Kidney Disease and Therapeutic Nutrition

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http://www.doctoryourself.com/kidney2.htmlKidney Disease and Therapeutic NutritionKidney DiseasesKidney diseases kill 60,000 Americans a year andafflict at least 8 million more. Dialysis andtransplants are expensive, costing taxpayers over 2billion dollars annually. To that, add the emotionaland physical costs in pain.How Do Your Kidneys Work? The answer is, constantly! 24 hours a day, your twokidneys filter your blood somewhat like an aquariumfilter filters the water in a fish tank. Thefunctional unit of the kidney is the NEPHRON, a tissueunit that not only filters, but also recycles andexcretes. The nephron filters blood (except red bloodcells and protein); maintains the body's acid-base ionbalance; recycles needed substances (water, minerals);and excretes wastes in a concentrated urine. In amanner of speaking, urine is filtered blood, or moreexactly, blood is filtered

urine.Kidney Diseases and Problems:Inflammation and InfectionThe role of massive doses of vitamin C is profound inthis case, providing prevention and treatment atsaturation levels. Since vitamin C is filtered and"wasted" through the kidneys, its is a virtuallycustom-made therapy.Degeneration (resulting from inflammation, etc.)A chronic excess of dietary protein almost certainlytaxes the kidneys and leads to gradual degeneration.(Williams, SR Nutrition and Diet Therapy, page 856,"The Aging Western Kidney"). Vegetarianism is avirtually automatic solution to our nation-widepattern of protein abuse. Protein restriction isgenerally considered to be an important treatment forprogressed glomerulonephritis. Reducing proteinintake is obviously an ideal way to PREVENT aprotein-breakdown induced nitrogenous overload in thefirst place. Increasing carbohydrates is recommended.“Carbohydrates should be

given liberally. This willalso reduce the catabolism of proteins and prevent ...ketosis." (Williams) Again, a regular vegetariandiet, which is high in complex carbohydrates, willassure just this.Nephrotic Syndrome (swelling and protein in the urine)This condition results from tissue damage and impairednephron function. Its association with collagendiseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc.) is hardlyaccidental, for chronic deficiencies of vitamin C (andvitamin C’s helpers, the bioflavinoids) cause the veryevent described by Williams on page 851: "The primarydegenerative lesion is in the capillary basementmembrane of the glomerulus which permits the escape oflarge amounts of protein into the filtrate." This isbecause capillaries, those tiniest and most numerousof all the blood vessels, get leaky in the absence ofample vitamin C. Easily-bleeding gums are a visibleexample of this, but easily-leaking glomeruli

(part ofthe nephron) are a greater, hidden, but similarproblem.Acute Renal (Kidney) FailureEarly successful management of infectious diseasegreatly reduces the likelihood of renal failure.Saturation with vitamin C is very effective,broad-spectrum treatment for infectious diseases(Klenner, Stone, Pauling. Cathcart). Vitamin C doesnot cause kidney problems; it prevents them. Forexample, vitamin C stops the formation or oxalatestones, and actually dissolves phosphate and struvitekidney stones (see below). If kidney failure issuspected, see your doctor early in the game, andinsist that vitamin C therapy is employed. Evenconventional food-groups nutrition texts (correctly)mention the need for supplemental vitamin C and theB-complex for kidney tissue healing. Just up the dosesif you want best results.In early renal failure, no protein should be given. Vegetable juice fasting may work well here.

Ifliquids are restricted, put the vegetables through ablender and eat as a salad puree. It tastes betterthan it sounds.HOW TO MAKE A BLENDED SALAD according to Dr.Christopher Gian-Cursio, who was a New YorkCity-based, circut-riding naturopath for over 50years. I met Dr. Gian-Cursio some twenty years ago. Here’s his recipe: 1 each small tomato, red or green pepper 1/2 small cucumber juice of 1/2 lemon or lime 5-6 leaves romaine lettuce 3-4 stalks fresh fennel or celery Place cut up pieces of tomato, pepper and cucumberalong with lemon juice into blender. Blend untilsmooth and liquid. Add romaine leaves one at a time.Add celery or fennel; blend additional 2-3 minutes.(The consistency depends upon personal taste; somelike it smooth and watery, others thick and crunchy.) I will add that you should eat your blendedimmediately. Fresh, wholesome food does not “keep,”and crushed raw food does

not keep at all.Chronic Renal FailureContinued deterioration means loss of vital kidneyparticipation in the activation of vitamin D-1. Theresult can be osteodystrophy (loss of calcium frombone or poor bone formation in childhood).Supplementation with vitamin D and calcium aretherefore required.Amino acid supplements have shown promise in treatingchronic renal failure, when coupled with a greatlycurtailed amount of dietary protein of only 20 to25g/day. As an advocate of vegetable juice fasting, Ipersonally think the protein restriction may have doneas much as the amino acid supplementation. Why? Because typical hospital “protein restricted diets”provide 40g/day of protein!Consider this: the typical American eats over 100g,and frequently exceeds 120g of protein daily, which isWAY too much. So a so-called “restriction” to 40 g/dayis simply a correction. Most of the world’s peopleswould be

pleased as punch to be able to eat 40g/day ofprotein. But we happily chow down three times that ,call it normal… and then line up for dialysis.DialysisThe cost of too much meat may ultimately be over$10,000 per year for dialysis at home... or more than$35,000 per year at a dialysis center. And these are1990 prices.During dialysis, the water soluble vitamins (B-complexand C) are lost from the blood. Supplementation isESSENTIAL and must be both high-potency and FREQUENT. Obstruction: Renal Calculi (stones)There are five types of kidney stones: 1. Calcium phosphate stones are common and easilydissolve in urine acidified by Vitamin C. 2. Calcium oxalate stones are also common but they donot dissolve in acid urine. 3. Magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite stones) aremuch less common, often appearing after aninfection. They dissolve in vitamin C acidifiedurine. 4. Uric acid

stones result from a problemmetabolizing purines (the chemical base of adenine,xanthine, theobromine [in chocolate] and uric acid).They may form in a condition such as gout. 5. Cystine stones result from a hereditary inabilityto reabsorb cystine. Most children's stones are thistype, and these are rare. The Role of Vitamin C in Preventing and DissolvingKidney Stones: The very common calcium phosphate stone can only existin a urinary tract that is not acidic. Ascorbic acid(vitamin C's most common form) acidifies the urine,thereby dissolving phosphate stones and preventingtheir formation. Acidic urine will also dissolve magnesium ammoniumphosphate stones, which would otherwise requiresurgical removal. These are the same struvite stonesassociated with urinary tract infections. Both theinfection and the stone are easily cured with vitaminC in large doses. BOTH are virtually 100% preventablewith

daily consumption of much-greater-than-RDAamounts of ascorbic acid. Think grams, notmilligrams! A gorilla gets about 4,000 mg of vitaminC a day in its natural diet. The US RDA for humans isonly 60 mg. Someone is wrong, and I don't think it'sthe gorillas. The common calcium oxalate stone can form in an acidicurine whether one takes vitamin C or not. However, ifa person gets adequate quantities of B-complexvitamins and magnesium, this type of stone does notform. Any common B-complex supplement twice daily,plus about 400 milligrams of magnesium, is usuallyadequate. Ascorbate (the active ion in vitamin C) does increasethe body's production of oxalate. Yet, in practice,vitamin C does not increase oxalate stone formation. Drs. Emanuel Cheraskin, Marshall Ringsdorf, Jr. andEmily Sisley explain in The Vitamin C Connection(1983) that acidic urine or slightly acidic urinereduces the UNION of calcium and

oxalate, reducing thepossibility of stones. "Vitamin C in the urine tendsto bind calcium and decrease its free form. Thismeans less chance of calcium's separating out ascalcium oxalate (stones)." (page 213) Also, thediuretic effect of vitamin C reduces the staticconditions necessary for stone formation in general. Fast moving rivers deposit little silt. Furthermore, you can avoid excessive oxalates by noteating (much) rhubarb, spinach, or chocolate. If adoctor thinks that a person is especially prone toforming oxalate stones, that person should read thesuggestions below before abandoning the benefits ofvitamin C. Ways for ANYONE to reduce the risk of kidney stones: 1. Maximize fluid intake. Especially drink fruitand vegetable juices. Orange, grape and carrotjuices are high in citrates which inhibit both a buildup of uric acid and also stop calcium salts fromforming. (Carper, J. "Orange Juice May

Prevent KidneyStones," Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal, Jan 5, 1994)2. Control urine pH: acidic urine helps preventurinary tract infections, dissolves both phosphateand struvite stones, and will not cause oxalatestones. 3. Eat your veggies: studies have shown that dietaryoxalate is generally not a significant factor instone formation. I would go easy on rhubarb andspinach, however. 4. Most kidney stones are compounds of calcium andmost Americans are calcium deficient. Instead oflowering calcium intake, reduce excess dietaryphosphorous by avoiding carbonated soft drinks,especially colas. Soft drinks contain excessivequantities of phosphorous as phosphoric acid. This isthe same acid that has been used by dentists to etchtooth enamel before applying sealant. Remember that Americans get only about 500 mg ofdietary calcium daily, and the RDA is 800 to 1200mg/day. Any nutritionist, doctor

or text suggestingcalcium reduction is in serious error. 5. Take a magnesium supplement of AT LEAST the USRDA of 300-350 mg/day (more may be desirable inorder to maintain an ideal 1:2 balance of magnesium tocalcium) 6. Be certain to take a good B-complex vitaminsupplement daily, which contains pyridoxine (VitaminB-6). B-6 deficiency produces kidney stones inexperimental animals. Remember: * B-6 deficiency is very common in humans * B-1 (thiamine) deficiency also is associated withstones (Hagler and Herman, "Oxalate Metabolism, II"American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 26:8, 882-889,August, 1973) 7. Additionally, low calcium may itself CAUSEcalcium stones (L. H. Smith, et al, "MedicalEvaluation of Urolithiasis" Urological Clinics ofNorth America 1:2, 241-260, June 1974) 8. For uric acid/purine stones (gout), STOP EATINGMEAT! Nutrition tables and textbooks indicate meatsas the

major dietary purine source. Naturopathictreatment adds juice fasts and eating sour cherries.Increased Vitamin C consumption helps by improvingthe urinary excretion of uric acid. (Cheraskin, et al,1983). Use buffered ascorbate "C". 9. Persons with cystine stones (only 1% of allkidney stones) should follow a low methionine dietand use buffered C. 10. Kidney stones are associated with high sugarintake, so eat less (or no) added sugar (J. A. Thom,et al "The Influence of Refined Carbohydrate onUrinary Calcium Excretion," British Journal ofUrology, 50:7, 459-464, December, 1978) 11. Infections can cause conditions that favor stoneformation, such as overly concentrated urine (fromfever sweating, vomiting or diarrhea). Practice goodpreventive health care, and it will pay you back withinterest. REFERENCES: Cheraskin, Ringsdorf Jr., and Sisley: The Vitamin CConnection, Harper and Row, 1983

Pauling, Linus "Are Kidney Stones Associated withVitamin C Intake?" Today's Living, September, 1981 Pauling, Linus "Crystals in the Kidney," LinusPauling Institute Newsletter, 1:11, Spring, 1981 Pauling, Linus How to Live Longer and Feel Better,Freeman, 1986 Williams, S. R. Nutrition and Diet Therapy, 6th ed.Chapter 28(From the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR and PAPERBACK CLINIC,copyright C 2001 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. Available from Dr. Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van BurenStreet, Holley, New York 14470. (716) 638-5357)