look or smell good anymore, or if it's past its best-before date, get rid of it. In addition, make sure that food is handled hygienically. In addition, you can remember that food in cooked form is almost always allowed.

If you take these three pieces of advice into account, then you no longer need to be afraid of bacteria and other pathogens in food. As already mentioned at the beginning, we are talking about low-bacteria nutrition and not about bacteria-free nutrition! It does not have to be the goal to remove all bacteria from the food. Just see which tips you can integrate into your daily routine. You can achieve a lot with just a few small tricks.