As the saying goes, the seven daily necessities are "firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea". Although tea is listed last, many people cannot do without it. In recent years, scholars at home and abroad have paid great attention to the relationship between tea drinking and human health. But can uremia patients also drink tea?

It is now known that tea leaves contain more than 350 chemical substances, such as tannic acid, VA, VC, VB, etc. Drinking tea can supplement some trace elements necessary for the human body and also has preventive effects against certain diseases. Studies have shown that drinking tea can reduce blood viscosity, prevent thrombosis, decrease capillary permeability and fragility, lower serum cholesterol, increase high-density lipoprotein, prevent cardiovascular diseases, and have anti-aging and immunity-boosting effects. Drinking more tea can be stimulating, with cardiotonic, diuretic, astringent, bactericidal, and anti-inflammatory effects. Long-term tea drinking can eliminate fatigue and enhance memory.

Uremia is the most severe stage of renal failure. At this stage, in addition to water-electrolyte metabolism disorders and acid-base imbalance, a wide range of systemic toxic symptoms appear in the digestive tract, heart, lungs, nerves, muscles, skin, blood, etc., due to the massive retention of metabolic products in the body, seriously threatening the patient's health and life. Nephrology experts point out that at this time, uremia patients must not only actively cooperate with treatment but also pay special attention to daily life healthcare work, including diet and other aspects.

However, tea contains caffeine—about 30% to 50% of the caffeine in a cup of coffee is found in a cup of tea—with stronger tea containing even more. It has been proven that caffeine can cause normal human cells to mutate and may be carcinogenic. Moreover, drinking large amounts of strong tea can overstimulate the human nervous system, increase the burden on the heart and kidneys, promote gastrin secretion, induce peptic ulcers, and tannic acid easily binds with iron, reducing the absorption of iron, an essential factor for hematopoiesis, which is very unfavorable for the recovery of uremia. Therefore, in summary, uremia patients can drink tea, but they must do so in moderation and must not drink strong tea.

What should uremia patients pay attention to in their diet?

Since the kidneys of uremia patients are severely damaged and cannot function properly, what dietary precautions should they take? Experts remind uremia patients that they need to limit protein intake, but not prohibit it entirely. Some patients, due to abdominal distension and poor appetite, coupled with the concept of "limiting protein intake," almost completely avoid meat, eggs, and milk, eating only porridge and vegetables, leading to insufficient caloric intake. Over time, this can result in malnutrition. In fact, uremia patients, especially those who are emaciated, should appropriately increase oils and starches in their diet to provide the body with sufficient calories and reduce the breakdown of body protein.