Resource Library
Welcome to the Resource Library. All the resources referenced in the Toolkit are here for you.
Take Charge of Your Health
- NKF Peers is a free program to connect people living with chronic kidney disease with a mentor.
- Know Your Risk with using the Risk Calculator
- Track your blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight using Weekly Health Journal. Look to see if trends are improving or getting worse. Write down any worrisome symptoms.
- Track Your Lab Tests
- Fill out the Kidney Health Checklist for a Healthcare Provider’s Visit checklist and take to your next doctor’s visit. It will help guide your discussion about kidney health. Your doctor may have already ordered tests to check for kidney disease. If not, ask to be tested.
- Review the Kidney Health Terms Dictionary for definitions of common kidney-related terms.
Resources for Transplantation Information
See these websites for more information on transplantation:
- National Kidney Foundation of Illinois
- Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network
- Mid-America Transplant
- United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
- Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT)
- Find your Local Organ Procurement Organization
Real Tools for Real Change
Here are interesting and useful resources to increase your knowledge about healthy foods and exercise.
Guidance on Healthy Foods
Guidelines for Nutrition in Chronic Kidney Disease: 2020 Update
The National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) gives science-based recommendations on nutrition for people with kidney disease. It includes information for all patients--from those who are just diagnosed to patients who have received a kidney transplant.
What is in the Foods You Eat Search Tool
Enter a food in the search box to see a detailed listing of all the nutrients it contains. This comprehensive resource is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research Service.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020 - 2025
The most recent edition of dietary guidelines explains how to eat a healthy diet. It includes recommendations for infants, toddlers, children, teens, adults, pregnant and nursing mothers, and older adults.
MyPlate Plan
Create a free personalized food plan based on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. Learn what and how much to eat within your calorie allowance. Set your food group targets.
Food Labeling and Nutrition
The US Food and Drug Administration explains what to look for when reading Nutrition Facts labels on packaged foods. They also provide nutrition education resources and materials.
A Plant-Based Diet
Eating whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables is a dietary pattern that can help keep kidneys healthy.
DASH Diet
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Studies show that the DASH diet helps decrease blood pressure. It also helps reduce the risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and kidney stone formation.
Exercise Resources
Move Your Way. What’s your move?
This factsheet from the CDC explains the health benefits of moving and has suggestions for types of exercise.
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition
These science-based guidelines provide guidance on amounts and types of physical activity. The focus is how to improve health and reduce risk of chronic disease by regular exercise.
Fitness Apps
My Fitness Pal
This resource is both an app and a website. You can keep a food diary and log your exercise. My Fitness Pal links with other health tracking apps, such as Fitbit.
Sparkpeople
This resource is both an app and a website. You can keep a food diary and log your exercise. You can join online community groups for advice and motivation. Sparkpeople also had a database of user recipes.
Hear from the Experts: Journal Articles
Much of what influences our health happens outside of the healthcare provider’s office. Achieving good health requires more than good healthcare or a healthy lifestyle. It requires improving or sustaining conditions that keep people healthy.
Here are some interesting articles and podcasts to further your understanding of racial disparities and chronic kidney disease.
The Inequities of Kidney Disease
Two physicians of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity discuss health disparities faced by Black patients with kidney disease.
COVID-19, Racism, and Racial Disparities in Kidney Disease: Galvanizing the Kidney Community Response
This article from the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology discusses how racial health disparities and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted treatment of kidney disease. The authors recommend specific actions that the community can take to help mitigate the disparities. The article contains a podcast.
Racism, Kidney Function and More (Flip the Script Podcast)
Max, the podcast host, discusses racial disparities in kidney health with a nephrologist. Topics include race correction in kidney function calculation, dialysis and race, and end of life for people with kidney failure.
America on Dialysis
Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of this Science Talk podcast. This podcast is one of a 5-part series in a collaboration between Undark and Scientific American. The series examines health disparities and conflicts of interest related to chronic kidney disease treatment in the United States.
Should Black People Get Race Adjustments in Kidney Medicine?
This short podcast and accompanying article discuss the race correction adjustment used in eGFR calculation and how it may contribute to racial health disparities.