kidneys

Dialysis? Your kidneys need this hero

Q: Is there a way to replace the nutrients that my husband loses through dialysis?

GR: The two bean-shaped organs in the middle of your back are so incredibly critical to your daily life and well-being, but not many people pay a lot of attention to them.

At least, not until it's way too late.

In fact, if you've got kidney disease -- which is usually considered a "death sentence" -- even a kidney specialist can't stop the damage that's already started.

There are no prescription medications out there to treat kidney disease. In fact, there aren't many supplements made directly for the kidney, either!

In fact, the ONLY reason for your annual visits is so he can determine when you're going to have to start dialysis.

He's just WAITING for your kidneys to fail!

But according to a new meta-analysis of some old studies, there may actually be something that can help.

Recently, a group of Italian doctors finally spent the time to review all of the old data on treatments for kidney disease in diabetics, all of which centered on the use of antioxidants.

Maybe these studies didn't make a splash when they were initially done because the supplements weren't -- and aren't -- instantaneous miracles. The antioxidants were taken over long periods of time, and any progress would be shown over a long period of time as well.

But one of the most interesting findings was from one of the studies from 2012. It turns out that antioxidants seem to help the patients who need it the most: those on dialysis.

Why would anyone with even the slightest hint of kidney disease NOT take an antioxidant? Antioxidants won't just target your kidneys the way that prescription medications notoriously treat just one issue at a time.

Because if oxidation is damaging the kidneys, then it also must be damaging ALL of the major essential organs. And antioxidants can help the rest of your body, too.

The antioxidants used in the study -- sometimes in combination with each other -- were vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, zinc, methionine, and CoQ10, so those are a good place to start.

A doctor well-versed in integrative medicine may suggest other antioxidants to add to the supplement mix, especially those that are safe for anyone who's currently on dialysis.

I also included a list of some of the most potent food sources of antioxidants in the September issue of my Nutrition & Healing newsletter.

As any doctor will tell you, though, the main thing to do to protect the kidneys is line up your defenses as much as possible. For example, limit the amount of NSAID pain relievers (like ibuprofen and naproxen) you take, because the kidneys have to process them.

And since high pressures in the arteries "wear down" the kidneys, keeping blood pressure within normal limits will also help.

Have a question for me? Drop me a line at askdrrothfeld@nutritionandhealing.com and keep an eye on your inbox for the answer right here in eTips.

Don't get burned by this wacky diabetes treatment

It's delivered in painful injections that leave you covered in bruises like a battered boxer. It can trigger noggin-splitting headaches and have you packing on pounds like an overfed elephant.

But, believe me, those are the least of insulin's problems. As far as Big Pharma is concerned, insulin has committed a crime so terrible that it's about to get banished to the dustbin of medical history forever.

It got cheap.

With diabetes cases in America piling up faster than the high score on a broken pinball machine, mainstream medicine would rather fall on its sword than let you keep controlling your blood sugar for pennies a day. So they've been flooding the market with new diabetes medications that have been linked to everything from organ failure to thyroid cancer.

But it looks like these fat cats have finally found their Holy Grail -- a dangerous, surgical procedure that will treat your diabetes by practically taking a car battery to your organs.

Australian researchers are launching a study aimed at controlling diabetes by using a red-hot, electrified wire to burn nerves in your kidneys. They'll insert this flaming death ray by knocking you out cold and forcing a catheter through an artery in your groin.

And if you're waiting for the good news, let me save you some time -- there isn't any.

They say this new "miracle" treatment will help your body control sugar, but it doesn't stop there. The surgery actually destroys part of your nervous system responsible for controlling your organs.

If this treatment isn't uglier than homemade sin, I don't know what is. But torching your kidneys is going to cost you a heck of a lot more than visiting the confessional and dropping a $20 in the collection plate next Sunday -- you'll be plunking down THOUSANDS.

The mainstream wants to leave you with a Sophie's Choice that no diabetic should have to make -- you can trade agonizing injections for a horrific surgery that would have made Dr. Frankenstein squeamish.

But there's another option out there, and I've seen it help countless patients beat diabetes and ditch their insulin for good. All it takes is a diet high in protein that practically eliminates deadly added sugars and carbs for good.

Even if you're ready to start small, natural cures like almonds, cinnamon and chromium are all proven to help you get your blood sugar under control.

When folks like you start walking away in droves, maybe the mainstream will finally get the message. We don't have thousands of dollars -- or two healthy kidneys -- to burn.