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# Kidney Patients: If You're Eating "Southern" Food, Make It Vegan
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/kidney-patients-if-you-re-eating-southern-food-make-it-vegan/
- Published: 2014-08-04T18:24:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T14:20:19.000Z
- Description: Among 3,972 chronic kidney disease patients followed six years in the REGARDS study, those eating a Southern pattern heavy in fried food, processed meat and sweetened drinks had the highest risk of death, while those on a plant-based pattern had the lowest.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Nutrition, #vivvo-import

A Southern-American diet of fatty foods and sugary drinks can greatly increase kidney patients’ mortality risk, according to a study published in the *American Journal of Kidney Diseases*. Researchers followed 3,972 participants with chronic kidney disease from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study. Participants were grouped into five dietary eating patterns, including Southern, fast-food, and plant-based. Over a six-year follow-up, results showed those who followed the Southern dietary pattern rich in fried foods, processed meat, and sweetened beverages had the highest risk for death, while those who followed a plant-based eating pattern had the lowest risk for death.

Gutiérrez OM, Muntner P, Rizk DV, et al. Dietary patterns and risk of death and progression to ESRD in individuals with CKD: a cohort study. *Am J Kidney Dis*. 2014;64:204-213.

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