A Plant-Based Diet For Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease doesn’t require pills, it requires a better diet.

This video was originally published on NutritionFacts.org and republished with permission. NutritionFacts.org

About a third of adults 65 and older has chronic kidney disease. Scary as that can be on its own, the complications involved with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often lead to heart disease as well. And if that’s not enough, the doctor will most likely end up prescribing a statin drug, which has its own laundry list of problems. For those concerned about the well being of their kidney and heart, a plant based diet is the way to go.

High amounts of cholesterol and fat can end up in the blood from eating the wrong foods. This increase in these bodily chemicals is also the source for the associated increased risk in kidney (and subsequently heart) disease. Thanks to studies done in the 1980’s we know that this link is true, and unfortunately, due to this link a suggestion was made to prescribe statin drugs to slow the progression of kidney failure. These types of drugs are linked to issues like liver and muscle damage, so using them to fight kidney problems would be like fighting a grease fire throwing water on it; you mean to help, but you’re just making things worse.

Like putting a lid on a pan with a grease fire, switching to a plant-based diet can snuff out chronic kidney disease. Even late-stage kidney disease patients saw a marked benefit to switching to a plant-based diet; a study following a group of such patients found that in almost all cases, failing kidney function was slowed or stopped in almost all cases. The diet change also helped with kidney transplant patients and those on dialysis. As usual, this just further proves the link between food as medicine and good health.

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