We are very excited to offer our clinical services at the Hunter Kidney Clinic. Our Accredited Practising Dietitian Rachel Tutill is the new Renal Dietitian providing services at both the Gateshead and Maitland clinics. Rachel has had the privilege of meeting and working alongside previous dietitian Jessica Stevenson during this handover period. Rachel is working with clients who have chronic kidney disease to ensure that they are supported throughout the various stages. She focuses on developing an individually tailored, well balanced diet for you with the right amounts of protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals each day. Our kidneys function to provide the right balance of nutrients and minerals in our body. When you are diagnosed with kidney disease this means that your kidneys are not performing the necessary filtration to keep these nutrients and minerals in the right amounts to remain healthy.
Most people will need to change some of the foods that they eat and the amounts of certain foods. Our Dietitian Rachel can teach you to make the best food choices based on your blood tests and personal lifestyle factors. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure she can provide support and education to better manage your health and this based on both your blood test results and food preferences.
Rachel can help you determine the amount of nutrients and foods you will need to better manage your kidney disease and keep it from progressing further. Discussing these changes together, Rachel can identify which foods you can eat more of and which ones to eat less of to help your kidneys filter out extra waste and fluids. You may need to control the amount of protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium in your diet. Rachel will explain each of the nutrients, how they function in the human body, and which foods contain each nutrient. She will give you meal and snack suggestions so you can feel confident about shopping, preparing, cooking and eating delicious foods that will be good for your body and your kidneys.
Good nutrition will enable you to enjoy your life by giving you adequate energy for your daily tasks whilst enjoying your lifestyle hobbies. It helps to prevent infections, maintain a healthy body weight and muscle mass and ultimately slow down the progression of kidney disease. If you would like to have a Dietitian working as part of your health care team, enquire about making an appointment with Rachel by calling the Hunter Kidney Clinic on (02) 4942 2558.
To read more about our kidney nutrition services please see our Chronic Health Conditions page