But research shows this mineral plays a surprisingly important role in type 2 diabetes — and it’s one that’s often overlooked.

Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, including those critical to how insulin works. It helps regulate glucose uptake into cells, influences insulin sensitivity, and supports vascular health.

Yet studies show that people with type 2 diabetes often have lower magnesium levels — both inside their cells and in circulation — especially when blood sugar control is poor.

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Why magnesium matters in diabetes

When magnesium levels drop, insulin can’t do its job as effectively. That means cells don’t take in glucose efficiently, worsening insulin resistance and raising blood sugar levels.

This cycle can create further magnesium losses, particularly through the kidneys, leading to an ongoing deficit.

Over time, low levels have been linked not only to worsening diabetes but also to complications like high blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, arrhythmias, and even cognitive decline.

The two-way connection—and what to do about it

So, does low magnesium cause diabetes, or does diabetes cause low magnesium? The answer is both.

A diet too low in magnesium can impair insulin action, increasing the risk of diabetes, while diabetes itself promotes magnesium loss. This two-way relationship means that people with diabetes are especially vulnerable to deficiency, and people who are deficient are at higher risk of developing diabetes.

Some research suggests magnesium supplements can improve fasting glucose, insulin sensitivity, and blood vessel function, but results aren’t consistent.

That’s likely because not everyone with diabetes is magnesium-deficient to begin with, so supplement studies may dilute the true effect.

The American Diabetes Association does not currently recommend routine supplementation for blood sugar control. More research is needed before magnesium supplements can be broadly prescribed as a diabetes therapy.

What we do know is that magnesium-rich diets consistently lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

People who consume more magnesium-rich foods — nuts, seeds, legumes, leafy greens, and whole grains — tend to have better insulin sensitivity, lower inflammation, and a reduced risk of progressing from prediabetes to diabetes.

These foods also deliver other protective nutrients, like fiber, antioxidants, and plant sterols, that work together to support metabolic and cardiovascular health.

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Food first, supplements if needed

It’s important to note that magnesium from food is safe and doesn’t carry the risks associated with high-dose supplements.

Too much supplemental magnesium — especially in forms like magnesium oxide, carbonate, or chloride — can cause diarrhea, nausea, or abdominal cramps.

Extremely high doses can even lead to toxicity, with dangerous effects on heart rhythm and blood pressure. Supplements can also interact with common medications, including antibiotics, diuretics, and some acid reflux drugs.

That’s why the best approach is food first. Spinach, pumpkin seeds, black beans, almonds, edamame, and whole grains are all excellent sources.

If a supplement is considered, it should only be done under medical supervision, especially for people with kidney disease or those taking multiple medications.

The bottom line

Magnesium isn’t a cure for diabetes, but it is a nutrient that plays a critical role in how insulin works and how blood sugar is managed.

Ensuring your diet includes magnesium-rich foods is a safe, natural, and impactful way to support glucose control and protect against complications. Supplements may help in some cases, but food remains the most reliable and safest source.

At Step One Foods, many of our products naturally deliver magnesium along with other nutrients that support cholesterol, blood sugar, and vascular health. That’s because they’re made with ingredients naturally rich in magnesium — like oats, nuts and seeds, legumes, dried fruit, and even dark chocolate. By eating real food in the right combinations, you can take meaningful steps toward better outcomes.

The post Magnesium’s overlooked link to type 2 diabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

From food to books and everything in between, you can learn a lot about your family, friends and even yourself by their answers.

It’s why just the other day, I asked myself that same question when it came to supplements. I take several, so if I could only choose one, the answer, for me, is really quite simple…

If I were stuck on a desert island, the supplement I could not do without would be an omega-3. Preferably krill oil (fish oil gives me fish burps), but I digress…

If you’re down to just one choice, you want the nutrient science has consistently demonstrated can fight all inflammatory and metabolic disorders.

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#1 – Inflammation

Doctors now consider inflammation to be “the root of disease.” The good news is that we already have omega-3s to yank out that root and preserve our health.

That’s because studies have shown that the unsaturated fatty acids in these omegas act to directly resolve inflammation. In addition to this direct action, they provide the additional bonus of competing with omega-6s (the kind found in refined oils) in your diet. This action inhibits the synthesis of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and shifts the balance toward a more anti-inflammatory state.

#2 – Obesity

Obesity, while usually seen through the lens of weight alone, is actually an inflammatory condition that kicks off a multitude of other dangerous diseases. But omega-3s can once again come to the rescue with their potent anti- inflammatory and adipogenic effects that occur right inside the fat tissue itself.

It’s no wonder, then, that studies have found that even mice fed an obesogenic (obesity-inducing) diet benefit from reduced fat mass accumulation when taking omega-3s. To top it off, researchers also discovered that a higher proportion of omega-3s in red blood cell (RBC) membranes has been associated with a lowered fat mass index.

#3 – Heart Health

As with their effects on obesity, larger amounts of omega-3s in RBC membranes support heart health by reducing inflammatory markers and lowering triglycerides.

Numerous prospective and meta-analytic studies have concluded that supplementing with omega-3s in your daily diet substantially reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 15 to 25%.

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#4 – Blood Sugar

In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, omega-3’s also have potent abilities in the fight against metabolic dysfunction, including blood sugar issues. In fact, research has revealed that these fatty acids improve insulin sensitivity by increasing adiponectin secretion, enhance glucose uptake through an increase in GLUT-4 content, and support pancreatic β-cell function, enhancing their insulin secretion capacities.

#5 – Liver Health

Fatty liver disease may also be no match for omega-3s. These fatty acids work to guard liver health by:

• Inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, leading to decreased transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced liver inflammation
• Reducing neutrophil infiltration and enhancing the clearance of apoptotic cells to resolve liver inflammation
• Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the inflammation that comes with it and preventing the progression from simple steatosis (fat buildup) to steatohepatitis (with associated inflammation and liver damage)
• Inducing mitophagy of damaged liver mitochondria and reducing oxidative stress

A comprehensive cohort study even found that taking omega-3s regularly resulted in a 28% reduced risk of liver inflammatory disease, including alcoholic or non-alcoholic liver disease and liver failure.

#6 – Kidney Health

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is another downstream effect of obesity-mediated inflammation. Luckily, supplementation with omega-3s has been shown to increase the production of pro-resolving mediators, like RvE1 and RvD5, that result in an improvement in inflammatory markers and renal function.

Omega-3s also help improve renal hemodynamics and significantly reduce proteinuria in patients with CKD.

#7 – Autoimmunity

• Inflammatory bowel diseases – Omega-3s have been shown to reduce colitis-associated disease severity, colonic mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and macrophage infiltration of the tissue.
• Psoriasis – In psoriatic skin, omega-3s work to reduce inflammatory cell infiltration and skin thickening, with improvements in redness, scaling and itching.
• Rheumatic diseases – Omega-3s also provide powerful joint support by inhibiting IL-1β, one of the most active cytokines that leads to cartilage destruction and loss of collagen.
• Multiple sclerosis – Because omega-3s can cross the blood–brain barrier, they have been shown to directly impair neuroinflammatory processes. Research also shows they may decrease the activity and production of matrix metalloproteinase-9, which is implicated in blood–brain barrier breakdown in MS, while upregulating the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to enhance neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity.

Research has even shown that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids alone can reduce autoimmune disease rate by 15%.

Putting omega-3s to work for your health

Clearly, whether you end up marooned on a desert island or just want to stay healthy and keep inflammatory and metabolic disease at bay, omega-3s are a must-have in your diet.

So, what’s the best way to ensure you’re getting enough?

One solution is to adopt the Mediterranean diet. Not only is this diet packed with polyphenol-rich fruits, vegetables, and olive oil, but it is also rich in seafood, providing you with those essential omega-3s.

However, if you’re not able to reach the recommended two to three servings of fatty fish weekly, go easy on yourself and reach for a safe, sustainably sourced omega-3 supplement.

Sources:

Beneficial Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Obesity and Related Metabolic and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases — MDPI

How do Omega-3 and Vitamin D Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease? — Omegaquant

The post The ONE nutrient to fight inflammatory and metabolic disorders appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, not only can yo-yo dieting damage your heart, but it also comes with additional health warnings to be wary of, including:

• Increased risk of diabetes
• Higher risk of gallstones
• Poor gut health
• Depression

Now, research is linking one more health danger to body-weight cycling. It’s one that anyone living with type 1 diabetes needs to be aware of…

Weight cycling and kidney disease

The study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism examined six years of body-weight data for more than 1,400 people who participated in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) or the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study.

Type 1 diabetes has long been considered a disease of lean individuals, but, as the authors noted, the prevalence of obesity is rising among those with type 1 diabetes, mirroring the increase in the general population.

The researchers specifically delved into the effect of weight fluctuation on six different criteria for kidney function decline and progression toward chronic kidney disease in this group.

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Here’s what they found…

The scientists determined that people who experienced more significant weight fluctuations suffered from a 40% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which measures how well the kidneys filter toxins from the blood.

Results also showed that those with greater weight fluctuations were more likely to experience moderately to severely increased albuminuria. This occurs when there are abnormally high levels of a protein known as albumin in the urine. Larger amounts occur in the urine of people with kidney disease.

Additionally, according to the researchers, in all of the indices they examined, similar findings of kidney disease were confirmed.

“We showed that high body-weight variability is associated with increased risk of different outcomes of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progressions in people with type 1 diabetes, independently of traditional DKD risk factors,” said lead author Marion Camoin, M.D.

People with Type 1 should focus on the long-term

This is the first study to show a link between yo-yo dieting and kidney events in people with type 1 diabetes, according to the authors.

However, the mechanisms linking body-weight cycling to increased renal risks are still not fully understood.

The researchers hypothesize that insulin therapy, which is necessary to treat type 1 diabetes, is a contributing factor to body-weight cycling. Others have theorized that body-weight cycling leads to added strain on the heart and contributes to kidney and vascular damage.

It may be safest to work on weight loss with an expert in type 1 diabetes. That’s because first and foremost, managing insulin levels is a priority.

According to experts on type 1 diabetes, weight gain can be a common result of managing T1D due to:

• taking too much insulin and eating to match your insulin
• treating multiple hypos daily/weekly
• inactivity due to fear of highs and lows
• over-consumption of calories when trying to eat low carb (these foods are often higher in fat and therefore higher in calories).

To lower the risks of yo-yo dieting and the occurrence of kidney disease, the study authors suggest that “Strategies aimed at weight reduction in people with type 1 diabetes should focus on promoting long-term weight maintenance, as weight stability may have a positive impact on health outcomes.”

Sources:

Yo-yo dieting may significantly increase kidney disease risk in people with type 1 diabetes — EurekAlert!

What Happens to Your Body When You Yo-Yo Diet — WebMD

Consequences of Weight Cycling: An Increase in Disease Risk? — NIH

The Long-Term Effects Of Yo-Yo Dieting — Forbes

The post Type 1 diabetes: weight loss and kidney disease risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But we have a love-hate relationship with the sweet stuff that’s as hard to give up as any vice, even though the reasons to do so have been stacking up…

Just this year, an umbrella review — involving 73 meta-analyses and 8,500 research articles — linked excess sugar intake to no less than 45 serious health conditions, including stroke, heart disease and cancer.

The negative health impacts of sugar can also be quite surprising…

Take kidney stones — a painful problem that can plague one in ten of us at least once in our lifetime. And for a few very unlucky folks, they are recurrent.

But new insights into sugar’s role in the formation of kidney stones may provide some much-needed relief…

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Kidney stones 101

Kidney stones are hard pebble-like objects that can form inside your kidneys. They’re made of minerals and salts.

A stone can move around within your kidney. It can also move into the tube that connects your kidney to your bladder. Symptoms can be mild or strong and include:

• Intense pain in your side or back, below the ribs (your doctor might refer to it as renal colic)
• Pain in your groin and lower abdomen
• Pain when you pee
• Going to the bathroom more often than you usually do
• Pee that’s cloudy, pink, red, or brown, or smells bad
• Feeling like you need to pee all the time
• Fever and chills if you have an infection
• Nausea and vomiting
• Burning sensation when you pee
• Less urine when you do pee

The most common type of kidney stones is calcium stones. You could get this kind if you typically don’t drink enough water, if you sweat a lot and don’t replace the fluids you lose, eat a lot of oxalate-rich foods — or if you have a sweet tooth…

Sugar’s connection with kidney stones

Dr. David S. Goldfarb, co-director of the Kidney Stone Prevention Program at NYU Langone Health in New York City, notes that “there has long been evidence that sugar increases the amount of calcium in urine, and there have been multiple reasons why avoidance of sugar would be part of a diet encouraging kidney stone prevention.”

Yet kidney stones do not appear on that long list of adverse health consequences of eating sugar.

Dr. Shan Yin and colleagues had their suspicions and set out to determine whether added sugar is associated with kidney stones, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018.

In analyzing data from 28,303 adults (average age 48), they determined that those who consumed 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar had an 88 percent higher chance of developing kidney stones, compared with those whose daily sugar calories are less than five percent.

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Eating to prevent kidney stones

Giving up sugar is not easy. But as you’ve just read, there are many good reasons to at least consider decreasing the amount in your diet — especially if it means forgoing the pain of kidney stones.

But there are a few other dietary tips that could help reduce your risk of kidney stones as well:

First, don’t avoid calcium, although it’s best to get your calcium from food, rather than from supplements.

According to kidney.org, calcium-rich foods, like yogurt and cheese, bind with oxalate (that natural compound in otherwise healthy plant-based foods) in the stomach and intestines before it moves to the kidneys. So, eating foods that contain calcium is a good way to help oxalates leave the body and not form stones.

Giving up oxalate-rich foods is not something you want to do either. These foods, including green leafy vegetables, beets, tea and cereal grains, are disease-fighting foods. Instead, eat a balanced diet so the calcium-rich foods and oxalate-rich foods can work together to promote health instead of hurt.

Lemonade is great drink for preventing kidney stones. It’s full of citrate, a natural inhibitor of kidney stone formation. If your urine doesn’t contain enough citrate, that could make you more prone to kidney stones. Just go extra-easy on the sugar content.

Carrying extra weight can also put a kidney stone target on your back. But be careful of extreme diets because they can worsen your risk for kidney stones. Often dairy is one of the first things dieters give up, but we’ve learned that’s not going to help you avoid kidney stones.

So there you have it a few good tips that add up to one major piece of advice: follow a well-rounded diet and eat less sugar.

Sources:

Sugar-Heavy Diet Linked to Development of Kidney Stones — MedPage Today

Association between added sugars and kidney stones in U.S. adults: data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2018 — Frontiers in Nutrition

The post Kidney stones: The sweet tooth connection appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And, because the disease is often silent, up to 9 in 10 patients don’t even realize they have it until it’s severe.

If that weren’t bad enough, over the past four decades, modern medicine has offered only a handful of new options for treating it.

But that may be changing — thanks to the identification of an enzyme “helper” molecule that could be used not only to help develop new treatments, but to prevent kidney disease in the first place…

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Protecting the vital role of tubule cells

Metabolic reactions spark energy to carry out specific functions in the human body. Metabolites are like fuel for those reactions. Without these helper molecules, critical processes can go awry and often lead to disease conditions.

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that using a common supplement to boost one such helper molecule, called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD for short), protected mice from kidney dysfunction by protecting the mitochondria of kidney tubule cells.

Mitochondria are responsible for supplying energy to most cells in the body. Similarly, NAD is found in all living cells. Of course, NAD synthesis (like so many things) decreases with age and also quickens aging.

When the researchers were mapping metabolite changes in mouse and human kidneys, they identified differences in levels between healthy and diseased kidneys that were consistent, including a prominent decrease in NAD in diseased kidneys.

So they decided to give mice supplements to see if it would reverse the NAD loss — and it did. That protected the mitochondria in the tubule cells, which are used to return filtered nutrients to the body’s bloodstream.

When the mitochondria in those cells are damaged, a pathway causing inflammation and kidney disease development is activated. But NAD supplements suppressed the inflammation,  protected the tubule cell mitochondria and prevented kidney dysfunction in the mice.

When asked what the results of this study could do for the future of kidney disease treatment, co-lead investigator Katalin Susztak, MD, Ph.D., had this to say: “We hope that this research can lead to improved care in the future. So when patients have metabolite changes, they can receive treatment before kidney disorders arise.”

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Boosting the body’s NAD

The research team hopes that their research will lead to further studies into the role of metabolite changes in kidney dysfunction, as well as the development of new pharmaceuticals to prevent and treat kidney disease.

However, the supplement used in this research to boost NAD is already readily available over the counter.

The researchers suggested nicotinamide riboside or nicotinamide mononucleotide — both of which are forms of B3 — and act as precursors to help the body produce the enzyme NAD.

For people at risk of kidney disease, supplementing to support NAD could be key to avoiding it.

If you currently have kidney disease and take medication, it’s a good idea to discuss taking supplements with your prescribing physician.

Sources:

Key mechanism for kidney disease identified – EurekAlert!

Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States – NIH

The post Key player in kidney disease identified (and a supplement that helps) appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

After all, our moms tell us not to talk about it. Society says it’s completely off-limits.

And the older we get, we also realize there’s absolutely nothing funny about poop. Still, many of us are hesitant to discuss problems with regularity with anyone, even a doctor.

But the truth is, your regularity, or how often you “go” can offer an important window into your overall health.

In fact, scientists have even discovered a so-called “Goldilocks Zone” when it comes to weekly poop schedules — and if you can stay within the zone, it will help you keep your health at its best.

Here’s what you need to know about how often you should be pooping and what happens if you’re not in the Goldilocks zone…

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The good, the bad and the ugly poop schedule

To find this Goldilocks Zone, researchers collected clinical, lifestyle, and biological data – including blood chemistry, gut microbiome, genetics and more — from over 1,400 healthy adult volunteers.

They then classified each participant’s bowel movement frequencies into four groups: constipation (one or two bowel movements per week), low-normal (three to six per week), high-normal (one to three per day) or diarrhea.

And after comparing frequency to overall health, it became very clear that pooping regularly, but not too often, is vital. In fact, if you’re not, it can lead to serious health problems…

• The team found that in people who are constipated, where stools linger too long in the gut, microbes exhaust all the available fiber and begin to ferment dangerous toxins that can damage the kidneys.
• On the other end of the spectrum, diarrhea causes the body to excrete excessive bile acid, which the liver would otherwise recycle to dissolve and absorb dietary fats.
• This can lead to disease-causing inflammation and liver damage.

On the other hand, fiber-fermenting gut bacteria associated with good health thrived in the Goldilocks Zone of one or two poops a day.

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Getting your poop schedule on track

So who do researchers say are most likely to land in this Goldilocks Zone?

People who eat more fruits and vegetables!

Other secrets include drinking plenty of water, getting regular physical activity and eating a more plant-dominant diet.

But if regularity is your problem, steer towards natural remedies to promote predictable, regular and comfortable bowel movements. I can recommend 7 little helpers that can help you “go” the way nature intended — stress and strain-free — including:

• Ancient aloe – Microbiome-friendly aloe lubricates the lining of the colon and stimulates colon muscles for transit without uncomfortable cramping.
• Inulin – A potent prebiotic, this special plant fiber helps friendly bacteria thrive in the gut.
• Cascara sagrada bark – Rich in natural anthraquinones, this bowel mover helps promote the urge to “go”.
• Senna leaf extract – This FDA-approved over-the-counter, nonprescription natural laxative, signals the muscles of the colon to relax and contract while pushing stool through the colon.
• Potassium – A vital mineral, potassium helps keep stool hydrated for comfortable elimination.
• Slippery elm – A natural soluble fiber, it helps coat the inner-lining of the colon to ease discomfort.
• Black walnut hull – Its active compounds — juglone, tannins and natural iodine — support healthy digestion and regularity.

Sources:

Your Poop Schedule Says a Lot About Your Overall Health, Study Suggests  — ScienceAlert

The post How your poop schedule impacts your liver and kidneys appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But those non-nutritive low-calorie and no-calorie substitutes have some major drawbacks too. Does that mean we’re doomed to a life of “bland”?

Not if you switch to this truly natural sweetener that not only satisfies your sweet tooth — but also reduces four significant risk factors for cardiometabolic disease…

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Maple syrup: more than just sugar

Cardiometabolic diseases are all too common, often very preventable and can come together to do major harm resulting in heart attack, stroke, vascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Because inflammation is a driving factor in cardiometabolic disease, Dr. Andre Marette, PhD., had an idea…

“We know from decades of research that maple syrup is more than just sugar. It contains over 100 natural compounds, including polyphenols, that are known to prevent disease in part through their anti-inflammatory effects.”

So he and a team of scientists at Laval University conducted the first and only placebo-controlled clinical trial of the health effects of maple syrup.

In all, 42 participants consumed either two tablespoons of Canadian maple syrup or artificially-flavored refined sugar syrup each day for eight weeks, and then switched for another 8 weeks.

Tests were run to measure glucose tolerance, blood lipid profile, blood pressure body fat composition and changes in gut microbiota — and the outcomes were more than the researchers expected…

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Maple syrup took down 4 cardiometabolic risk factors

According to Dr. Marette, “I did not expect to see so many improvements of risk factors within a relatively short treatment period… Both individually and collectively, the study findings are quite significant.”

Specifically, they saw…

#1 – Lower blood sugar

The results showed that using maple syrup daily helped participants better manage their blood sugar levels after eating, thanks to improved glucose tolerance.

#2 – Better blood pressure

Switching to maple syrup also led to improved blood pressure. In fact, during the weeks that participants used maple syrup, their systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading that indicates the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats and pumps) decreased significantly by an average of -2.72 mm Hg. On the other hand, when the same participants used regular refined sugar, their systolic pressure went up by approximately +0.87 mm Hg.

#3 – Less abdominal fat

Visceral fat is the dangerous deep belly fat that wraps around your organs and raises your risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Yet, it seems it’s no match for maple syrup. As with blood pressure, maple syrup dramatically reduced visceral abdominal fat, while consuming refined sugar caused it to increase.

This finding adds more significance to a prior study, which found that the everyday sugar we eat actually blocks the bacteria that keep us lean and healthy.

#4 – Improved gut health

Considering the key role gut health plays in your overall health and longevity, possibly the most significant finding was the fact that switching to maple syrup also improved levels of potentially beneficial gut bacteria while decreasing those that harm.

The researchers found that when participants consumed maple syrup, their gut microbiome had fewer Klebsiella and Bacteroides pectinophilus, species, linked to inflammation and metabolic disorders.

Conversely, maple syrup caused an increase in the growth of beneficial bacteria like Lactocaseibacillus casei, which helps your body break down the food you eat and absorb valuable nutrients. It also boosted Clostridium beijerinckii, which supports fermentation in the gut to help break down complex carbohydrates, like fiber and resistance starches, that act as prebiotics.

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Small changes for powerful prevention

Dr. Marette and his team have shown that committing to lifestyle changes, even small dietary changes, can be a powerful tool in preventing future diseases.

Diving into the nutritional benefits of maple syrup, there’s no mystery about its powerful effects. Just two tablespoons of maple syrup provides:

• 35% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of manganese. Insufficient amounts of this trace mineral can lead to impaired glucose tolerance or prediabetes.
• 15% of the RDA for riboflavin, which helps convert carbs to energy and metabolizes fats.
• 8% of the RDA of copper, necessary for breaking down fat cells for energy.
• 2% of the RDA of potassium, needed to avoid hardening of arteries and support heart health.

Sources:

Why substitute sugar with maple syrup? – EurekAlert!

Lacticaseibacillus Casei – Uses, Side Effects, and More – WebMD

The post 4 heart health reasons to ditch sugar for maple syrup appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Some, like lack of exercise and poor diet, simply increase your risk of ending up with heart problems at all.

Yet, others actually speed up your cardiovascular risk clock, causing you to develop the disease far sooner than you otherwise would.

According to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2024, possibly the most dangerous of the latter leads to a syndrome that combines blood sugar and kidney issues to bring about heart disease almost three decades sooner.

Here’s how what you need to know to avoid that fate…

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The dangerous intersection of diabetes and kidney disease

The study focused on analyzing how chronic kidney disease and Type 2 diabetes affect cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Researchers chose to narrow in on these two conditions because they are two of the four components of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

It’s a syndrome that the American Heart Association defines as “the interplay of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and the metabolic disorders Type 2 diabetes and obesity.”

Type 2 diabetes is also the leading cause of kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease is the most frequent cause of death for people with chronic kidney disease. If that doesn’t make the “interplay” crystal clear, I’m unsure what would.

While the wide-ranging effects of CKM impact nearly every major organ in the body, including the brain, kidneys and liver, the syndrome hits the cardiovascular system like a guided missile.

CKM significantly increases the rate of fatty buildup in the arteries. It damages heart muscle function. And it leads to glitches in the electrical impulses that power the heart itself.

However, while scientists have understood these dangers for decades, they had never quantified just how quickly diabetes or kidney problems can turn into heart problems… until now.

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The clock is ticking

To determine at what age someone with each risk profile would be expected to have elevated CVD risk, the researchers used the American Heart Association Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs (PREVENT) calculator.

Without CKM syndrome, the expected age at which a person is expected to have an elevated heart disease risk is 68 for women and 63 for men. However, living with diabetes or kidney issues (or both) shortens the countdown drastically:

• The study found that adults with chronic kidney disease have an elevated heart risk that starts eight years earlier than those without the disease. That’s age 60 for women and 55 for men.
• Type 2 diabetes raises cardiovascular risk at age 59 for women and 52 for men. That’s 9 years younger for women and 11 years younger for men.
• The worst news is for people with both type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, who have an elevated risk for heart disease at age 42 for women and 35 for men. That’s 26 to 28 years earlier, respectively!

Because the American Heart Association has recognized the extreme risks of CKM, they’ve created recommendations you can follow based on stages of the condition. They go all the way from Stage 0 where there are no risk factors, and the focus is on prevention — to Stage 4 where clear signs of heart disease are present.

It’s important to note that CKM usually begins with insulin resistance, an initial stage before pre-diabetes which can take a quick turn to a diabetes diagnosis.

Two of the most important preventative steps would be keeping abreast of the early signs of insulin resistance and maintaining a healthy weight.

You can use these recommendations to take charge of your own health and as a starting point for keeping heart disease far, far away.

Sources:

Heart disease could hit up to 28 years sooner for people with CKM syndrome – EurekAlert!

The post The syndrome that speeds up heart disease risk by decades appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Commonly prescribed for neuropathic pain and seizures, gabapentinoids are also prescribed for many different kinds of pain, such as back pain. These uses are part of the reason gabapentinoids are now one of the top 10 prescribed drugs in the U.S.

For instance, prescriptions for one gabapentinoid, gabapentin, have grown from 18 million in 2004 to 40 million in 2022.

But even though these medicines are seen as safer than opioids, that doesn’t mean they’re completely without risk. In fact, gabapentinoid use has been connected with a debilitating condition that afflicts many elderly people…

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Gabapentinoids and hip fracture

Medicine safety experts at Monash University in Australia analyzed the data for 28,293 patients hospitalized for hip fractures in Victoria, Australia across a five-year period.

Study results showed patients had a 30 percent greater risk of suffering a hip fracture within two months of being given a gabapentinoid medication. The link between gabapentinoids and hip fractures existed across different age groups, but the odds of hip fracture were higher among patients who were frailer or had chronic kidney disease.

Gabapentinoid use increased eightfold in Australia between 2012 and 2018, with one in seven Australians aged 80 and older prescribed a gabapentinoid during this period.

Study co-author Simon Bell, a professor at Monash, says while gabapentinoids can be effective for neuropathic pain, their side effects include dizziness, gait disturbance and balance disorder.

Lead author of the study and Monash Ph.D candidate Miriam Leung says the study highlights the need for caution before prescribing gabapentinoids, especially for people who are prone to falls and fractures. Bell adds that the presence of frailty and chronic kidney disease should also be taken into account.

The researchers say further studies are needed to investigate the risk of hip fracture with different dosages of gabapentinoids and with different degrees of kidney impairment. They are also working with the University of Eastern Finland to investigate hip fractures in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

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Alternative pain regimens

For people over the age of 80, the survival rates from hip fractures are worse than for people living with some cancers.

Bell says anyone presently taking a gabapentinoid should discuss it with their doctor or pharmacist first before deciding to discontinue treatment.

If you do decide to forego gabapentinoids, you may want to consider one of these natural pain-relieving alternatives before your doctor whips out that prescription pad again.

• Acupuncture: Harvard Health says acupuncture may relieve pain by releasing endorphins — the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals — and by affecting the part of the brain that governs serotonin, a brain chemical involved with mood.
• Exercise: While exercise may seem counterintuitive for pain, the longer you work out, the greater your ability to tolerate pain thanks to the body’s natural release of adrenaline and endorphins. And certain exercises, such as yoga, have been proven to relieve pain.
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction and/or cognitive behavioral therapy: In one study, 61 percent of those practicing mindfulness-based stress reduction and 58 percent of those practicing cognitive behavioral therapy saw improvement in their chronic lower back pain.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: These have been proven in studies to reduce inflammation and relieve arthritis pain.

Sources:

Neuropathic pain drugs found to increase risk of hip fracture in older adults — ScienceDaily

Gabapentinoids and Risk of Hip Fracture — JAMA Network Open

Number of gabapentin prescriptions in the U.S. from 2004 to 2022 — Statista

The post The commonly prescribed pain medication linked to hip fracture appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Protein!

Yup, at this point after all of the news reports, articles, social media posts, celebrity endorsements and more, a person would have to be living under a rock not to have heard the advice that if you want to look and feel better you have to cut your carbs and up your protein intake.

But, is that good advice for everyone?

Or, could that blanket approach to better health be causing even more problems than it prevents for some of us?

A new paper by kidney experts based on two separate scientific studies has the frightening answer…

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Saving calories while risking kidney health

A study performed in the Netherlands found that there is a direct, linear association between daily protein intake and a decline in kidney function. In other words, the higher the protein intake, the faster the decline in kidney function.

And, guess what…

A second study conducted by a team of researchers in South Korea confirmed those results!

They found that people with the highest protein intake had 1.3 times higher risk of faster glomerular filtration rate (GFR) loss. If you haven’t heard the term before, GFR refers to how fast your kidneys can filter out the toxins in your body and is used both to measure kidney function and determine what stage of kidney disease you might be in.

Unfortunately, these findings aren’t all that surprising either…

Many past studies have shown that a high-protein diet may harm kidney function, which is why patients who have early-stage chronic kidney disease are generally put on a low-protein diet by kidney specialists.

But, an entire group of people who are at risk for poor kidney health have not only been ignored when it comes to these low-protein recommendation regimens but are actually more likely to be told to go high protein — a recommendation that could land them in dialysis…

Obesity and diabetes

According to the kidney experts who authored the new paper based on the Dutch and South Korean studies, people who suffer from either diabetes or obesity are often put on a high-protein diet as a way to save calories, slim down, and lower their blood sugar.

However, this risks the health of their kidneys since both obesity and diabetes come with an increased chance of pre-existing low-grade chronic kidney disease.

In fact, they say that at least 30 percent of people with type-2 diabetes suffer from an underlying kidney disease. That’s 30 percent of people who could end up with rapidly deteriorating kidney health, taking the fast lane to kidney failure, if they go on a high-protein diet recommended by their doctor.

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“To put it in a nutshell: To recommend a high-protein diet to an overweight diabetes patient may indeed result in loss of weight, but also in a severe loss of kidney function. We want one, but we also get the other,” says Professor Denis Fouque, past chair of the European Renal Nutrition Working Group.

“By advising people — especially those with a high risk for chronic kidney disease, namely patients with diabetes, obese people, people with a solitary kidney and probably even elderly people — to eat a protein-rich diet, we are ringing the death bell for their kidney health and bringing them a big step closer to needing renal replacement therapy”, he concludes.

So, before you try a high-protein diet in a bid to get healthy and lose weight, you need to think again, especially if you have diabetes.

Talk to your doctor about your risks and have your kidney function checked out. Only when you know that your kidneys can handle the rigors of a high-protein diet should you consider making the change.

And, don’t forget…

Despite the wave of media attention, a high-protein diet is definitely not the only way to lose weight and feel better. Other good options include going keto, embracing the Mediterranean diet, or simply decreasing your calorie intake while upping your physical activity.

Sources:

1. High-protein diets may harm your kidneys — EurekAlert!
2. Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) — National Kidney Foundation

The post The popular diet recommendation that could land you on dialysis appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

While you can minimize your exposure to these toxic microscopic particles, there’s little you can do any more to avoid them completely.

Microplastics have been found in our blood, liver, kidneys, muscles, heart, artery plaque and blood clots.

And as if this weren’t scary enough, we’re now learning for the first time that they have also invaded our brains…

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Microplastic brains: first mice, now humans

In May of 2023, I reported that researchers saw that polystyrene nanoparticles (commonly found in Styrofoam) were able to breach the protective blood-brain barrier of mice in just two hours after ingestion.

Now, researchers from the University of New Mexico and Oklahoma State University who looked at concentrations of microplastics in 51 liver, kidney and brain samples from routine autopsies, have found them in the human brain.

Since microplastic particles are often difficult to see, even with a high-powered microscope, the researchers chose instead to identify them in the samples by their chemical composition.

To their surprise, they found up to 30 times more microplastic in brain samples than in either liver or kidney samples. The reason?

The researchers believe the liver and kidneys, as detox organs, may be better equipped to deal with external toxins. The brain, however, does not undergo cell renewal to the extent that other organs do. For that reason, microplastics may collect and linger there longer.

The microplastic most commonly found in the samples was polyethylene. It’s the most common plastic and is used for plastic bags, films, and plastic bottles, as well as water pipes, flooring and packaging.

But the problem entails more than the tiny plastic particles. Microplastics can contain, carry and leach forever chemicals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, heavy metals and pharmaceuticals.

These are all known to impact various areas of human health including including cancers, metabolic disorders, attention-deficits and hyperactivity disorder and fertility issues.

But what can we expect from microplastics, particularly in our brains? In mice, previous research saw cognitive decline and neurotoxicity through impairments in oxidative and inflammatory balance.

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How to minimize exposure to microplastics

We typically ingest microplastics through food or water. We can also breathe in small microplastics that take the same path as oxygen to enter the bloodstream, eventually reaching organs.

In the gut, they disrupt the microbiome. This compromises the gut-brain axis — a two-way system of communication. Microplastics weathered by environmental and digestive processes travel this pathway to eventually cross the blood-brain barrier, the intricate layer of cells that are supposed to keep things in the blood from entering our brain.

Your best protection at this time is to avoid or lessen your plastic exposure altogether. Here are a few ways…

• Don’t drink bottled water. According to a study reported in Smithsonian Magazine, if you drink only from plastic water bottles, you may ingest 90,000 microplastic particles each year, compared to 4,000 if you stick to tap water.
• Avoid plastic dishes. High heat can cause them to release microplastics. This means that you should keep them out of the microwave, and wash them by hand, rather than in the dishwasher.
• Cut down on salt and sugar. Per CNN, a 2023 study found coarse Himalayan pink salt mined from the ground had the most microplastics, followed by black salt and marine (sea) salt. Sugar is also “an important route of human exposure to these micropollutants,” according to a 2022 study.
• Use a reverse osmosis filter to remove some particles from tap water.
• Try this technique to decrease microplastics in tap water without special equipment.
• Eat cruciferous vegetables. Two or more servings daily of cruciferous vegetables may bind to chemicals from plastics and remove them from the body in a process called chelation. These foods include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, arugula and dark leafy greens like kale.

Sources:

Microplastics Detected Infiltrating Human Brains For The First Time — Science Alert

Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains Assessed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry — National Institutes of Health

Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year — Smithsonian Magazine

The post Microplastics have breached human brains: What are the implications? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It can also weaken blood vessels throughout your body, limiting blood flow and dramatically reducing kidney function.

This causes a backup of fluid into your blood vessels, raising your blood pressure even more and creating a dangerous, even deadly, cycle.

Luckily, researchers from The University of Texas have found a simple, natural and highly effective way to break both ends of that cycle in one fell swoop.

It not only lowers blood pressure but also nurtures kidney health and reduces your chances of developing heart disease.

And all you have to do is follow your mother’s advice from when you were a kid…

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Fix it all with more fruits and veggies

The researchers had already discovered that eating an acidic diet put a strain on the kidneys. And they had proven that reversing that diet to promote a more pH-balanced environment in the body was capable of supporting kidney health.

So they set out to see if adding potent alkalizers — ones that you and I simply call fruits and vegetables — to the diets of people with chronic kidney disease could reduce that strain and, in the process, help break the feedback loop that was raising their blood pressure.

In a randomized control trial over five years, investigators divided the cohort of 153 patients with hypertension into three groups:

1. Study participants adding 2-4 cups of base-producing fruits and vegetables in addition to their usual daily food intake.
2. Study participants prescribed NaHCO3 (acid-reducing sodium bicarbonate, which is ordinary baking soda) tablets in two daily doses of 4-5 650 mg tablets.
3. Study participants receiving standard medical care from primary care clinicians

The results of the study showed that both fruits and vegetables and NaHCO3 improved kidney health — but only fruits and vegetables, and not NaHCO3, reduced blood pressure and improved markers of cardiovascular disease risk.

Diet is the first line of treatment

The researchers concluded that “fruits and vegetables should be ‘foundational’ treatment for patients with hypertension because we accomplish all three goals (kidney health, lower blood pressure, and reduced cardiovascular disease risk) with fruits and vegetables, and we can do so with lower medication doses.”

And that term — ‘foundational’ — is extremely important.

According to the team, most doctors start by treating high blood pressure with drugs (which can carry numerous side effects) and only add in diet strategies if blood pressure is not properly controlled.

However, as the results of this study clearly show, the opposite should be true. Treatment should begin with fruits and vegetables, and then medications can be added, as needed. Otherwise, they are missing out on nutrients that support healthy blood pressure, like pterostilbene.

Alkalizing your diet

Acidic foods that should go on the rarely-to-never list include meats, highly processed foods, dairy, processed meats, starchy foods, coffee and alcohol.

Carbonated beverages also fall in the acidic category and should be avoided.

Instead, alkalize your diet by:

• Eating plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, especially non-starchy vegetables, like leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage and carrots; nuts and seeds; legumes; wild rice, oats and quinoa.
• Drinking alkaline water, which you can buy at your local health store or buy an alkaline water pitcher. You can also add a little fresh lemon juice to plain water. A lemon is acidic before it’s ingested. After it’s been processed by the body, it has an alkalizing effect. 
• Buying organic produce as much as possible. Chemicals commonly used in commercial farming are acid-promoting. That means if you are choosing produce that is not organic, you undercut the alkaline factor of those foods.
• Adding more beans to your diet because plant proteins help tip your body into a naturally alkaline state.

Sources:

High Blood Pressure & Kidney Disease – NIH

Eating more fruits & vegetables to reduce dietary acid lowers blood pressure and improves kidney and heart health in patients with hypertension – EurekAlert!

The post The one change that lowers BP and improves heart and kidney health appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Scientists estimate that people are ingesting an average of five grams of microplastic particles a week. That’s the equivalent of eating a credit card!

And it’s building up in our bodies…

Research shows microplastics can enter the bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier. In the human brain, researchers warn this could potentially increase the risk of inflammation, neurological disorders or even neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.

Microplastics have even been found in the plaques that can clog our arteries.

Now, researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) have discovered that microplastics could make their way from your gut into the tissues of other organs like your kidneys, liver and brain.

Here’s what that could mean…

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Microplastics migrate from the gut

The UNM researchers exposed mice to microplastics in their drinking water over a four-week period. They added an amount of microplastics equivalent to the quantity humans are believed to ingest each week.

Results showed that not only had the microplastics changed the microbiota in the gut, but they also migrated out of the gut into the tissues of the liver, kidneys and brain.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the microplastics also changed metabolic pathways in tissues they travelled to.

Dr. Eliseo Castillo, a UNM professor leading the charge on microplastics research, says “That tells us it can cross the intestinal barrier and infiltrate into other tissues.”

We’ve known for a while now that contaminants can permeate the gut lining. It’s what’s known as leaky gut and is already considered an open door to disease.

“These mice were exposed for four weeks,” he says. “Now, think about how that equates to humans if we’re exposed from birth to old age.”

Previously, Castillo and his team found that microplastics changed the function of macrophages — immune cells that are protective against foreign particles — causing them to release proinflammatory molecules.

“During intestinal inflammation — states of chronic illness such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, which are both forms of inflammatory bowel disease — these macrophages become more inflammatory and they’re more abundant in the gut.”

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Dodging the microplastic menace

Castillo says he hopes his continuing research will help spark changes in how society produces and filtrates plastics.

But knowing the potential health impacts, is there any way to avoid microplastics? Unfortunately, the answer is “not completely.” But you can take these steps to minimize your exposure.

However, you may have even more control over keeping your gut from becoming an open door for microplastics to sneak into your body.

Research indicates you can eliminate some of the microplastics you consume in your urine, bile, feces and other bodily fluids and wastes. Just be sure your gut isn’t working against you…

The condition known as leaky gut has been around long before the threat of plastics. It’s an “open door” through which harmful microbes and toxins enter your bloodstream, causing illnesses including celiac disease, allergies, asthma, multiple sclerosis and a host of autoimmune diseases.

The “open door” that provides easy entry results from intestinal permeability — loose junctures or gaps in the lining of the intestines — that may develop from numerous factors, including poor gut health, particularly constipation, as well as aging epithelial cells (cells that line the intestine) that are unable to repair themselves.

If constipation is a problem, improve your transit time. The shorter the time stool sits in your colon, the less time microplastics have to damage and infiltrate your gut lining to jump into your bloodstream.

Don’t forget to work up a sweat either. Because chemicals like BPA have been found in sweat, exercise may be another way to help rid your body of these contaminants.

Sources:

Microplastics make their way from the gut to other organs, UNM researchers find — EurekAlert!

In Vivo Tissue Distribution of Polystyrene or Mixed Polymer Microspheres and Metabolomic Analysis after Oral Exposure in Mice — Environmental Health Perspectives

The post Microplastics: From your gut to your kidneys, liver and brain appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

According to Stanford researchers, specific biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s that explain what’s happening to our bodies to make us feel this way.

In other words, instead of gradually aging year over year, we experience significant age-related changes during two specific times in our lives.

Here’s what’s happening and why — and what you might do to lessen the effects…

How and when your body ages the most

Using years of data from 108 people, as well as blood and other biological samples, researchers were able to identify and follow age-related changes in more than 135,000 different molecules and microbes, for a total of nearly 250 billion distinct data points.

This is how they learned that — in more than 80 percent of the molecules in the human body — major changes happen at two distinct periods of life: your mid-40s and your early 60’s.

Specifically, in our 40s, significant changes occur in the number of molecules available to metabolize alcohol, caffeine and fats (think mid-life belly bulge!) — as well as those related to the development of heart disease.

During this time we also experience a major reduction in molecules that keep our skin and muscles strong and healthy.

Then, when our 60s roll around, changes occur related to carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, and an increase in inflammatory cytokines that weaken the immune system.

On top of more heart-related changes, kidney function can begin to suffer. No wonder older adults are prone to type 2 diabetes, and heart and kidney disease.

So, if you’ve passed 40 or 60 and feel like your best days are behind you — you’re not the only one. But while science is just now figuring out the mechanics of aging, an unsung hero of the nutritional world could help you “feel like” you’ve turned back the clock…

Combat the ‘aging decades’

Back in the 1970s, the amino acid dimethylglycine, called DMG for short, was used by athletes to give them a performance edge. But DMG turned out to be much more than a performance enhancer…

Doctors began getting feedback from patients that it provided relief for chronic joint pain, restored concentration and focus, got their cholesterol and triglyceride levels back in check — and many other age-related symptoms.

That’s when researchers started digging and backing up these claims. They found…

DMG supports heart health. Research from Clemson University showed that DMG supports the heart and blood vessels by slowing the rate of degeneration and supporting oxygen function.

DMG supports immune health. Research in The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine showed that DMG acted as an immune modulator, enhancing the immune system’s ability to respond to foreign invaders by boosting the production of T-cells, B-cells and macrophages to guard against infection.

DMG and cognition. Based on testimonies found in The Townsend Letter, alternative health practitioners from all over have shared that DMG boosts brain function including memory, cognition and focus.

Overall, it’s involved in at least 41 different processes in your body and is needed by every single cell. Your body can’t create certain hormones, neurotransmitters or even DNA without it.

I could go on and on about DMG’s potential for relieving inflammation, reducing oxidative damage, supporting detoxification and healthy circulation — and more. But I think by now you get my point: It could be a valuable tool in the fight against the ravages of aging.

DMG is an essential amino acid, meaning our bodies can make it. You have to get it through your diet, from foods like beans, cereal grains, brown rice, pumpkin seeds and liver. But unless you get ample amounts of these foods daily, to get the therapeutic amount your body needs, consider supplementing.

Sources:

Massive biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s, Stanford Medicine researchers find – EurekAlert!

The post Feel like your body fell apart after 40? Here’s why appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

One example is how closely our body’s metabolic system, which processes food into energy and maintains our blood sugar levels, works with our kidneys and our heart.

If something goes wrong with one of these three, it often leads to problems with the others.

In fact, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease overlap so much that last year the American Heart Association coined the term cardiovascular–kidney–metabolic (CKM) syndrome to describe people with two or more of these diseases.

But CKM syndrome also applies to people who are at risk for just one of these diseases.

Are you one of those people?

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What is CKM syndrome?

Only 15 percent of Americans meet the criteria for the advanced stages of CKM syndrome (they’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease).

However, an alarming 90 percent of American adults already show signs of one of these conditions.

CKM syndrome is a vicious cycle that usually begins with insulin resistance.

As blood sugar levels rise, blood vessels stiffen, making the heart work harder to help blood cells and nutrients squeeze through tight, inflexible vessels.

The increasing blood pressure that results is like kerosene on a fire. It triggers inflammation throughout the body.

This inflammation, combined with insulin resistance, drives up levels of triglycerides and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which contribute to plaque buildup in blood vessels. Eventually, the plaque can rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke.

Next stop: kidney damage

When blood sugar, blood pressure and triglycerides are elevated, blood flow to the kidneys is reduced, which causes scarring to the cells that filter the blood.

When your kidneys don’t filter blood as well as they should, an imbalance of fluid, hormones, acids and salts builds up in the body.

This further drives inflammation, which makes it even more difficult for the body to keep blood sugar in check.

And so the cycle continues.

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Be proactive: lower your risks now

Any of the following could be signs of developing kidney disease:

• high blood pressure
• puffiness around the eyes
• swelling of feet and hands
• blood in the urine
• painful or difficult urination
• more frequent urination, especially at night
• feeling cold all the time

As with most things, nutrition is key to preventing insulin resistance and keeping your body from entering this vicious cycle.

One study found that, particularly for women,15 millimoles per liter (mmol) of antioxidants per day should be your goal to achieve the maximum benefit of lowering your diabetes risk by over 25 percent.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Drink about 3 cups of pomegranate juice
• Drink about 2.5 cups of coffee
• Drink about 4 cups of green tea
• Eat about 8 ounces of sunflower seeds
• Eat about 25 ounces of strawberries
• Eat about 22 ounces of prunes
• Eat about 6 ounces of pecans

When you add those kinds of foods to your diet, you are also on your way to meeting one of the six ways to keep kidney disease from striking — all of which overlap with healthy practices that also promote heart health.

Be sure to eat thiamine-rich foods — because the vitamin has been found to slow, protect, and reverse kidney damage in the early stages. Avoid processed foods at all costs.

Sources:

Diabetes Often Leads to Heart and Kidney Disease, Too — NY Times

Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association — Circulation

Prevalence of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Stages in US Adults, 2011-2020 — JAMA Network

Diabetes – A Major Risk Factor for Kidney Disease — National Kidney Foundation

The post A vicious cycle: diabetes, heart and kidney disease appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Kidney damage from diabetes is called diabetic nephropathy. Diabetes injures the small blood vessels in the kidneys, so they cannot clean the blood properly.

And shockingly, in a study presented to the American Diabetes Association, primary care physicians failed to diagnose kidney disease in a mind-boggling 88 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes, even though diabetes is a primary risk factor for kidney failure.

That means if you have blood sugar problems, you need to be vigilant about the health of your kidneys — and that starts with understanding the direct threat to your body’s detoxification process and how to stop it in its tracks…

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Aiding the detoxification process

The research, performed at the University of Cordoba and the Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research in Spain, followed more than 500 diabetics over a period of 5 years.

They set out to compare the effects of two types of healthy diets on the amount of a dangerous toxin that can build up in the body: the Mediterranean diet and another low-fat diet richer in carbohydrates.

Specifically, they wanted to learn how these diets might change levels of Advanced Glycation End Products, or AGEs.

AGEs are molecules that are produced naturally in the body and can be ingested through the diet, but spell danger for the kidneys as levels build thanks to their inflammatory and oxidizing properties.

The people in whom they are most likely to build up are those with blood sugar problems, since diabetic patients with kidney problems have more trouble eliminating them.

Luckily, the results of the study are good news for diabetics everywhere…

Patients who had eaten a Mediterranean diet during those years had lower levels of these harmful compounds in their blood. “We were able to verify that this diet better activates the detoxification process; that is, the mechanism by which the body eliminates these harmful substances,” said Francisco Miguel Gutiérrez, one of the study’s authors.

By leveling up that detoxification, the kidneys can banish those AGEs stopping the further damage that would otherwise occur as they back up.

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Going Mediterranean is easy

The relationship between AGEs and kidney disease was already known, but the study is the first demonstration of “how a defined dietary pattern can mitigate the deterioration of kidney function in diabetic patients,” according to researcher Elena Yubero.

The good news, too, is that following the Mediterranean diet doesn’t have to be hard or feel restrictive.

Although the Mediterranean diet emphasizes good oils, like antioxidant-rich olive oil, fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds and inflammation-fighting omega-3s from fatty fish, it’s also less restrictive of other foods than most think.

That’s because previous studies have found adding meats like pork back into the Mediterranean diet can still offer big benefits.

And other research has shown that eating cheese on the diet can make it even healthier for your body.

If you have diabetes and switch to a Mediterranean diet, you’ll also be doing something good for your bones…

That’s because a growing body of evidence has also indicated not only do AGEs play a significant role in the progression of classical diabetes complications, but also in diabetic osteopathy.

Sources:

A study demonstrates one of the reasons why the Mediterranean diet improves kidney health in patients with diabetes — EurekAlert!

The post The diet that ‘detoxes’ diabetic kidney danger appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

You likely have metabolic syndrome if you’re affected by three or more of the following symptoms:

• Abdominal fat
• High blood pressure
• High blood sugar
• High blood triglycerides, which can raise your levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol
• Low HDL, the “good” kind of cholesterol

Now most of us know that metabolic syndrome is sort of a stern warning to get your “house” in order before heart problems could develop.

But one thing most of us don’t know is that it can increase our risks for certain cancers.

For instance, having metabolic syndrome raises your breast cancer risk by 17 percent. You’re also more likely to get liver or colon cancer if you have metabolic syndrome.

And the worse your metabolic syndrome gets, the higher your risk…

Metabolic syndrome progression and cancer risk

A team of researchers in China recruited 44,115 adults in China with an average age of 49 and divided them into four different groups based on metabolic syndrome scores maintained over four years: low, moderate-low, moderate-high and elevated-increasing.

Compared with participants with a low-stable trajectory pattern in metabolic syndrome scores, those with an elevated-increasing trajectory pattern saw their cancer risks skyrocket:

• 1.3 times higher risk of any cancer
• 1.6 times higher risk of liver cancer
• 2.1 times higher risk of breast cancer
• 2.5 times higher risk of colorectal cancer
• 3.3 times higher risk of endometrial cancer
• 4.5 times higher risk of kidney cancer

Even when compared with the combined low-stable, moderate-low and moderate-high pattern groups, the elevated-increasing trajectory pattern group had higher risks of developing all cancer types.

In addition, participants with persistently high metabolic syndrome scores and chronic inflammation had the highest risks of developing breast, endometrial, colon and liver cancers.

By contrast, high risk of kidney cancer was mostly observed among participants with persistently high metabolic scores but without chronic inflammation.

People with metabolic syndrome tend to have higher levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) compared to those without metabolic syndrome. This chronic low-grade inflammation could contribute to the development of various cancers. Incorporating CRP assessment for patients with metabolic syndrome could help identify additional individuals at high risk of developing cancer, allowing for targeted early diagnosis and prevention.

“This research suggests that proactive and continuous management of metabolic syndrome may serve as an essential strategy in preventing cancer,” says senior author Dr. Han-Ping Shi of Capital Medical University in Beijing.

“Our study can guide future research into the biological mechanisms linking metabolic syndrome to cancer, potentially resulting in targeted treatments or preventive strategies,” Shi says. “Formal evaluation of these interventions will be needed to determine if they are able to modulate cancer risk.” 

Key ways to lower your risks for both dangers

This study adds to the pile of reasons for managing your metabolic health. And there are a few key ways to start…

A study published in 2020 that began decades earlier found that light physical exercise protected people with metabolic syndrome. Over 20 years, participants were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease — as well as other diseases linked to metabolic syndrome, and that could certainly include cancer.

But if you want to ramp it up, try aerobics combined with strength training — an exercise combo found to help ward off at least 6 types of cancers including kidney cancer.

In addition to exercise, follow a healthy diet higher in whole foods, like the DASH diet, and avoid ultra-processed foods. Ultra-processed foods not only have an outrageous association with all-cause mortality, but with several types of cancers and, you guessed it, metabolic syndrome.

Also, get enough vitamin D. Insufficient vitamin D levels may raise your risk of metabolic syndrome by 18 percent.

Other nutrients that can help protect against metabolic syndrome include vitamin C, resveratrol and flavonoids like anthocyanins. Eating five to 10 servings of fruit a day, particularly citrus fruits and purple fruits like grapes and plums, can help boost your levels of these nutrients.

Lastly, consider drinking hibiscus tea. In a review of studies involving the use of hibiscus in treating metabolic syndrome in animals and people, researchers found it often improved a number of metabolic syndrome measures. 

Sources:

Does worsening metabolic syndrome increase the risk of developing cancer? — EurekAlert!

The association of metabolic syndrome scores trajectory patterns with risk of all cancer types — Cancer

What is Metabolic Syndrome? — National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

The post The ‘cluster condition’ that raises kidney cancer risk almost 5 times appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In contrast, about 250,000 people a year die of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

But here’s the thing…

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among people with CKD. And CKD can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease by two to fifty times. 

CVD and CKD often occur together and share many of the same risk factors — including older age, diabetes and high blood pressure.

So it’s no surprise that the salt shaker on your kitchen table is one of your worst enemies if you want to prevent both CKD and CVD.

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What your kidneys do for you

Every day, your two kidneys filter about 150 quarts of blood, producing about two quarts of urine full of wastes and excess fluid.

Your kidneys do other jobs as well:

• keep sodium, potassium and phosphate levels healthy
• regulate blood pressure
• make red blood cells
• help strengthen bones

Study links salting food to more kidney disease

That first bullet point above is a big clue. Without healthy functioning kidneys, sodium builds up in the body.

And previous research has shown that high salt intake can increase the amount of protein in the urine — a major risk factor for kidney function decline.

Most of us have long been aware that salt can have a major impact on our health. But adding a dash here and there, well, where is the harm in that?

That’s exactly what researchers at Tulane and Harvard Universities partnered together to look into.

Accessing 465,288 subjects from the UK Biobank, a large, long-term study in the UK that aims to investigate the roles genes and environmental factors play in disease, subjects self-reported how much salt they used.

According to the researchers, the association was clear: Higher self-reported frequency of adding salt to foods was significantly associated with a higher CKD risk.

Compared with those who reported “never or rarely” adding salt to food — those who reported “sometimes” adding salt to food, those who reported “usually” adding salt to food and those who reported always adding salt to food had an increased risk of CKD.

“In conclusion, our study indicates that the higher self-reported frequency of adding salt to foods is significantly associated with a higher risk of CKD. These findings support the reduction of adding salt to foods as a potential intervention strategy for CKD prevention.”

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Lay off the salt and eat like this

A large majority of adults with chronic kidney disease also have metabolic syndrome.

And metabolic syndrome is a jumping board to heart trouble. That means if blood pressure is creeping along with weight, blood sugar levels and triglycerides, heed the wake-up call.

The heart-healthy DASH diet that’s often recommended for people with chronic kidney disease can help tremendously with these metabolic syndrome factors. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and its emphasis on low salt intake and eating foods containing potassium, calcium and magnesium has been known to lower blood pressure in as little as 14 days.

The DASH diet promotes low-fat meat and diary, nuts and seeds and 4 to 5 daily servings each of leafy green vegetables and fruit.

Vegetables and fruits are alkaline foods that can help lower dietary acid load. The kidneys normally help to regulate blood pH, but if kidney health declines and can no longer carry on that function as well, then some experts believe a diet that reduces acid load could improve outcomes in CKD.

Avoid processed and ultra-processed food. It’s a sure bet any of those foods will have sodium amounts far and above what would be considered good for anyone.

Sources:

Self-reported frequency of adding salt to food and risk of incident chronic kidney disease — Eureka Alert

Self-Reported Frequency of Adding Salt to Food and Risk of Incident Chronic Kidney Disease — JAMA

Chronic Kidney Disease Basics — CDC

Alkaline Diets and Kidney Disease — American Society for Nutrition

The post From kidney disease to heart disease: How much salt matters appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

They’re finding that biological age is a much more accurate measure of health than birthdate.

Biological age is based on the health and condition of your cells — and can leave you much younger or older on the inside than your chronological age indicates.

And research shows you don’t have just one biological age…

It turns out a person’s organs can age separately from one another.

A team of international researchers decided to dig deeper into this phenomenon, and what it means for us…

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An age for every organ and what it means

“Numerous studies have come up with single numbers representing individuals’ biological age — the age implied by a sophisticated array of biomarkers — as opposed to their chronical age, the actual numbers of years that have passed since their birth,” says the study’s senior author Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray, a professor at Stanford University.

This study went a step further — by coming up with distinct ages for each of 11 key organs, organ systems or tissues including:

• The heart
• The lungs
• The kidneys
• The liver,
• The pancreas
• The brain
• Immune system
• Muscle
• Fat
• Vasculature
• And intestine.

They were also able to gauge not only an organ’s accelerated aging but also its susceptibility to disease and death.

To do so, the researchers identified nearly 900 organ-specific proteins from the blood work of just under 1,400 participants. Their ages spanned 20 to 90, but most were in the mid- to late stages of life.  

Then they compared the control groups’ organs’ biological age for each individual with its counterparts among a large group of people without obvious severe diseases and found that almost 20 percent of those aged 50 or older had at least one organ aging significantly more rapidly than the average.

That means about 1 in 5 reasonably healthy adults 50 or older has at least one organ that’s aging too fast, probably without knowing about it — and those individuals were at heightened risk for disease in that particular organ in the next 15 years.

Fortunately, only about 1 in 60 had two organs undergoing accelerated aging. But those unlucky few had 6.5 times the mortality risk of a person without any rapidly aging organs.

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The risks for specific organs

Next, the researchers identified age gaps for 10 of the 11 organs studied that indicated a 15 to 50 percent higher future risk of death from all causes over 15 years of follow-up, depending on the organ affected.

When looking at specific organs, they found:

• People with accelerated heart aging who initially exhibited no active disease or abnormal biomarkers had a 2.5 times higher risk of heart failure than people with hearts aging at a normal rate.
• Those whose brains were aging faster had a 1.8 times higher risk of showing cognitive decline over five years than those with younger brains. Plus, either accelerated brain or vasculature aging predicted risk for Alzheimer’s disease progression just as accurately as currently used clinical biomarkers.
• Strong links between a fast-aging kidney score and both hypertension and diabetes,
• Strong associations between an extreme aging heart score and both atrial fibrillation and heart attack.

“If we can reproduce this finding in 50,000 or 100,000 individuals, it will mean that by monitoring the health of individual organs in apparently healthy people, we might be able to find organs that are undergoing accelerated aging in people’s bodies, and we might be able to treat people before they get sick,” Wyss-Coray says.

So what can we do to slow our organs’ aging?

Well, phenotypic age may be close to what the Standford researchers used to determine organ age. Phenotypic age is a measure of age based on the results of nine blood markers for metabolism, inflammation and organ function, including glucose, C-reactive protein, and creatinine.

The American Heart Association says following Lifes’s Essential 8 can reduce that kind of aging by six years.

Their list includes many of these healthy practices:

• Exercise to slow brain aging;
• Eating healthy. Avoid processed foods which shorten telomeres and trigger faster aging;
• And managing stress levels that can age DNA.

Lastly, don’t forget good nutrition. Vitamin deficiencies can reduce your longevity.

Sources:

Stanford Medicine-led study finds way to predict which of our organs will fail first — Stanford Medicine

Organ aging signatures in the plasma proteome track health and disease — Nature

The post Your organs may be aging faster: What it means for you appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Supposedly, there’s evidence backing each one of these plans. And for some diets, like the Mediterranean diet, that’s true. However, for others (like carnivore), a lot of that “evidence” is anecdotal at best.

In the case of one illness, however, it looks like hard science may be coming down on the side of plants. For the first time ever, there’s proof that plant-based diets, like veganism and vegetarian diets, can improve two key markers of health for people looking to avoid metabolic diseases, like diabetes — but there’s one caveat…

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Why plant-based eating works — except when it doesn’t

It’s estimated that at least 75 percent of type 2 diabetes cases could be avoided by adopting a better diet. A team of international researchers decided to explore the benefits of a plant-based diet in lowering diabetes risk using data from the UK Biobank, a cohort study of participants who were ages 40 to 69 at the start of the study.

Of the 113,097 study participants 2,628 developed type 2 diabetes over 12 years of follow-up. After analyzing associations between healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets and type 2 diabetes risk, they investigated which cardiometabolic risk factors explained the connections.

The results were impressive. Participants eating the healthiest plant-based diet — one with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole-grain products — reduced their risk of diabetes by 24 percent. That risk reduction even held for those with a genetic predisposition and other risk factors such as obesity, advanced age or a lack of physical activity that can really stack the odds.

However, there’s one big caveat…

Those who ate an unhealthy plant-based diet that included sweets, refined grains and sugary drinks had a 37 percent higher increased risk of diabetes — proving that you can’t just shun meat and dairy and call it healthy.

This isn’t the first study to indicate that a healthy plant-based diet, done right, can reduce diabetes risk. But it is the first to note that the antidiabetic effect of a healthy plant-based diet go well beyond lower body fat and waist circumference to key biomarkers of metabolic processes…

• It confirmed that normal values for triglycerides, blood sugar, inflammatory parameters and insulin-like growth factor are linked with a reduced risk of diabetes ;
• And also that it benefits the health of two key organs: the liver and kidneys.

The liver and kidneys play an important role in diabetes prevention. “Our research has now shown that a healthy plant-based diet can improve liver and kidney function and thus reduce the risk of diabetes,” says Tilman Kühn, a professor at MedUni Vienna and the University of Vienna, who led the study in close collaboration with researchers from Queen’s University Belfast.

He added, “Our study is the first to identify biomarkers of central metabolic processes and organ functions as mediators of the health effects of a plant-based diet.”

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The right way to go plant-based

One thing that’s clear from this study: A truly healthy plant-based only develops its protective effects if ultra-processed and highly sugary foods are reduced.

This backs up previous research that eating more healthy plant-based foods is the ticket. The researchers specifically named high consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, tea and coffee as being the best at reducing diabetes risk and improving kidney and liver function.

Purple produce, especially, has a reputation for pushing back at blood sugar problems. Fruits and vegetables with these color pigments contain anthocyanins, a group of polyphenol antioxidants that have been found to reduce the risk of diabetes by affecting energy metabolism.

Berries are my favorite way to get a burst of purple. One reason is that researchers have shown munching on berries can help you consume significantly less food throughout the day.

Don’t forget the risk of developing a B12 deficiency on a vegetarian diet. Be sure to supplement.

Sources:

1. Healthy plant-based diet reduces diabetes risk by 24 per cent — EurekAlert!

2. A healthful plant-based diet is associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk via improved metabolic state and organ function: A prospective cohort study — Diabetes & Metabolism

The post The diet that takes diabetes down, except when it doesn’t appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The whole idea of keto is to trigger ketosis, a process in which the body starts burning fat for energy instead of glucose. It’s considered a healthy way to get rid of belly fat and achieve low insulin levels, which in turn lowers blood sugar levels. Studies also show that it has the potential to help with epilepsy, asthma and cancer.

In the past, keto has been seen as problematic for some people with liver, kidney, pancreas or gallbladder disease. However, recent evidence has emerged that could put one of those concerns to rest — at least in some cases…

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The impact of keto on PKD

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disease in which cysts form in the kidneys, causing them to enlarge and hindering their ability to effectively filter and remove waste from the body. PKD can be painful and often results in the need for dialysis and kidney transplantation.

There is no cure for PKD, and patients are often told that their diet doesn’t make a difference. However, a group of international researchers decided to challenge that belief by taking a closer look at the impact of different diets on PKD.

The researchers recruited 66 PKD patients and randomly put them in one of three groups. The control group received routine PKD counseling. The second group underwent a three-day water fast every month, and the third group followed a low-carb, high-fat keto diet. The patients were closely followed for three months with blood draws and MRI scans.

At the end of the trial period, the researchers found that while the control group experienced the expected growth in the size of their kidneys, the kidneys of the patients on the keto diet stopped growing and even showed a tendency to shrink slightly. The shrinkage wasn’t statistically significant, the researchers say.

That wasn’t the unexpected part. The researchers also found that kidney function improved measurably in the keto group.

“To everyone’s great surprise, kidney function actually improved with the ketogenic diet,” says UC Santa Barbara biologist Thomas Weimbs, whose lab was part of the international collaboration. “And that was a hard outcome of statistical significance.”

Kidney function was measured by the concentration of a protein called cystatin C. When concentrations of this protein in the blood are higher than normal, it indicates the kidney’s filtration system is starting to falter. This symptom worsened in the control group.

“I’m really happy about these clinical trial results,” Weimbs says. “We now have the first evidence in humans that the cysts really don’t like to be in ketosis and that they don’t seem to grow.”

Before this, Weimbs’ lab has been researching the cell mechanisms that underlie PKD and other kidney diseases in mouse models. In an earlier study, they found that kidney cysts shrunk in mice that underwent caloric restriction, which led them to pursue the human trials of keto in PKD.

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Keto is just the start

This is the first randomized controlled clinical trial of ketogenic metabolic therapy for PKD.

Patients rated the keto diet “highly feasible” during the study, indicating they were able and motivated to control their condition through diet alone.

“Doctors often assume that their patients cannot adhere to a diet anyway, so they don’t even try,” Weimbs says. “Clearly, this is not true. People with PKD are highly motivated to do something about their condition.”

The next step for the researchers is to conduct clinical trials to assess the efficacy of a medical food specifically developed to assist PKD patients in reaching ketosis. The study will follow 80 patients in Toronto and 200 in Tokyo for a year to see if the medical food in combination with the Ren.Nu plant-focused keto diet is effective.

Weimbs developed the Ren.Nu keto diet in collaboration with renal dieticians specifically for people with PKD. It reduces the focus on meat, which may not be the best option for people with kidney disease, and has four key components:

• Plant-focused, low protein, and alkaline
• Allows people to achieve ketosis
• Avoids renal stressors such as oxalate, uric acid and phosphate that lead to microcrystal formation
• Controls for sodium and encourages hydration

Still, Weimbs notes, there is no one ketogenic diet that fits everyone. He recommends PKD patients consult with their physicians and nutritionists before undertaking any new dietary regimen.

Sources:

Clinical trial demonstrates that the ketogenic diet is effective at controlling polycystic kidney disease — ScienceDaily

Feasibility and impact of ketogenic dietary interventions in polycystic kidney disease: KETO-ADPKD—a randomized controlled trial — Cell Reports Medicine

Ketosis — Cleveland Clinic

The Science Behind the Nutrition — Ren.Nu

The post Keto: The diet that combats polycystic kidney disease appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Well, there’s a new health syndrome in town that you need to know about.

The American Heart Association predicts that a third of all adults in the United States are at risk of developing this syndrome, which they say can negatively affect almost every major organ in the body.

The syndrome involves an “overlap” of four major diseases we already know about.

Here’s everything you need to know.

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What is CKM syndrome?

CKM syndrome, or cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, acknowledges the shared risk factors for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

You may already know that Type 2 diabetes and obesity are part of a cluster of conditions that make up metabolic syndrome.

According to the AHA, one in three U.S. adults has three or more of these risk factors, and combining metabolic syndrome with kidney disease can be deadly.

These conditions not only overlap, but one can cause another, and so on. They also increase the risk for heart-related problems including stroke, heart attack and heart failure.

In fact, for people with chronic kidney disease, the most frequent cause of death is cardiovascular disease.

CKM affects nearly every major organ in the body, including the heart, brain, kidneys and liver.

Its biggest impact is on the cardiovascular system. It affects heart muscle function, the rate of fatty buildup in the arteries and electrical impulses in the heart.

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The stages of CKM syndrome

In its recently released Presidential Advisory, the AHA outlines four progressive stages of CKM.

Determining where someone stands in this hierarchy can help determine their level of risk for CKM and what actions to take.

One thing you should know, though: this isn’t just for “older folks.” The AHA recommends that screening for signs of CKM should begin as early as age 30.

• Stage 0. You have no risk factors. The goal at this stage is preventing CKM syndrome by achieving and maintaining ideal health based on the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 recommendations. Eat a heart-healthy diet and be active for at least 30 minutes per day.
• Stage 1: There are early warning signs of CKM. You may have excess body fat, especially belly fat (visceral fat). You may also have prediabetes. To prevent moving to Stage 2, follow the prevention recommendations for Stage 0 and lose at least 5% of your body weight.
• Stage 2: You’re starting to show risks of CKM, including kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. You probably have developed kidney disease. To keep from getting to Stage 3, get your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar checked by a doctor yearly, and follow your doctor’s instructions to keep kidney disease from getting worse.
• Stage 3: You’re starting to see heart and blood vessel problems. Prevention is the same, but don’t be fooled; while you may not have clear symptoms of heart disease, your blood vessels are starting to feel the strain.
• Stage 4: You now have clear signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease. You may have had a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure. In stage 4a, your kidneys haven’t failed… yet. In stage 4b, you’re looking at kidney failure.

The four diseases included in CKM syndrome are not new. What’s new is that the AHA has officially grouped them into a condition of their own. This can help inform doctors on how to treat patients with these conditions.

If you have any of these conditions and start following these recommendations today, you might never have to experience any part of CKM syndrome. And if you do, you’ll have some clear guidance on how to keep living and even reversing these conditions.

Sources:

Third of all adults across US at risk of developing major new heart syndrome — MSN.com

Heart disease risk, prevention and management redefined — American Heart Association

What you need to know about CKM syndrome — American Kidney Fund

Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association — Circulation

The post Kidney disease and cluster conditions lead to dangerous heart syndrome appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But sunscreen is far from perfect…

Conventional sunscreens are filled with chemicals. Based on what the FDA and the American Academy of Dermatology have always told us, these chemicals are safe. At least, in the doses we’re exposed to them in sunscreen. But I have my doubts. And I’m not the only one…

FDA researchers are starting to question the safety of conventional sunscreen too because their studies keep showing that our exposure to sunscreen chemicals is actually far higher than even they think is safe…

These sunscreen chemicals are seeping into your blood at dangerous levels

Researchers from the FDA have taken a closer look at six common chemicals in sunscreen sprays and lotions: octocrylene, homosalate, octisalate, avobenzone, octinoxate, and oxybenzone. What they found is alarming…

The FDA’s safe threshold for these chemicals is 0.5 nanograms (ng) per milliliter (mL) of blood plasma. They tested sunscreens containing these chemicals on 48 people, and guess what? Their blood concentration of these chemicals was higher than that. In fact, one of the chemicals — oxybenzone — had blood concentrations 360 times higher than the FDA’s safety threshold.

Even worse, blood concentrations of these chemicals stayed above the threshold for a long time —anywhere from seven to 21 days. Octocrylene, homosalate, octisalate, avobenzone, octinoxate, and oxybenzone stayed high for seven days after use. Homosalate and oxybenzone were still too high 21 days later.

Why is this worrisome? Well, there are a few reasons…

• Research shows oxybenzone can potentially cause cell damage that could contribute to skin cancer.
• In a 2017 study, octocrylene damaged DNA in aquatic animals.
• According to another 2017 study, avobenzone mixed with chlorine (the stuff found abundantly in swimming pools) has toxic effects on the kidney and liver.

Many of these chemicals are also linked to hormone disruption, which makes them endocrine disruptors. They can cause trouble from reproductive problems to thyroid diseases.

But even though these ingredients are under FDA scrutiny, they’ve not yet decided to ban them. According to information a the Environmental Working Group site, the FDA proposes these ingredients are “not generally recognized as safe and effective due to insufficient data.”

The secret to safer sun protection

As scary as this all is, I’m not going to tell you to chuck your sunscreen. There’s too much evidence that protecting yourself from UV exposure reduces your risk of skin cancer. I am going to tell you to look for a safer type of sun protection…

There are UV filters with a lower risk of toxicity. Two of them are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. But you’ll need to pay attention to more than the active ingredients in your sunscreen. Inactive ingredients like the vitamin A derivative retinyl palmitate and parabens come with serious health baggage too.

So, before you purchase another bottle of sunscreen, I recommend looking at the Environmental Working Group’s safe sunscreen database to find an option that protects you from the sun without putting you at risk for other health concerns.

Oh, and eat more grapes for an added layer of protection, in addition to practicing sensible sun exposure. Multiple studies have found that eating grapes protected against UV skin damage, increased resistance to sunburn and reduced cellular markers of UV damage. 

Sources:

1. Sunscreens leach up to 360 times more toxic chemicals into the blood than the FDA allows, raising risks for liver and kidney failure, study finds —The Daily Mail
2. Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients — JAMA
3. The Trouble With Ingredients in Sunscreens — Environmental Working Group
4. Is sunscreen bad for you — The Cleveland Clinic

The post 6 common sunscreen chemicals aren’t safe even by FDA standards appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But did you know that one of the most dangerous and prevalent side effects of type 2 diabetes is damage to your kidneys?

As with many aspects of this disease, the damage gradually worsens over the years, often to the point of renal failure which results in dialysis and even organ replacement.

That’s why in addition to properly managing diabetes, it’s vitally important to be sure you’re not deficient in this one very important vitamin…

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Thiamin protects kidneys

In a study conducted by the Warwick Medical School in the UK, thiamine (known universally as vitamin B1) was found to slow, protect, and reverse kidney damage in the early stages! Professor Paul J. Thornalley and Dr. Naila Rabbani, who led the study at Warwick, published their results in the Diabetologia medical journal.

Diabetic nephropathy results in high emission of a protein in the urine called albumin. Patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were given high doses of vitamin B1 and showed a dramatic reduction of more than forty percent in the excretion of albumin! 35% of participants returned to normal urinary levels of the protein by the end of the investigation.

A prior study from Professor Thornalley’s team proved conclusively that type 2 diabetics suffer from thiamine deficiency, which may be the source of multiple vascular issues.

In the trial, forty subjects were given either a placebo or 300mg of thiamine daily over three months with fascinating results. Vascular dysfunction and albumin readings were greatly improved for those who received B1.

“This study once again highlights the importance of vitamin B1 and we need to increase awareness. [We] are planning a foundation at the University of Warwick to further education and research in thiamine deficiency,” noted Dr. Rabbani.

The American Diabetes Association released data that diabetics account for almost half of the kidney failure cases diagnosed each year. It is known to be one of the leading causes of kidney failure.

B1 is a vitamin that is well tolerated by the body overall. Three doses of 100mg of B1 daily is a safe and inexpensive way to protect your kidneys from damage as a result of pre-diabetes, diabetes, and general kidney disease.

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Don’t forget your medicine in the form of food

As you know by now, I stand behind food as a cure.

Even if you’re taking B1 supplements, including some of these delicious and nutritious foods to your meal plan will benefit your total body. Raw or in salads provide the greatest benefit of B1 since cooking causes a loss of more than a quarter of the vitamin content.

Five of the best foods rich in B-1 (Thiamine) are:

1. Brewer’s yeast – the food product with the highest concentration of B1
2. Grains and cereals – wheat germ, rice, and oatmeal
3. Meat and fish – tuna is highest followed by pork and poultry
4. Dried fruits, seeds, and nuts – sunflower seeds, peanuts, pecans, and raisins specifically
5. Green veggies – Brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, peas, and avocado

There are many benefits of adding more thiamine to your daily life. You don’t hear a lot about vitamin B1 because it isn’t as popular in the media as vitamin C or E and not as interesting to most researchers as vitamin D.

Yet it is essential to your body and required for some of your critical bodily systems to function properly. It carries out metabolic tasks such as converting carbs to fuel, protects your kidneys, safeguards your central nervous system, and regulates mood.

Ignoring the importance of vitamin B1 is dangerous. So don’t do that!

Add a combination of food and supplements of this crucial (and often overlooked) vitamin to your daily life and protect your kidneys.

When supplementing choose a quality brand and follow the manufacturer’s suggestion for serving amount. If you have questions, ask your doctor.

Sources:

1. Vitamin B1 Could Reverse Early-stage Kidney Disease In Diabetes Patients — University of Warwick
2. The potential role of thiamine (vitamin B1) in diabetic complications. — Current Diabetes Review
3. Kidney Disease (Nephropathy) — American Diabetes Association

The post The vitamin everyone needs (especially diabetics) for kidney protection appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But what you may not know is how many health benefits coffee delivers.

In fact, over the past 20 years, it’s been shown that drinking coffee on a regular basis is associated with the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver disease.

And the benefits of coffee just keep adding up.

That’s because according to recent research published in the journal Kidney International Reports drinking any quantity of coffee daily could also protect your kidneys.

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Protecting against acute kidney injury

In a  study that involved over 14,200 participants and spanned 24 years, researchers found that drinking coffee could help you avoid one of the worst things that can happen to your kidneys.

Known as acute kidney injury, or AKI, it’s described by the National Kidney Foundation, as a “sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days.”

When it occurs, waste products build up in your blood, making it hard for your kidneys to maintain the correct balance of fluids in your body and you experience symptoms like:

• Too little urine leaving your body
• Swelling in your legs and ankles, and around your eyes
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Confusion; nausea
• Chest pain

And in severe cases, you can even end up with seizures or in a coma.

Luckily, it looks like drinking coffee can help you protect yourself from this kidney danger.

After dividing participants up by the amount of coffee they consumed daily, the researchers found that those who drank any quantity of coffee every day had a 15 percent lower risk of AKI.

Even better, people who drank two to three cups a day benefited from a 22 to 23 percent lower risk.

And even after accounting for comorbidities, like blood pressure problems, diabetes and poor kidney function, people who enjoyed a cup of joe daily grabbed an 11 percent lower risk of developing AKI.

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The mechanism of kidney protection

“We suspect that the reason for coffee’s impact on AKI risk may be that either biologically active compounds combined with caffeine or just the caffeine itself improves perfusion and oxygen utilization within the kidneys,” says Chirag Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nephrology and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Good kidney function and tolerance to AKI is dependent on a steady blood supply and oxygen.”

And he continues, “Caffeine has been postulated to inhibit the production of molecules that cause chemical imbalances and the use of too much oxygen in the kidneys. Perhaps caffeine helps the kidneys maintain a more stable system.”

Who’s at risk of acute kidney injury?

Most cases of AKI are caused by reduced blood flow to the kidneys. And those at highest risk are typically 65 or older and may have an existing kidney problem, like chronic kidney disease, or have diabetes, liver disease or heart failure.

Sources:

Coffee consumption link to reduced risk of acute kidney injury, study finds – ScienceDaily

The post The drink that protects against kidney damage appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But this little organ does a lot, storing bile until it’s needed by the small intestine to digest fats and carry away toxins produced by the liver.

Several years ago, my mom had to have her gallbladder removed in a procedure known as a cholecystectomy. She just had too many gallstones, and they were starting to cause a painful and dangerous blockage in the bile duct.

She didn’t suffer too many short-term side effects after the procedure, and the ones she did diminished over time.

However, growing research indicates the long-term repercussions of gallbladder removal may be a lot more serious — including cancer.

Gallbladder removal and cancer risk

For instance, one study showed in the year before their diagnosis, 4.7 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer had a diagnosis of gallstone disease, with 1.6 percent of them requiring gallbladder removal. By contrast, only 0.8 percent of non-cancer patients had gallstones, with 0.3 percent having their gallbladders removed.

Now there’s evidence of a second and bigger cancer risk associated with gallbladder problems…

Drawing on data from large prospective cohorts using Mendelian randomization — a method that uses measured variation in genes of known function to strengthen the causal effect of a modifiable exposure on disease in observational studies — an international team of researchers conducted a large two-part analysis exploring the link between gallbladder health and kidney cancer.

In the first part of the study, the researchers examined the risk of kidney cancer in more than 16 million individuals from a Swedish database who were followed for about 13 years. During that time, some experienced gallbladder removal. They took into account the age at which the cholecystectomy occurred, as well as the time between the gallbladder removal and kidney cancer diagnosis.

Next, the researchers studied the causal effect of gallstones on kidney cancer risk based on data from more than 400,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank.

In their analyses, the team discovered that:

• In the first 6 months after gallbladder surgery, the risk of developing kidney cancer shot up by a whopping 279 percent.
• Patients who had a cholecystectomy before the age of 40 saw a 55 percent increase in their kidney cancer risk compared with those who did not.
• The risk of kidney cancer increases by almost 10 percent for every doubling of gallstone prevalence.

Excess bile acids could be the problem

The researchers have a couple of theories about the gallstones-kidney cancer link…

Study leader Dr. Justo Lorenzo Bermejo of the Institute of Medical Biometry at Heidelberg University in Germany told MedPage Today that it’s possible gallbladder removal could result in increased excretion of bile acids, which could lead to oxidative stress and damage to the kidneys that could lead to kidney cancer.

“Another possible explanation is that excess bile acids lead to increased synthesis of secondary bile acids, which in turn can alter Wnt/β-catenin signaling and promote cancer,” Bermejo says. “The Wnt gene pathway regulates a huge array of cellular functions, including proliferation, differentiation, renewal and apoptosis [cellular death].”

The results also suggest type 2 diabetes and smoking may mediate the effect of gallstones on kidney cancer. Cigarette smoke releases harmful chemicals that spread to the kidneys and can damage DNA, making it harder for kidney cells to repair themselves.

Bermejo told MedPage Today the study emphasizes the compelling need to screen for and rule out kidney cancer before and during gallbladder removal. “It would also be important to inform patients undergoing cholecystectomy in their 30s about their increased risk of kidney cancer 25 to 30 years after surgery,” he adds.

Keeping a healthy gallbladder

This study is just one more reason to consider our gallbladders before things go bad. Start by understanding your risks…

The risk of gallbladder disease is higher for women, especially if pregnant, on hormone therapy or using birth control pills, or over the age of 60.

Other risk factors include a history of rapid or significant weight loss using very-low-kilocalorie diets,  increased fat and sugar intake, high cholesterol, diabetes, bariatric surgery and a sedentary lifestyle.

My colleague Joyce Hollman writes about six natural ways to reduce your risk of gallstones. The herb milk thistle has also been found to raise the solubility of bile, deterring the formation of gallstones.

The perfect diet for avoiding gallstone would look something like this:

• Five servings of fruit and vegetables
• Several servings of carbohydrates, preferably whole grain
• Two to three servings of low-fat milk or dairy products
• Lean protein, such as chicken, fish or beans

Focus on foods high in fiber and low in fat and sugar. Flax seed, salmon, walnuts and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids can also help lower your cholesterol. Gallstones are usually made up of cholesterol or bilirubin.

Sources:

Patients With Gallstones Should Undergo Kidney Cancer Screening — MedPage Today

Justo Bermejo on the Gallstone-Kidney Cancer Connection — MedPage Today

Gallstones, Cholecystectomy, and Kidney Cancer: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Results Based on Large Cohorts — Gastoenterology

Cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) — Mayo Clinic

Can you recommend a diet after gallbladder removal? — Mayo Clinic

Anti-gallstones Diet: What Foods to Eat and What to Avoid — University of Maryland Medical System

The post The crazy high cancer risk that comes after gallbladder surgery appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, it’s estimated that 73 percent of cases are from these two causes alone.

If you’re one of them, you know that it’s a disease that generally worsens over time.

Yet, it is possible to have CKD and not even know it. As much as 96 percent of people with kidney damage or with mildly reduced kidney function may not experience symptoms or only very mild ones, like fatigue and loss of appetite.

Luckily, a simple supplement may offer hope…

Antioxidant for metabolic disorders

Researchers from three universities got together to look into the problem of chronic kidney disease because of the danger it poses to every person who suffers from the condition — which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by two to fifty times and comes with a 50 percent mortality rate for patients with end-stage renal disease.

The team, made up of scientists from the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, and the Kashan University of Medical Sciences in Iran set out to perform a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials to evaluate the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on metabolic profiles of patients diagnosed with CKD.

The reason they focused on CoQ10 is that the antioxidant has been found to work as a complementary therapy for metabolic disorders.

It’s also been found that the circulating concentration of CoQ10 in patients with chronic kidney disease is low. All of this suggested that CoQ10 would be an ideal solution.

The team systemically reviewed seven scientific studies to evaluate the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on the metabolic profiles of patients diagnosed with CKD and found that it:

• Significantly reduced total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (which is significant because high cholesterol levels can cut off blood flow to the kidney resulting in loss of kidney function).
• Lowered the levels of malondialdehyde, which normally increases as kidney problems progress. Malondialdehyde level is commonly known as a marker of oxidative stress and the antioxidant status in cancerous patients.
• And, reduced creatinine levels (a chemical waste that goes up as the disease gets worse because proper filtration of blood decreases).

They concluded that CoQ10 supplementation significantly improved the metabolic profile in patients with chronic kidney disease.

CoQ10 is normally produced in the body, but production declines with age, beginning as early as our 20s. Fortunately, CoQ10 is available in supplement form.

If you’re currently being treated for CKD, talk with your physician before adding any supplement to your regimen.

An alkaline diet may also be a beneficial tool for avoiding the worsening of kidney disease. Because one of the functions of the kidneys is to remove acid from the blood, nutrition.org notes that “if kidney function declines and other tissues catabolize to maintain pH, then it is very plausible that manipulating the diet to reduce the acid load could spare tissues and improve outcomes.”

Sources:

1. National Chronic Kidney Disease Fact Sheet, 2017 — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2. Coenzyme Q10 supplementation on metabolic profiles of patients with chronic kidney disease — EurekAlert!
3. The Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Metabolic Profiles of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials — Current Pharmaceutical Design
4. Relationship between chronic kidney disease and metabolic syndrome: current perspectives — Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity
5. Cholesterol and Chronic Kidney Disease — DaVita Inc.
6. What Is Creatinine? — DaVita Inc.
7. Malondialdehyde can predict survival in hemodialysis patients — Clujul Medical
8. Chronic kidney disease and the global NCDs agenda — BMJ Global Health

The post How CoQ10 supports kidney health appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

My answer?  It’s a bit complicated.

A large study including over 100,000 patients with chronic kidney disease showed that statin use was associated with lower risk of death even after adjusting for age, gender, and presence of other health issues, regardless of severity of kidney dysfunction. So people with existing kidney disease need not fear statins.  Phew. 

Having said that, other studies have shown that statin use can be associated with deterioration in kidney function. Yikes.  

However, this finding is uncommon and seen primarily in people on high doses of the drugs. Small sigh of relief.

These are three observations that are not all necessarily pointing in the same direction so what’s the best way to put them together? 

Statins, kidneys and answers

Overall, statins are not worrisome when it comes to kidney function but as with any medication, it makes sense to use the lowest possible dose to attain your LDL goal — and to use lifestyle and especially diet to help you need less medication to get there. 

AND to take care of your kidneys in general! 

That means keeping your blood pressure readings under control, avoiding substances that are toxic to kidneys (like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and CT dye), keeping well hydrated to avoid developing kidney stones, and not going crazy with protein intake.

When it comes to a health issue like kidney disease, the condition is not due to just one big thing. It’s usually the combination of many little things that finally overwhelm the system and affects how well an organ system functions.

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A special note about diabetics… 

We know that diabetes can lead to kidney dysfunction, in large part by damaging renal blood vessels. However, the vascular effect of diabetes is not selective and causes damage in arteries everywhere — including heart and brain arteries. 

This makes diabetics highly susceptible to experiencing heart attacks and strokes — with a risk level similar to that of someone with already established heart disease. So very aggressive prevention strategies make sense, especially since heart disease and stroke (and not kidney disease) are the main reasons diabetics die.

No wonder the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Diabetes Association all recommend that people with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 40 and 75 take a statin — regardless of kidney function. 

Remember — there are three main groups that have been shown consistently to experience an outcome benefit from using statins: those with established heart or vascular disease, those with diabetes and those with familial hypercholesterolemia (very high LDL levels that are genetically driven). 

That means everyone else should try diet first. And even the three high-risk groups should incorporate dietary efforts to minimize the amounts of statins required to get them to their goal. Not only is that better for overall health, it sure is better for those kidneys!

The post Do statins hurt kidneys? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It’s the sixth most common cancer for men in the U.S., and the ninth most common cancer for women. Most people diagnosed with kidney cancer are between 65 and 74; the disease does not usually occur in people younger than age 45.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for about 85 percent of kidney cancer diagnoses. There are other forms, but they are rare.

In its earliest stages, kidney cancer often does not cause any noticeable symptoms. That means that most cases of RCC aren’t diagnosed until they’ve started to spread.

For this reason, you must be familiar with the symptoms of RCC, so you can catch them as soon as they appear and not allow tumors to spread even further without treatment.

Symptoms of kidney cancer

Believe it or not, the signs of malfunctioning kidneys are pretty easy to spot, if you know what you’re looking for.

If you experience a cluster of these symptoms, and if they’re new, become persistent, and can’t be attributed to any other condition, it’s time to see your doctor.

• Blood in your urine
• A lump or mass in your kidney area
• Flank pain (pain on either side of the lower back, between the pelvis and the ribs)
• Tiredness
• A general sense of not feeling well
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Low-grade fever
• Bone pain.
• High blood pressure
• Anemia
• High calcium.
• Excessive hair growth (in women)

How kidney cancer is diagnosed and treated

Your doctor will start with a urinalysis to test your urine for both blood and cancer cells.

They may also do a blood test, including a complete blood count to see if you have a healthy number of white and red blood cells and platelets. (People with kidney cancer often have anemia, where there aren’t enough red blood cells).

And if your doctor thinks a closer look is warranted, they may order one or several imaging tests (ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI).

If you do have kidney cancer, treatment options run the gamut from surgery to chemotherapy to radiation therapy, depending on the size of the tumor, its location, and whether it has spread to the lymph nodes or elsewhere.

How to lessen the risk of kidney cancer

There’s a lot you can do to reduce your risk of developing kidney cancer even if it runs in your family, or if you have another disease that increases your odds, such as polycystic kidney disease (an inherited condition that causes cysts to form in the kidneys), and kidney disease in general also increases the cancer risk.

Risk factors for renal cell carcinoma include:

• Obesity
• Hypertension
• Smoking
• Overuse of NSAIDs or acetaminophen

If you have kidney problems or are at risk for kidney disease, avoid an acidic diet. Higher dietary acid levels were strongly linked with the progression from kidney disease to full-blown kidney failure.

And the nutrient CoQ10 has been found to be a helpful complementary therapy for metabolic disorders — disorders that have been linked to kidney disease.

If you have a genetic risk of kidney cancer, you’ll want to make some lifestyle changes right away.

• Lose weight if you’re overweight or obese and maintain a healthy weight.
• Control stress in your life and monitor your blood pressure
• Quit smoking!
• Use alternative pain relief methods, i.e., meditation, massage, etc., and avoid constant use of over-the-counter pain medications

Hopefully, you can see that doing these things will not only lessen the risks of kidney cancer, but also support the health of your heart and lungs, and generally improve your quality of life as you get older.

Sources:

Guide to Kidney Cancer — Web MD

Kidney Cancer — Cleveland Clinic

Kidney Cancer: Statistics — cancer.net

The post Kidney cancer is silent, until it’s not: Know the symptoms appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And two of the most likely areas where secondary issues occur are your eyes and kidneys.

That’s because the small blood vessels in the eye are particularly susceptible to damage due to diabetes — damage that can lead to blurred vision or even blindness.

And while your kidneys aren’t as sensitive to high blood sugar levels as your eyes, the important small blood vessels in these organs can still be damaged, which can cause you to spill out proteins in your urine, impair your kidney function and eventually cause them to fail.

These secondary effects are why your doctor tells you that you have to keep your blood sugar under control.

And while the advice is great, it’s been missing something — the exact level your blood sugar should be at or below long-term to keep that damage away.

Luckily, that level has now been found thanks to research that spent up to 36 years following every adult and child under the age of 35 who developed type 1 diabetes in Sweden between 1983 and 1987.

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What’s your blood sugar number?

Specifically, the researchers kept track of the patients’ HbA1c values, which reflect their average blood sugar levels during a longer period. They also monitored the development of eye and kidney damage to assess risk.

And the results of their study, revealed the magic number to be 53.

While the team found that the blood sugar level in a healthy person is very closely controlled with a maximum HbA1c level of 42 mmol/mol, the target for diabetics is 53 mmol/mol or below.

“The results of our study show that people with type 1 diabetes for at least 32 years should keep their mean long-term sugar level below 53 mmol/mol (7.0%), if they are to completely avoid serious damage. The risk of eye- and kidney complications increases as the level increases,” said Hans Arnqvist, professor emeritus at Linköping University and leader of the study.

“Our conclusions relate to avoiding complications arising from blood vessel damage. But if a patient has problems with low blood sugar, hypoglycemia, it’s not possible to control the blood sugar level so strictly,” he continued.

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Controlling your blood sugar to save your eyes and kidneys

While diet is the best way to help keep your kidneys healthy when dealing with type 1 diabetes, by planning meals that balance the right amount of carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients to keep blood sugar in the healthy range, you can do more to support your eye health.

Lutein and zeaxanthin have a solid reputation for supporting the health of our eyes. That’s why they’re part of the nutritional supplement regimen for macular degeneration supported by the AREDS study. And why nutritionists encourage us to get plenty of these carotenoid pigments in foods like cantaloupe, corn, carrots, orange and yellow peppers, as well as fish, salmon and eggs.

Even though type 1 and type 2 diabetics have eye health concerns that are greater than most, these two eye-supporting nutrients still have much to offer. In fact, studies have found that higher lutein and zeaxanthin levels were associated with significantly lower odds of developing diabetic retinopathy.

So if you have problems keeping your blood sugar levels ideal, get with your endocrinologist to be sure you’re on the right track and talk to them about supporting your eyes with the right nutrition.

Sources:

Recommended blood sugar levels to avoid diabetes-related damage – ScienceDaily

Nutritional and medical food therapies for diabetic retinopathy — Biomedcentral.com

The post Are your blood sugar levels hurting your eyes and kidneys? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Only about 1 in 4 have it under control and chances are that many of them take not one medication but stack several to get their numbers where their doctors would like to see them.

These medications are designed to help their body get rid of excess fluids and take the strain off their heart and blood vessels to reduce their risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, maybe not…

The truth is that taking any medication comes with risks. And blood pressure drugs are no exception.

In fact, not only have blood pressure drugs been found to damage her kidneys over time, recent research has brought to light a new danger — one that comes from combining your blood pressure drugs with a common over-the-counter medication.

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A triple whammy for acute kidney injury

The research from the team at the University of Waterloo specifically focused on what happens to patients who use ibuprofen while taking two types of drugs often prescribed to lower blood pressure.

The high blood pressure drugs examined included diuretics which help your kidneys get rid of extra water and salt to make it easier for your heart to pump, such as:

• Aldactone
• Bumex
• Demadex
• Esidrix
• Lasix
• Zaroxolyn

And the other type of drugs were renin-angiotensin system (RSA) inhibitors (also known as ACE inhibitors), which help your blood vessels dilate to improve blood flow and reduce the force required for your heart to pump.

According to the Mayo Clinic, drugs in this category include:

• Benazepril (Lotensin)
• Captopril
• Enalapril (Vasotec)
• Fosinopril
• Lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril)
• Moexipril
• Perindopril
• Quinapril (Accupril)
• Ramipril (Altace)
• Trandolapril

The researchers used computer-simulated drug trials to model the interactions of the three drugs and their impact on the kidney. And the results showed that in people with certain medical profiles, the combination of ibuprofen and blood pressure medications can cause acute kidney injury, which in some cases can be permanent.

“It’s not that everyone who happens to take this combination of drugs is going to have problems,” said Anita Layton, professor of applied mathematics at Waterloo. “But the research shows it’s enough of a problem that you should exercise caution.”

Overall, when asked why taking the painkiller if you’re on high blood pressure meds should be avoided, Layton had this to say:

“Diuretics are a family of drugs that make the body hold less water. Being dehydrated is a major factor in acute kidney injury, and then the RAS inhibitor and ibuprofen hit the kidney with this triple whammy. If you happen to be on these hypertension drugs and need a painkiller, consider acetaminophen instead.”

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Natural options for pain relief

Of course, reaching for acetaminophen rather than ibuprofen isn’t your only option to relieve the inflammation causing your pain. Here are a few options to try:

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in abundance in fish oil derived from cod, trout, herring, salmon and other cold-water fish, help reduce the inflammation behind chronic pain. Research from Cardiff University in Great Britain shows that cod liver oil not only relieves pain but also helps alleviate morning stiffness, joint tissue regeneration and some of the difficulties of autoimmune diseases like RA, lupus and psoriasis. You can get a healthy dose as well from fish or krill oil supplements.

Turmeric, ginger and capsaicin from hot peppers can also help with inflammation and pain. Topical ointment containing capsaicin is a good option to apply directly to painful areas like the knee, elbow, lower back, shoulders and hips.

CBD oil has quite a bit of support for its pain-relieving properties. It’s been shown especially helpful for fibromyalgia pain.

Are you a fan of tart cherries? Research at Oregon Health & Science University suggests that tart cherries have the “highest anti-inflammatory content of any food” and can help people with osteoarthritis manage their pain. Studies by the same group show that runners can reduce their soreness with cherry juice.

Editor’s note: Have you heard of the entourage effect? Dozens of studies show it is now the most effective way to get the most out of a CBD supplement. If full-spectrum, doctor-approved, highly bioavailable CBD oil is for you, click here!

Sources:

Combining certain meds with ibuprofen can permanently injure kidneys — ScienceDaily

Facts about Hypertension — CDC

Blood Pressure Medicines — CDC

Diuretics (Water Pills) for High Blood Pressure — WebMD

Use of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors Is Associated with Reduction of Fracture Risk in Hemodialysis Patients — NIH

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors — Mayo Clinic

The post Don’t combine ibuprofen with these common hypertension drugs appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the odds are in my favor if I were making a blind guess.

That’s because approximately one billion people around the world live with chronic high blood pressure.

And according to the renowned Mayo Clinic, if you’re one of them, you’re at significantly increased risk of everything from aneurysm and heart failure to heart attack, stroke, dementia and even hearing loss.

The truth is, high blood pressure leads to a laundry list of health dangers and can even negatively affect your sexual function.

But you’re safe as long as you take your blood pressure medicine, right? Not so fast…

According to research findings from the University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA), simply taking blood pressure medication long-term could actually damage your kidneys over time…

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The long-term effects of prescription blood pressure drugs

So where does the kidney danger come in when you have high blood pressure or take medication to keep that pressure in the green zone?

Well, according to those UVA researchers, it all comes down to specialized cells in your kidneys called renin cells.

And since it can get a little complicated, let’s walk it through from the beginning…

When your renin cells are working normally, the namesake hormone they produce helps to regulate your blood pressure.

However, when your blood pressure stays up too long, they just can’t keep compensating.

And instead of your renin cells helping with your high blood pressure, your high blood pressure leads to harmful changes in your renin cells, causing them to invade the walls of your kidney’s blood vessels, which become thick and stiff.

Blood no longer flows freely through your kidneys and dialysis becomes a nasty shadow lurking over your health and your future.

The problem is, those blood pressure drugs can instigate the same harmful changes in renin cells that high blood pressure does.

In fact, the UVA researchers found that long-term use of blood pressure drugs, including the widely-used ACE inhibitors, was associated with hardened kidney vessels in both lab mice and humans.

In other words, taking blood pressure medications for an extended period of time can lead to serious kidney damage.

“Our studies show that renin-producing cells are responsible for the damage. We are now focusing on understanding how these cells, which are so important to defend us from drops in blood pressure and maintain our well-being, undergo such transformation and induce kidney damage,” said Maria Luisa Sequeira Lopez MD, of UVA’s Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Research Center.

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Natural help for your blood pressure

So do you chuck your blood pressure meds in the trash in order to save your kidneys?

The researchers say no.

Instead, talk to your doctor about the risks to your kidneys, and whether or not continuing your medication regimen is in your best interest.

Chances are he’ll have another pill, or another pill combination, for you to try, no doubts there.

But if you’ve ever given any credence to the thought of committing to real changes that could turn your health around, this may be the gumption you need.

In addition to eating right and losing weight, stopping smoking and getting a grip on stress, these natural steps have helped others support healthy blood pressure:

• Giving up gluten – For some people, gluten may increase inflammation that can trigger high blood pressure problems.
• Eating more yogurt – Findings from a study conducted by findings by the University of Maine and the University of South Australia showed for people with elevated blood pressure, even small amounts of yogurt were associated with lower blood pressure.
• Getting regular exercise – Time and again, exercise has been shown to be the most effective tool to lower blood pressure.
• Increasing fiber intake – Multiple studies have shown that eating more fiber can help lower blood pressure.
• Practicing self-care – Taking time to care for yourself can help reduce stress and relax the nerves that affect your arterial wall muscles.
• Grab some supplement support – These four blood-pressure supporting supplements have a lot of research behind their reputation for promoting naturally healthy blood pressure.

Sources:

Long-term use of blood pressure drugs may cause kidney damage, study suggests — ScienceDaily

High blood pressure dangers: Hypertension’s effects on your body — Mayo Clinic

The post Are these blood pressure drugs damaging your kidneys? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Yet few of us consider the effect of food on the body’s pH balance — the alkalinity to acidity ratio — which is equally as important, even more so, for the kidneys.

Your body’s pH impacts its disease state. If you’re already having problems, a high pH or acidic environment could make things worse.

In fact, if you’re struggling with kidney problems, whether your kidneys remain healthy or whether they fail, could depend heavily on the acid content of your diet and what it’s doing to your body.

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Acid/alkaline balance and kidney failure

While it may sound strange that acid in foods can put the nail in the coffin of your kidneys’ health, it’s easy to see why when you consider their function.

After all, your kidneys must process all waste from your body.

They’re the final stop on the train where everything gets off. So if there are high acid levels, your kidneys don’t just deal with it; they can be irritated and then destroyed by it.

That’s why a team of researchers from UC San Francisco set out to examine the effects of acid-inducing diets on kidney disease progression.

The team analyzed information on 1486 adults with chronic kidney disease participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III). And they followed all patients for an average of 14.2 years.

Their results?

The team found that higher levels of dietary acid were strongly linked with progression from kidney disease to full-blown kidney failure!

And patients who consumed high-acid diets were a whopping three times more likely to develop kidney failure than patients who consumed low-acid diets.

YWhenit comes to your kidneys, acidic foods can take things from bad to worse.

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Alkalizing your diet

So, what can you do to keep your kidneys healthy and functioning at their best?

Reduce acidic foods in your diet and lean towards more alkaline ones.

Acidic foods that should go on the rarely-to-never list include meats, highly processed foods, cheese, processed meats and starchy foods like granola and brown rice.

Carbonated beverages also fall in the acidic category and should be avoided.

Instead, alkalize your diet by:

• Eating plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, especially those that make the top 7 most alkaline list.
• Drinking alkaline water, which you can buy at your local health store, or buy an alkaline water pitcher.
• Buying organic produce as much as possible. Chemicals commonly used in commercial farming are acid-promoting. That means if you are choosing produce that is not organic, you undercut the alkaline factor of those foods.
• Adding more beans to your diet because plant proteins help tip your body into a naturally alkaline state.

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Sources:

High acid diet may have negative effects on kidney health – ScienceDaily

The post How an acidic diet can take your kidney health down fast appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Because your kidneys aren’t filtering waste from your blood the way they should, it puts stress on your other organs, including your heart. Chronic kidney disease can raise your risk of cardiovascular disease by two to fifty times. In fact, heart disease is the major cause of death for people with chronic kidney disease.

It can be difficult to separate the causes of kidney disease from its health effects. For instance, high blood pressure and diabetes are responsible for up to two-thirds of chronic kidney disease cases. At the same time, chronic kidney disease can also cause high blood pressure and diabetes in people who didn’t have — or didn’t know they had — those conditions before developing kidney disease.

To make things even more complicated, the two primary causes of chronic kidney disease are also part of a wider group of conditions known as metabolic syndrome. Key components of metabolic syndrome include insulin resistance, obesity, high blood pressure, and elevated levels of cholesterol or triglycerides and low levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol, in the blood. People with metabolic syndrome face a higher risk of cardiovascular events and death from all causes.

Unfortunately, researchers are finding that chronic kidney disease sufferers are much more likely to develop metabolic syndrome as well. And their research shows the combination could be a heart health disaster…

Kidney disease plus metabolic syndrome equals trouble

Researchers observed 5,110 adults from the German Chronic Kidney Disease study and found 64.3 percent of them also had metabolic syndrome. During the 6.5 years of follow-up, 605 patients died and 650 suffered a major cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke.

Based on the data, the researchers determined the chronic kidney disease patients with metabolic syndrome had a 26 percent higher risk of dying and a 48 percent higher risk of experiencing cardiovascular events. And the more components of metabolic syndrome the patient had, the higher these risks rose.

The metabolic syndrome components measured in the study include increased waist circumference, blood sugar levels, triglycerides and blood pressure, as well as a decrease in HDL (or “good”) cholesterol.

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A stunning 97.8 percent of all chronic kidney disease patients participating in the study had high blood pressure, while 67.6 percent of the patients had a large waist circumference measurement in line with metabolic syndrome (102 centimeters or higher in men and 88 centimeters or higher in women). A little over half the patients had elevated blood sugar, and a little under half had high triglycerides. Decreased HDL levels were present in 36.3 percent of all patients.

When looking only at those with metabolic syndrome, those percentages took a big jump upward. Nearly all the patients with metabolic syndrome (99.7 percent) had high blood pressure, while the percentage of those with a high waist circumference soared to 88.9 percent. About 71.6 percent of chronic kidney disease patients with metabolic syndrome had high blood glucose, 69.7 percent had elevated triglycerides, and 53.7 percent had decreased HDL levels.

“Although our study uncovered a shockingly high frequency of metabolic syndrome in this high-risk patient group, there’s a motivating message for our patients: each metabolic syndrome component avoided might considerably decrease the risk for a cardiovascular endpoint or premature death,” says senior author Dr. Florian Kronenberg of the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria.

Can kidney disease sufferers avoid metabolic syndrome?

Given that two metabolic factors — high blood pressure and diabetes — are major causes of chronic kidney disease, you may think it’s already too late to avoid developing metabolic syndrome. But that’s not true. Many of the steps you need to take to manage your kidney disease will also help stave off metabolic syndrome.

For instance, if you already have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and/or high triglycerides, make sure the conditions are being properly managed. And if you’re suffering from obesity — another metabolic risk factor — it’s imperative for your health that you lose weight.

The good news is the heart-healthy DASH diet that’s often recommended for people with chronic kidney disease can help tremendously with these metabolic syndrome factors. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and its emphasis on low salt intake and eating foods containing potassium, calcium and magnesium has been known to lower blood pressure in as little as 14 days.

Because the DASH diet also requires the elimination of processed foods, packaged snacks and added sugars, it can also help manage diabetes if you have it, or significantly lower your risk of developing diabetes if you don’t. And its focus on choosing lean meats and fish as well as eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and fiber-rich whole grains can help lower LDL and total cholesterol.

Although obesity management isn’t a specific focus of the DASH diet, participants in studies using the DASH diet found they lost weight while on the diet.

As far as supplements go, we’ve written before about how Co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10) can help support the health of both your heart and kidneys. Studies have shown CoQ10 supplementation can significantly reduce LDL and total cholesterol and reduce the levels of two chemicals associated with kidney dysfunction, thus helping to improve the metabolic profile of people with kidney disease.

Sources:

Study links metabolic syndrome to poor health outcomes in adults with kidney disease — EurekAlert!

Association of the metabolic syndrome with mortality and major adverse cardiac events: A large chronic kidney disease cohort — Journal of Internal Medicine

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Symptoms and causes — National Kidney Foundation

Nutrition and Kidney Disease, Stages 1-4 — National Kidney Foundation

The post Combining metabolic syndrome with kidney disease can be deadly appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Diabetes can be managed by lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. Conventional diabetes treatment may include medication or insulin injections.

Diabetes affects many systems in the human body and interacts with other diseases in complex and unique ways. In particular, the long-term complications of diabetes can include serious health risks such as heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, eye diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Here is what you should know about these risks…

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Diabetes is a chronic disease that causes damage to many different organs, including the kidneys. The kidneys’ primary job is to filter waste and excess fluids out of the blood. Diabetes is the number one cause of chronic kidney disease.

Diabetes can cause high blood sugar levels over time, which may lead to diabetic kidney disease (DKD). DKD happens when your body does not properly filter waste products from your blood in order for them to be eliminated through urine.

This build-up of waste products in your blood can, over time, cause permanent damage to the kidneys and require dialysis or kidney transplantation. If you develop kidney disease as a result of diabetes, talk to your doctor about the right time to start dialysis. This treatment method will help to remove wastes from your blood when the kidneys are no longer able to do their job properly.

Heart Disease and Hypertension

Heart disease is another chronic condition that can be impacted by diabetes. Diabetes may cause atherosclerosis — the hardening and narrowing of arteries. For people with diabetes who already have atherosclerosis (plaques in their coronary arteries), it is recommended that they avoid certain foods such as baked goods made from refined carbohydrates like flour.

It can also lead to high cholesterol levels and hypertension (high blood pressure), which are both risk factors for heart disease. If you have diabetes, be sure to check your blood pressure often and monitor any changes in your heart rate or rhythm. Hypertension will need to be monitored closely and treated with medication if needed.

Diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular-related death. The combination of diabetes and chronic kidney disease also increases the likelihood of heart disease and stroke.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease is a condition in which a person’s brain becomes progressively more damaged and cognitive abilities decline. This is typically caused by a build-up of a protein called beta-amyloid in the brain. Diabetes is also linked to this condition because it damages blood vessels and can block your body’s ability to break down amyloid proteins, both of which lead to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Various other studies have found links between diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Diabetes-associated hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) may trigger chemical changes in the brain that lead to dementia symptoms as well, according to a study published in Diabetes Care journal in 2002. Diabetes also increases your risk for Alzheimer’s disease by increasing inflammation in the brain, according to a study published in Diabetes Care journal.

If you have a history of Alzheimer’s or dementia in your family, or are currently diagnosed with diabetes, talk to your doctor about ways to limit your risk for developing this condition.

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Eye Disease (Diabetic Retinopathy)

Diabetes puts you at higher risk for an eye disease called diabetic retinopathy. This condition is caused by the deterioration of the blood vessels in your retinas. Diabetes-related high blood sugar levels can cause these vessels to leak or swell, potentially leading to blurred vision, poor peripheral vision, or even a loss of vision.

The American Diabetes Association shares that diabetes increases your risk of cataracts by over 50 percent. This is due to increased pressure inside your eye from insufficient blood flow caused by diabetes. Diabetes may affect how quickly cataracts develop and worsen.

To reduce your risk for diabetes-related eye disease or related conditions, make sure to visit an optometrist every year for a comprehensive dilated eye exam and prescription glasses if needed.

If you have diabetes, know that there are ways to support your health and prevent other chronic conditions from developing. The best way you can advocate for your health is to incorporate a healthy diet and exercise into your regular routine, maintain a healthy weight and stay on top of your checkups.

The post How diabetes increases risk factors for 4 common diseases appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Researchers have been reviewing autopsies of COVID-19 patients to confirm the multi-system nature of the illness and determine the nature and extent of the damage it causes.

As expected, the lungs appear to be the central target of the virus that causes COVID-19. But the organ that came in at No. 2 may surprise you…

More than a lung disease: COVID-19 takes aim at the kidneys

Back in the spring of 2020, at the beginning of the global pandemic, authorities in Hamburg, Germany, ordered autopsies on all patients who had died with COVID-19. This directive has resulted in one of the world’s largest autopsy databases in which data on all organ systems was recorded. This database has provided the groundwork for many organ-related COVID-19 research projects.

In a frequently cited nephrologic study from last year, researchers specifically focused on viral load, or the number of copies of the COVID-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus per cell. They discovered the viral load found in the deceased was highest in the respiratory tract and second highest in the kidneys. Lower levels of the COVID-19 virus were found in the heart, liver, brain and blood.

Old age and the number of pre-existing conditions were associated with multi-organ and renal tropism, or how attracted COVID-19 is to those organs.

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The specific impact of COVID-19 on the kidneys

A separate kidney study from 2020 showed COVID-19 patients have a 56.9 percent rate of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is significantly higher than the 37.2 percent rate in other intensive care patients with severe infections or sepsis. Dialysis was required by 4.9 percent of COVID-19 patients, compared to 1.6 percent of the others.

In a study of U.S. veterans with COVID-19, one in three participants developed AKI, with 12 percent needing dialysis. And 47 percent of those patients had not recovered kidney function by the time they were discharged.

“These are dramatic figures,” says Professor Tobias Huber of UKE Hamburg, who led the viral load-focused nephrologic study. “We know from major AKI studies that some patients whose kidney function does not recover after AKI subsequently transition to chronic kidney disease.”

AKI was connected with a higher risk of mechanical ventilation, mortality and prolonged inpatient treatment. Predictors of AKI include age, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, restricted kidney function, male gender, and African American descent.

In another major autopsy study conducted by Huber and his team, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was directly detected in the kidneys in 60 percent of the 63 autopsies reviewed, correlating with age, number of coexisting diseases and male gender. And when the virus was detectable in the kidneys, the time between COVID-19 diagnosis and date of death was 14 days, compared with 21 days for patients in which the virus was not detected in the kidneys.

There was also a connection between renal tropism and AKI incidence. Of a total of 40 patients, seven had no AKI, with three of the seven having SARS-CoV-2 viral kidney infection. And of the 33 patients with AKI, 23 of the 33 had SARS-CoV-2 detected in the kidney.

Researchers isolated the virus from tubule cells of the autopsied kidney tissue and conducted cell infection experiments. Those results showed the viruses remained active and capable of replication, increasing a thousand-fold in 48 hours.

Together, these studies indicate SARS-CoV-2’s affinity for the kidney is a possible explanation for why kidney injury occurs so frequently in COVID-19 patients.

Protecting your kidney health

Since pre-existing health conditions appear to make COVID-19 worse, it’s important to keep your kidneys as healthy as possible in case you’re unlucky enough to catch the virus.

If you have poor kidney health, discuss safety measures with your doctor.

One of the most important things you can do to protect your kidney health is to stay hydrated. The suggestion is to drink eight glasses of water a day, although you may need more or less depending on climate, exercise and certain health conditions. For instance, if you’ve had kidney stones in the past, you should drink more water to help prevent such deposits from forming in the future.

Another good idea is to keep your use of NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories) like ibuprofen to a minimum. Chronic use of these anti-inflammatory pain relievers can lead to kidney damage.

In addition, if you have diabetes or high blood pressure, make sure you properly manage those conditions, as both can lead to kidney problems. By controlling your blood sugar and blood pressure, you can reduce the risk of kidney damage.

Sources:

COVID-19 as systemic disease: What does that mean for kidneys? — EurekAlert!

8 Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy — Healthline

The post Kidneys carried the second-highest COVID-19 viral load appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

They may be small (about the size of a small fist), but they do some heavy lifting when it comes to keeping you healthy.

In short, your kidneys are in charge of keeping your blood healthy. That means:

• removing toxins and sending them to the bladder for elimination in your urine.
• adjusting the balance of water and salt as needed.
• keeping the right level of electrolytes (potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous) in your blood at all times.

It’s possible for your kidneys to be failing and for you to have no symptoms at all.

More commonly, though, there are warning signs that, if you pay attention to them early, can help you prevent more permanent kidney damage or failure.

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5 signs that your kidneys are in trouble

You’re always tired. When your kidneys aren’t working at full capacity, toxins build up in your blood. You may feel weak and have trouble concentrating.

Also, your kidneys make a hormone that tells your body to create red blood cells. If you’re not making enough red blood cells, your blood can’t deliver oxygen to your muscles and brain.

Itchy skin. It may not be dry skin that’s making you itch. If toxins build up in your blood, you may itch all over, or have rashes. Over time, if your kidneys can’t balance minerals like calcium and potassium in your body, it can lead to bone disease, which can make your skin dry and itchy.

Swollen face and feet. When your kidneys can’t get rid of sodium efficiently, fluids build up in your body and lead to puffy hands, feet, ankles, legs or face.

Feeling out of breath. This, along with swelling, can be an early sign of kidney failure.

Healthy kidneys make a hormone called erythropoietin, which signals your body to make red blood cells. Without this hormone, you can develop anemia, which causes fatigue and breathlessness. That’s because your body isn’t getting the oxygen it needs.

Urine color: your best clue

Changes in the color of your urine are perhaps the biggest tipoff that something is going wrong with your kidneys.

Clear or pale yellow urine is your ideal. It shows you’re well hydrated.

If your urine becomes dark yellow or amber, you may be dehydrated and should drink more water and cut back on dark sodas, tea, and coffee.

And, if your urine is foamy, it’s a sign that it’s carrying excess protein, which is a clear sign of kidney disease.

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Avoiding kidney disease

Fortunately, there’s a lot we can do to keep our hard-working kidneys healthy, and even to slow the progress of kidney disease in its earliest stages.

Manage your blood sugar. Diabetes increases your risk for kidney failure. Watch for signs that you could be prediabetic.

Manage your blood pressure. Ditto for hypertension.

Maintain a healthy weight. This will reduce your likelihood of having diabetes or hypertension.

Watch the salt. Monitor your salt intake. Sodium levels directly affect your kidneys, but also contribute to hypertension.

Drink enough water. This one’s kind of obvious. Make a concerted effort to stay well hydrated throughout the day.

Limit your use of over-the-counter pain meds. In high doses, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen will reduce the amount of blood flow to your kidneys.

If you think you might have kidney disease, it’s important to see your doctor. Getting an early diagnosis means starting treatment sooner, which can help slow the progression to kidney failure.

Sources:

Warning signs of kidney problems — Web MD

Picture of the Kidneys — Web MD

Everything You Need to Know About Kidney Failure — Healthline

Pain Medicines (Analgesics) — National Kidney Foundation

The post 5 symptoms that could signal kidney disease appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But diabetes is perhaps hardest on the kidneys. About a quarter of diabetes sufferers will eventually develop a condition called diabetic nephropathy, which causes a gradual loss of kidney function and eventually lead to dialysis. Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease in the U.S. and is linked with an elevated risk of heart disease. And there is currently no cure for the condition.

Researchers have been studying ways to address kidney issues in diabetics, and they may have found a solution in the plant kingdom…

The PEITC-kidney connection

A study in rats indicates a substance responsible for giving certain cruciferous vegetables their sharp, strong taste could help reverse diabetes-associated kidney problems.

For the study, researchers analyzed the effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in rats with diabetic nephropathy. Lead study author Dr. Mohamed El-Sherbiny, a postdoctoral fellow at Almaarefa University in Saudi Arabia, says they found evidence that PEITC manages kidney injury associated with diabetes by targeting multiple interconnected pathways involved in diabetic nephropathy, including inflammation, glycation and oxidative status.

“Our study provides, for the first time, evidence that PEITC might be effective as a naturally occurring agent to reverse serious kidney damage in people with diabetes,” Dr. El-Sherbiny says.

Vegetables containing PEITC include watercress, broccoli, turnips and radishes, with watercress having the highest concentration.

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Previous studies of another compound in cruciferous vegetables, sulforaphane, show it also helps reduce kidney damage associated with diabetes. The PEITC study strengthens the evidence that eating more vegetables containing these compounds could help people with diabetes head off kidney problems.

Because the research was conducted in animal models, researchers say further studies are needed to confirm the findings and determine how the PEITC results might inform new treatments or dietary recommendations for diabetics.

Best ways to promote good kidney health

The best way to ensure you’re getting the full protective benefits of the PEITC contained in cruciferous vegetables is to eat them raw. Cooking these vegetables can reduce the amount of PEITC and other health-supporting compounds.

The best way to ensure good kidney health is to keep yourself from developing diabetes — or if you already have diabetes, to manage it carefully. Try to get enough exercise and watch your diet, particularly when it comes to added sugars and highly processed foods.

There are other steps you can take to protect your kidneys. We’ve written before about how vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, can help slow and potentially reverse kidney damage in its earlier stages. You can either take a thiamine supplement or add the following thiamine-rich foods to your diet: brewer’s yeast, cereal and grains, tuna, pork, poultry, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and green vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and Brussels sprouts.

Another tip is to make sure you drink enough water every day to help your kidneys work smoothly. And be careful when using certain pain relievers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which can injure your kidneys.

As far as supplements go, moringa has shown potential in preventing kidney dysfunction by lowering blood levels of waste products like urea and creatinine. And resveratrol may protect against kidney injury caused by drugs, diabetic nephropathy and elevated uric acid levels.

Sources:

Compound found in some vegetables may reduce diabetes-related kidney damage — EurekAlert

Diabetes Overview: Complications — American Diabetes Association

Phenethyl Isothiocyanate: A comprehensive review of anti-cancer mechanisms — Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Reviews on Cancer

6 Supplements That Improve Your Kidney Health Naturally — Fullscript

The post The veggies diabetics should be eating for kidney health appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And some of the worst offenders affect the small arteries and blood vessels but cause big health problems — including kidney damage.

So why are we getting sicker?

Well, it could have a lot to do with the time we spend sitting.

But there’s a very good chance it’s the processed, heat-treated food that’s playing a bigger part in destroying your kidney health…

Getting more than you bargained for

You may not realize it, but all those processed foods we’re addicted to, like hot dogs, bacon, potato chips, and those pre-packaged baked goods, are “heat-treated foods.”

This means that they’re cooked or processed at high temperatures to boost their flavor and aroma and, of course, keep you coming back for more.

Unfortunately, heat-treating food doesn’t just produce products that are tasty and smell great, it also causes the formation of compounds known as advanced glycation endproducts or AGEs. AGEs are generated from a combination of amino acids and reduced sugars.

And while they don’t sound so bad when you put it that way, they’ve been increasingly recognized in the scientific and medical communities as potentially dangerous.

So each time you eat processed foods, you’re also getting a side of AGEs that could be playing havoc on your health.

Processed foods act like an invader

And that’s exactly what a new study, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, set out to prove.

The researchers spent 24 weeks feeding rats either heat-treated chow (to simulate the processed foods humans eat) or unbaked rodent chow. Then they measured the amount of albumin (a protein that is responsible for helping keep fluid in the bloodstream) in their urine.

And after just six months on a processed food diet, the rats experienced a rate of albumin leakage — an indication of kidney damage — five times higher than rats that ate non-heat treated food.

So why do those AGEs in processed foods damage the kidneys?

Well, according to the researchers, eating a heat-treated diet resulted in increases in a level of a protein known as complement component C3.

This is a protein that’s part of your innate immune system that goes into action when your body senses an invading pathogen or an injury to your vital tissues.

In other words, your body considers those AGEs to be dangerous invaders and goes into hyperdrive. The result is kidney damage!

Two steps to protecting your kidneys

Clearly, your body doesn’t like heat-treated, processed foods.

So the first step to guarding the health of your renal system and warding off chronic kidney disease is to cut out as many of these foods as possible, and instead eat a whole-food-based diet.

Next, think about supporting your microcirculation that affects the smallest blood vessels, the lymphatic capillaries and collecting ducts. Given the kidneys’ role in maintaining fluid homeostasis in the body, the lymphatic system and all its tiny vessels and capillaries are critical in this process.

In my years of natural health research, the best dietary way to support circulatory health, whether it’s these microvessels or the large arteries that pump blood through your heart, is beet juice. That’s of course because it’s an excellent source of nitric oxide, which I’ve written about before.

Nitric oxide acts as a vasodilator (helping arteries relax to open wide for better flow) and also supports the health of the lining of the arteries.

The researchers also suggested that it would be helpful to “support growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut and protect from inflammation.”

Sources:

Diets high in heat-treated foods increase risk of chronic kidney disease, rat study shows — EurekAlert!

Heart Disease and Cancer Deaths — Trends and Projections in the United States, 1969–2020 — CDC

U.S. Heart Failure Rates on the Rise — WebMD

National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2020 — CDC

The post What processed foods are doing to your kidneys appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

As we age, it’s normal for our kidneys to experience some wear and tear. But for some people, eating too much protein makes it even harder for the kidneys to do their job.

Instead of keeping that protein in your body to build and repair tissues, produce enzymes, and more, your kidneys start to eliminate it in your urine.

Although a high protein diet can be effective for weight loss, some of us should definitely steer clear of this kind of eating plan.

High protein diets and weight loss

People looking to drop pounds often turn to a high protein diet. Eating a lot of protein makes you feel full, which often means you’ll eat fewer calories overall.

A high protein diet typically allows you to eat as much protein as you want, with some healthy fats, and very few carbs.

The Atkins diet is a well-known example of a high protein diet for weight loss. It allows you to eat lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, low-carb veggies and healthy fats like olive oil in unlimited quantities.

Why does this diet work? When you stop eating carbohydrates, you lose weight quickly because you lose water. Then, with no extra carbs, the body begins burning more fat for fuel.

But if you have kidney disease, or are at risk for it, this may not be the best way for you to lose weight, as it carries some risks.

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What research says about high protein diets and the kidneys

There are research findings on both sides of the fence, but it looks like, if your kidneys are normal, you should have no worries about trying a high protein diet.

Of course, it’s always best to work with your doctor when trying any radical change to your diet.

If, however, you have kidney disease or are at risk for it, you should steer clear of high protein diets.

Dr. Juan Calle, medical director of the Kidney Stones Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic, explains it this way.

“Eating a lot of protein, especially animal protein and red meat, creates more acid and toxins in the body, and it puts more pressure on the kidneys to filter and process all of those substances.”

He also advises people with chronic kidney disease or a history of kidney stones to limit protein. Also, those with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic disease that prevents the breakdown of certain amino acids, should not eat a high protein diet.

Lose weight and protect your kidneys

According to Dr. Calle, losing weight without compromising your kidneys is all about balance.

“Don’t get your calories from one source — combine protein with more fruits and vegetables,” he says. “If you don’t have any major medical conditions, the most effective diet is usually decreasing the amount of calories you consume and eating a more balanced, low-sodium diet.”

Sources:

Planning to Start a High-Protein Diet? Check With Your Kidneys First — Cleveland Clinic health essentials

The Atkins Diet: Everything You Need to Know — Healthline

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