How to Reverse Kidney Damage Naturally

How to Reverse Kidney Damage Naturally

The kidneys filter blood. Anything that the body has no further need for - such as excess acids or sodium or metabolic wastes - the kidneys remove from the blood and add to the urine. Between them, the two kidneys filter 32 Fl. oz of blood every minute and produce about 48 Fl. oz of urine every day.

There are several ways to help prevent kidney damage. One is to prevent high blood pressure. Another is to prevent urinary-tract infections.

Two medical researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, Gary L. Wollam, and Ray W. Gifford, Jr., studied the link between the kidneys and high blood pressure. They reported that the two illnesses form a vicious circle by making each other worse, but the kidney 'is more frequently the victim than the culprit. Hypertension [high blood pressure] that's gone undetected and uncontrolled for more than five years probably has left its mark on the kidneys, ' they noted.

Hypertension apparently hardens the blood vessels that feed blood into the millions of tiny sieves which comprise the kidneys, which in medical language are called glomeruli. That disrupts the filtration process. The only recourse is to prevent or halt hypertension. 'Effective treatment of hypertension prevents renal complications if they are not present initially, and retards their progression if they are present, ' they wrote in the medical journal Geriatrics.

Among the natural therapies for hypertension are a low-salt and low-sugar diet, along with maintenance of ideal weight and exercise such as cycling, walking or jogging. Relaxation techniques, dietary fiber, and garlic also can help.

Urinary-tract infections, if uncontrolled, can spread to the kidneys and cause damage. These infections, which are more common among women than among men, often respond to vitamin C and/or cranberry juice.

If you already use vitamin C, you probably know that some of it exit the body through the urine. But according to Alan Gaby, a biochemist and family doctor in Baltimore, Maryland, those extra vitamins are far from wasted. Vitamin C in the urine apparently kills Escherichia coli bacteria, the most common cause of urinary-tract infections.

A vitamin K deficiency acting on the kidneys could cause problems for adults as they are involved in determining how much calcium is excreted from the body. A vitamin K-dependent protein in the kidneys may have an important role in the retention of calcium in the body. A failure of that protein caused by lack of vitamin K might disrupt the supply of calcium to the entire body. That, of course, would cause a variety of essential biological systems to go on the blink.

A daily requirement for vitamin K has not yet been established, but diets containing plenty of fresh green vegetables will provide adequate vitamin K. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and spinach are all good sources of the nutrient.

Many drugs can cause kidney damage. These include commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) medications such as antacids and aspirin. The large dose of calcium carbonate found in many antacids is rough on kidneys. (The amount of calcium carbonate in supplements is not dangerous.) It cuts down their blood flow, clogging delicate filters and tubes. The end result may be a very sick person: no appetite, cranky, tired, nauseated, perhaps dizzy and confused. In one case, a woman taking antacids - and no more than the label recommended - came down with these symptoms. Tests at the hospital showed that her kidneys were in bad shape, and she was taken off antacids. A week later, she was 'mentally normal', and a checkup four months later showed that her kidneys had healed (Canadian Medical Association Journal, 8 September 1979).

It's cases like this that make doctors say, 'In view of these hazards we cannot recommend the use of calcium carbonate for routine antacid therapy' (New England Journal of Medicine). Yet plenty of antacids with this ingredient are still on the market.

In a study of patients with kidney failure, doctors found that 20 percent of the cases were caused by aspirin (or other painkillers such as paracetamol and phenacetin [withdrawn from the UK market some years ago]). What's more, a few patients whose lives depended on having their blood mechanically cleansed by a kidney machine were able to stop using the machine when they stopped taking the OTC painkiller.

This condition has been unrecognized and under-diagnosed by physicians,' wrote Drs Martin Goldberg and Thomas G. Murray, (New England Journal of Medicine). And, they noted, '85 percent of the patients are women above the age of 35 who have been taking the analgesics [painkillers] for a recurrent headache or a backache.

Finally, if your kidneys do not work normally, some nutrients may build up in your body to dangerous levels. Potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium are among those that can cause trouble. Anyone with kidney disease should have all supplements approved by a doctor.