It’s being called a “hidden epidemic,” a condition said to be even more prevalent than diabetes and cancer: kidney disease.
A new analysis by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) has discovered that among potentially deadly ailments, kidney disease has now pulled ahead of the pack.
The ISN is calling for doctors and scientists to put the “global spread of kidney diseases into focus,” but it appears that these authorities aren’t focusing on the right things.
Because there are some very good reasons why chronic kidney disease has reached epidemic proportions – and they’re right under the collective noses of doctors everywhere.
OTC kidney disease
The experts at the ISN want to make sure we all know that diabetes and high blood pressure can damage your kidneys. And now they’re telling us about the “heavy financial burden on health care budgets” this epidemic is costing.
But it’s time we got past the superficial chatter about the price tag, and recognized the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
Almost three years ago, eAlert readers learned about several well-conducted and important studies that found taking proton pump inhibitors, those acid-blocking drugs such as Nexium and Prilosec, can put you squarely in the crosshairs of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
One study, done by Dr. Benjamin Lazarus from Johns Hopkins, after closely following over 10,000 people for 15 years – discovered that the PPI users were up to 50 percent more likely to develop CKD.
Apparently, Dr. Lazarus couldn’t even believe those results, so he did another larger and longer analysis – one covering 17 years and involving over 240,000 people. And the findings were exactly the same.
Around the same time, another big study, this time from researchers out of the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine, looked at over 24,000 patients who developed kidney disease during a seven-year period, and the results weren’t much different.
One out of 4 of the CKD patients had a history of taking PPI drugs. Even worse – those PPI users had a 76 percent higher risk of dying prematurely.
At the time, the lead author of the SUNY study said, “It’s very reasonable to assume that PPIs themselves can cause chronic kidney disease.” And for an academic researcher, that’s an extremely powerful statement!
Since some of these meds can be purchased OTC practically anywhere – and are considered among the “most commonly used drugs” worldwide — it’s not too hard to put the puzzle pieces together here.
But that’s not the only significant danger that might threaten your kidneys.
Another is “contrast-induced nephropathy.” That’s a type of kidney damage caused by contrast dyes being injected inside the body to make certain tests, such as a cardiac catheterization, easier for doctors to perform.
Some patients even require immediate dialysis after undergoing one of these “simple,” outpatient procedures!
And despite the fact that physicians are well aware of the danger, even calling it “hospital-acquired renal dysfunction,” for the most part, doctors neglect to take any precautions in properly evaluating patients before shooting a dye into them.
And what can put your kidneys even more at risk from one of these tests is being diabetic, having high blood pressure or heart disease, taking a lot of NSAIDs for pain, being dehydrated, or simply being a bit up in years.
In other words, we’re talking about a whole lot of people being put in harm’s way.
So, to protect your kidneys and lower your risk of joining the fast-growing ranks of those now afflicted with kidney disease, there are four important steps you should take:
#1: If you’re considering stopping a PPI drug, you need to slowly wean yourself off of it, never go cold turkey! Use other methods of acid control such as cutting down on acidic beverages, taking probiotics, not eating too close to bedtime and sipping a glass of water every day with an added tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
#2: Before undergoing any type of procedure that involves the use of a contrast dye (and there are quite a few), discuss what your chances of kidney damage might be with your doctor. And don’t let him dismiss the risk by saying it’s rare, because it really isn’t! Find out if a more “kidney-friendly” dye can be used — and especially make sure it doesn’t contain a heavy metal called gadolinium.
#3: Other meds that can damage the kidneys include Rx laxatives and antibiotics (which you should only be taking when absolutely necessary anyway), as well as OTC pain relievers – including aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen (such as Tylenol).
#4: Include more kidney “superfoods” in your diet, such as apples, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and strawberries. Also look for foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, which include fish such as wild-caught salmon, sardines and tuna. And if fish isn’t your dish, omega-3 supplements are easy enough to find.
And last, but certainly not least, make sure you’re drinking enough water, especially during all this hot weather! One easy way to know for sure is to check the color of your urine. Pale yellow or even clear is what you want – if it’s dark yellow, that’s an indicator that you’re not drinking enough!
“850 million people worldwide have kidney disease” Robert Preidt, July 5, 2018, WebMD, webmd.com
