How To Reverse Kidney Damage From Diabetes

Can Diabetes Be Reversed

Whilst little medical literature mentions reversal of diabetic complications, there does appear to be some hope.

The human body is known to be able to heal itself in a number of ways from healing damaged skin even to repairing internal organs to some degree.

It therefore reasonable to consider there is potential for the body to heal itself of diabetic complications if diabetes can itself be sufficiently well controlled

Keep Your Blood Pressure Within The Safe Zone

What we call blood pressure is essentially a number to show the force of your blood against the walls of the blood vessels. If you have high blood pressure, remember, it means that your heart is working too hard. This can cause kidney disease.

As a diabetic, you need to maintain your BP below 140/90 mm Hg. High systolic pressure is a greater risk factor for diabetic nephropathy.

Kidney Damage From Diabetes

Kidney damage from diabetes can occur in people with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, or any other condition that can cause hyperglycemia .

When poorly managed, these conditions can lead to consistently high blood glucose levels, which in turn can damage the blood vessels and nephrons in your kidneys.

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What Is Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy — kidney disease that results from diabetes — is the number one cause of kidney failure. Almost a third of people with diabetes develop diabetic nephropathy.

People with diabetes and kidney disease do worse overall than people with kidney disease alone. This is because people with diabetes tend to have other long-standing medical conditions, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood vessel disease . People with diabetes also are more likely to have other kidney-related problems, such as bladder infections and nerve damage to the bladder.

Kidney disease in type 1 diabetes is slightly different than in type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, kidney disease rarely begins in the first 10 years after diagnosis of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, some patients already have kidney disease by the time they are diagnosed with diabetes.

When Diagnosed Early Stopping Diabetic Kidney Disease May Be Possible

Dear Mayo Clinic:

My father was recently diagnosed with diabetic kidney disease. Is there a chance this can be reversed, or will he have it for life? What changes, if any, should he be making to his diet?

Answer:

It is not uncommon for people who have diabetes to develop kidney problems. When diagnosed early, it may be possible to stop diabetic kidney disease and fix the damage. If the disease continues, however, the damage may not be reversible.

Diabetic kidney disease, also called diabetic nephropathy, happens when diabetes damages blood vessels and other cells in the kidneys. This makes it hard for them to work as they should. In the early stages, diabetic kidney disease has no symptoms. That’s why it is so important for people with diabetes to regularly have tests that check kidney function.

In later stages of the disease, as kidney damage gets worse, signs and symptoms do appear. They may include ankle swelling, test findings that show protein in the urine, and high blood pressure. Over time, diabetic kidney disease can lead to end-stage kidney disease.

If your father is in the early stages of diabetic kidney disease, there are several steps he can take to help protect his kidneys. First, it is critical to keep blood sugar as well controlled as possible. This not only helps the kidneys, but decreases the risk of other serious problems that can come from diabetes, such as blindness, heart attack and damage to the blood vessels and nerves.

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Lab Tests For Kidney Disease

Because it can be difficult to distinguish DKD from other conditions in the early stages, experts advise people with diabetes to have their kidneys tested regularly. A blood test for creatinine, a waste product our bodies constantly produce and excrete, can be used to calculate an estimated glomerular filtration rate , which indicates how fast the kidneys are processing urine. A normal range is 90 milliliters per minute or above.

Kidney function is also monitored with tests for blood urea nitrogen . Normal BUN ranges are 8 mg/ dl to 24 mg/dl for men and 6 mg/dl to 21 mg/dl for women. For an eGFR, higher is better, but for creatinine and BUN, higher is a sign of damage. Urine tests are also used to check for albumin , one of the proteins the kidneys are supposed to keep in the blood, not excrete. A microalbumin test can check for small amounts of albumin in your urine, which indicate kidney damage. These tests are usually done once a year for monitoring, or more often if DKD is progressing.

What Are Diabetic Kidney Disease Stages

As mentioned above, DMK progresses slowly over the years. Whether kidney disease is a result of diabetes or not, it is divided into 5 stages. Medical experts measure estimated glomerular filtration rate to check the kidney function level and determine these stages.

Stage 1: Normal kidney function

Stage 2: Mild loss of kidney function

Stage 3: Mild to a severe loss of kidney function

Stage 4: Severe loss of kidney function

Stage 5: Kidney failure

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Kidney Damage From Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen, as well as similar over-the-counter pain relievers like naproxen and aspirin, tend to be safe when taken in small doses.

However, the chemical process of these pain killers places a stress on your kidneys, and when taken in high doses or over an extended period of time can cause kidney damage.

We highly recommend following the safety information on these medications carefully, or with the guidance of a doctor.

Can Kidney Disease Cause Diabetes

It is evident that diabetes can cause kidney disease, however, there is little information on the reverse, that is, whether or not kidney disease can cause diabetes.

Studies have shown that kidney diseases can increase the risk of diabetes. When kidneys lose their ability to function, the waste products keeps building up in your blood. One such waste, known as urea, also increases as a result of kidney damage. Increase in the levels of urea has been linked with an increased probability of diabetes.

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How To Reverse Kidney Failure

Ive discovered that Nigella sativa, better known as black seeds as well as dandelion leaves can improve and reverse kidney failure. According to this research article on PubMed Renal injury, nephrolithiasis and Nigella sativa,

Black Seeds and its main component, thymoquinone showed positive effects in prevention or curing kidney stones and renal failure through various mechanism such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-eicosanoid and immunomodulatory effects.

You can get organic powdered black seeds from me here, and you can get organic black seeds in vegan pills from me here.

Dandelion root is famous for its liver detoxing abilities, but its leaves are popular for stimulating and cleansing the kidneys

Dandelion leaf is safe for stimulating the kidneys and helping them to function efficiently. Its loaded with carotenoids and minerals and is regularly used to treat fluid retention which often causes swollen ankles. Dandelion leaf is a natural diuretic that can cause a loss of potassium from the body, fortunately, dandelion leaf is a good source of potassium a which makes it perfectly balanced and a safe diuretic. You can find my recommended dandelion leaf brand on Amazon.com here.

: See my blog post Camu-Camu: The Heal All Superfood to see how Camu-Camu reversed one persons kidney disease.

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Symptoms Of Kidney Disease

You may not have visible symptoms in the early stages of kidney disease. This is why it’s so important to have the tests for kidney disease every year, as it can be spotted early and slowed down with treatment. If kidney disease progresses, you could notice symptoms like:

• swollen ankles, feet and hands
• blood in your pee
• feeling really tired
• being short of breath
• feeling sick.

You may be feeling like this because your kidneys are struggling to clear extra fluid and waste from your body. But these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, so its important to talk to your doctor for more information and advice.

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Healthy Kidneys Helps Us To :

#1. remove waste by-products of digestion and muscular activity from our blood

#2:balance water and concentration of minerals in our body

#3:synthesize the enzyme renin required to maintain optimal blood pressure

#4 synthesize the enzyme erythropoietin, which in turn stimulates the production of erythrocytes.

Kidneys also help maintain optimal bone health by synthesizing an active form of vitamin D. Continued loss of renal function over time, which may range from months to years, is referred to as kidney disease.

Kidney disease occursas a result of genetic problems, some injury, or overreaction to some drugs. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, or genetic predisposition are at greater risk of developing it.

The disease glomerulonephritis also brings about the continued loss of kidney functioning. Kidney stones, prostate disease, pinworm infestation of the kidney, vasculitis, polycystic kidney disease, and hemolytic-uremic syndrome are also the causative factors of kidney disease.

Long-distance runners who ignore fluid consumption may develop acute renal failure that damages their kidneys.

Eat Fruits And Vegetables For Healthy Kidneys

In a study published in March 2013 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, researchers noted that including more fruits and vegetables in your diet can minimize your risk for kidney injury and metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the body produces too much acid, cant excrete enough acid, or cant balance acid. An overabundance of acid can cause potentially dangerous symptoms, like rapid breathing, fatigue, confusion, and in extreme cases even shock or death. Fruits and veggies help the kidneys remove excess acid from the body and excrete it in urine.

Adding more fruits and vegetables has specifically helped patients with chronic kidney disease, who are most susceptible to metabolic acidosis. These patients are usually treated with bicarbonate and other alkali supplements. But in this study, the doctors at Texas A& M University College of Medicine in Temple, Texas, wanted to see the effect of simply eating more fruits and vegetables both of which are good, natural sources of alkali.

The researchers randomly treated 71 stage 4 chronic kidney disease patients with either a diet including fruits and vegetables or an oral alkaline medicine. Both groups showed similar kidney function, decreased rates of metabolic acidosis, and lowered rates of kidney injury. The researchers argued in their paper that these interventions may help improve kidney health in people diagnosed with kidney disease.

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How Is It Treated

The main treatment is medicine to lower your blood pressure and prevent or slow the damage to your kidneys. These medicines include:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, also called ACE inhibitors.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers, also called ARBs.

As damage to the kidneys gets worse, your blood pressure rises. Your cholesterol and triglyceride levels rise too. You may need to take more than one medicine to treat these complications.

And there are other steps you can take. For example:

• Keep your blood sugar levels within your target range. This can help slow the damage to the small blood vessels in the kidneys.
• Work with your doctor to keep your blood pressure under control. Your doctor will give you a goal for your blood pressure. Your goal will be based on your health and your age.
• Keep your heart healthy by eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. Preventing heart disease is important, because people with diabetes are more likely to have heart and blood vessel diseases. And people with kidney disease are at an even higher risk for heart disease.
• Watch how much protein you eat. Eating too much is hard on your kidneys. If diabetes has affected your kidneys, limiting how much protein you eat may help you preserve kidney function. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about how much protein is best for you.
• Watch how much salt you eat. Eating less salt helps keep high blood pressure from getting worse.
• Don’t smoke or use other tobacco products.

Reverse Kidney Damage Naturally

Despite the various medical advances made to help heal kidney damage, the most powerful way that you can improve your kidney health is with lifestyle changes, especially changes to your diet.

Ensuring that you eat enough potassium, phosphorous, calcium, and vitamin D is a good start, as these nutrients are fundamental to kidney health, but without controlling your high blood glucose and blood pressure, these changes are temporary.

Thats why we recommend a heavily plant-based diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains if youre suffering from high blood glucose and blood pressure. This diet is the first step to reverse insulin resistance, and can help vastly improve your cardiovascular health overall.

Eating potassium-rich foods can dramatically reduce your blood pressure, so include foods like tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, melons, oranges, bananas, nuts, seeds, dates, cruciferous vegetables into your diet on a daily basis.

One of the most effective ways to improve your kidney function is to reduce your intake of protein to approximately 0.8-1.0 g/kg body weight per day. Even though you may be tempted to eat a high-protein diet, understand that reducing your protein intake is a safe and highly effective way to reduce your risk of developing end stage renal disease .

To accomplish this, we recommend eating a low-fat, plant-based, whole-food diet because it is an effective way to eat whole foods and target 0.8-1.0 g/kg protein intake per day.

• Whole grains

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Regulating High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure creates an unconducive environment for the body to perform well. Organs such as the heart and kidney depend on the blood supply to perform well, and hypertension may limit these. A study shows that exercise and eating the right diet can help in lowering HBP. Intake of medicines such as triazide speeds up the process of diuresis in the body and thus lowering high blood pressure.

Reach Your Blood Glucose Goals

Your health care professional will test your A1C. The A1C is a blood test that shows your average blood glucose level over the past 3 months. This is different from the blood glucose checks that you may do yourself. The higher your A1C number, the higher your blood glucose levels have been during the past 3 months.

The A1C goal for many people with diabetes is below 7 percent. Ask your health care team what your goal should be. Reaching your goal numbers will help you protect your kidneys.

To reach your A1C goal, your health care professional may ask you to check your blood glucose levels. Work with your health care team to use the results to guide decisions about food, physical activity, and medicines. Ask your health care team how often you should check your blood glucose level.

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What Causes Kidney Damage

Think of your kidneys act as a natural blood filtration system. Twenty four hours a day, theyre filtering your blood for waste metabolites, which means that your diet can play a large role in their long-term health.

There are three main categories of risk factors for kidney injury:

• An unhealthy diet

Well touch on a few of the most common below.

Diabetes And Kidney Disease

Diabetes is a chronic illness in which the blood sugar levels in your body become too high. It is because your body is unable to make or use insulin in the intended way. There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

A kidney disease, on the other hand, is the inability of kidneys to function properly. Your kidneys are responsible for filtering the waste and extra fluids out of your blood. Kidney disease can cause waste to build up inside your body leading to kidney damage.

Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy is among the top kidney disease complications of diabetes. It is a condition that leads to loss of kidney function in people suffering from diabetes. To put it simply, diabetic nephropathy is a kidney disease resulting from diabetes. This condition can occur in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients.

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Symptoms Of Kidney Failure

For people with diabetes, kidney problems are usually picked up during a check-up by their doctor. Occasionally, a person can have type 2 diabetes without knowing it. This means their unchecked high blood sugar levels may be slowly damaging their kidneys. At first, the only sign is high protein levels in the urine, but this has no symptoms. It may be years before the kidneys are damaged severely enough to cause symptoms. Some of the symptoms may include:

• Fluid retention
• Fatigue
• Vomiting.

How To Diagnose Kidney Disease:

GFR below 60 mL/min/1.73m2 for three or more months indicates chronic kidney disease.

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