 |
 |
 |
 |
Patient presentation 1
My
dog likes bananas - the renal diet project
Please note, this page is a summary of the full conference speech (click here for the full transcript).
Ian Mathie
Ian called on patients to contribute to an important project. The aim is to create a relevant resource for patients that addresses the issues inherent in renal diets that are faced by most patients. The barrage of information one receives on first diagnosis can be confusing and intimidating and is often partly obscured by the emotional impact of diagnosis and the implications of treatments offered.Many patients (including their dogs) find diet a most daunting burden and food all too easily ends up as unappetizing pap or bland monotony so that eating becomes a chore rather than something to look forward to.
This need not be so and there is a lot of information available to avoid its being so. The aim is to get this together and present it in a way that ALL patients can relate to and make individually useful. At the moment this is seen as having three core elements:
Explaining the science behind the dietary advice. Gillian Simpson, senior renal dietician at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, has agreed to work with Ian and provide technical input and advice. She and her team have already started work and are gathering the views of other specialist dieticians as well as analyses from food laboratories, manufacturers and others. An editorial panel will make sure that this information is presented in a form that can be readily understood by all.
Addressing the problems patients face and the ways they have found of coping with them. Ian has begun collecting some of the accumulated wisdom of patients themselves as well as those who live with them and share their lives. There is a great wealth of coping strategies that patients have found for themselves, which is in itself a valuable resource that could be shared. For this reason Ian invited patient contributions at the NKF conference. He is particularly keen also to involve patients from ethnic communities who may have different dietary preferences and customs.
Demonstrating practical ways of converting their knowledge into edible, nourishing and appetizing food. Ian is seeking more professional input by inviting high profile celebrity chefs who perform on TV to assist. He will be asking them to make the foods permissible on restricted diets interesting, appetising, varied, nutritious and easy for anyone to cook. Ian hopes to get the question of renal diet addressed very publicly by one or more of the television cookery programmes.
The target date for delivering this project is next year s NKF patients conference in October 2004. Ian will be pleased to hear from you by phone on 01295 77 09 82 or by email via Ian Mathie@aol.com, (use this email link as the message will automatically be titled "Renal Diet" in order for it to be accepted by his email spam filter). Alternatively you can write to him at: 1 Dog Lane, Fenny Compton, Southam, CV47 2YD.
Please note, this page is a summary of the full conference speech (click here for the full transcript).
Next >>
Professor
Richard Gardner - What does the future hold?
This website is intended for UK residents only.