Nutritional implications of renal disease. III. Nutritional needs of patients with renal disease.

There is now evidence that, due to metabolic alterations, the patient with renal disease has special nutrient needs for vitamin D, vitamin B6, and possibly for amino acids. Schreiner and Maher have described (34) the uremic patient as "a walking laboratory of applied renal and metabolic physiology." The uremic patient may also be viewed as a walking laboratory of nutritional problems that should be further explored to determine optimal dietary requirements.