Daily Times

New research has shown that people who have had a kidney transplant are less likely to suffer from impaired kidney function if they follow a Mediterranean diet. Despite improving survival rates for transplanted kidneys in the first few years after transplantation, loss of kidney function within 10 years still occurs in more than one third of recipients. A new study to be published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology suggests that eating habits based on the Mediterranean diet (fish, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and olive oil), as well as lower consumption of dairy products and meat, could reduce the risk of graft failure. Conducted by Dutch researchers from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, the research was based on data from questionnaires submitted to 632 adult kidney transplant patients whose donor kidney had been functioning for at least one year. The questions focused on diet, and participants’ responses were evaluated and given a score of up to 9.