Skip to main content

Fiona's Story

The importance of a healthy diet.
I’m a registered dietitian at the Renal Management Clinic in St Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto, Ontario. I started volunteering for The Kidney Foundation a couple of years ago to share my kidney nutrition knowledge with a larger kidney community. A well-curated diet is crucial to patients, as it can aid in slowing the progression of the disease and potentially delay the need for dialysis and a transplant. Unfortunately, many patients, especially those in the early stages, are usually not able to connect with a dietitian. But The Kidney Foundation made it easy for them to connect virtually with a registered dietitian like me who can help them navigate the kidney diet for free.

As a volunteer for The Kidney Foundation, I have enjoyed many roles throughout the years. I love writing blog posts for the website such as “Choosing Plant Based Dairy Alternatives” and “Staying Healthy in COVID Times” because they are a great tool that enables me to share my scientific knowledge with the online kidney community. I also help answer questions on the Kidney Community Kitchen site alongside fellow registered dietitian volunteers in the “ask a dietitian” section. The Kidney Community Kitchen site not only allows registered dietitians and patients to connect, but it also offers other great tools such as a meal planner, kidney-friendly recipes and more. One of my other roles as a registered dietitian volunteer is to review new recipes to ensure they are truly kidney-friendly. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation regarding kidney diet online, so it’s wonderful to be part of a reliable platform that supports patients and connects them with experts.