Kidney help....

As promised here is a list of seven ways to help lower your creatinine levels and improve kidney function. Taken from the excellent website Kidney Coach by Duncan Capicchiano.
http://www.kidneycoach.com/857/creatinine-levels/


Naturally Lower Creatinine Levels

1. Vegetarian diet: By consuming a largely plant based diet you will be helping your body in a few distinct ways
- Dietary sources of creatine and creatinine are only found within animal products, therefore you will be reducing the burden of “extra” creatine and creatinine circulating through your blood by eating a largely plant based diet.
- Clinical studies show that the consumption of red meat is detrimental to the health of kidneys.
- Plant based diets have show to reduce all the major risk factors of kidney disease. E.g. diabetes, and high blood pressure (hypertension).
- Dairy products (milk, cheese, cream, yoghurt, ice cream, butter) have been shown in clinical studies to exacerbate kidney disease.

2. Avoid creatine supplements: not only do high doses of this large molecule cause kidney problems (because of its large size it can cause the kidneys to swell), but by supplying the body with extra creatine, you will cause more creatine to be spontaneously converted to the by-product creatinine.

3. Avoid strenuous physical activity: thereby decreasing the breakdown of creatine into creatinine.

4. Nettle leaf tea: drink 1 to 2 cups a day. Nettle leaf tea is a simple yet powerful kidney tonic that can improve kidney function and reduce serum creatinine levels.

5. Avoid the over consumption of Vanadium: Although very beneficial for the body, particularly for diabetes and blood sugar problems, over consumption of the mineral vanadium has been linked to increased blood creatinine levels (stay under 100mcg a day).

6. Alpha lipoic acid: This is a fantastic nutrient! And one that I recommend every kidney disease sufferer begin right away. It helps provide energy to the kidneys, it helps nutrialise toxins to make them harmless to the body (so elimination does not damage the kidneys), it helps improve kidney function, and of course helps lower creatinine levels. If you would like to know more info on alpha lipoic acid,  I recommend a dosage of 300mg a day.

7. Chitosan: Chitosan maybe be better known for weight management, but believe it or not it has another trick up its sleeve. Chitosan supplementation in clinical studies reduced urea, creatinine and cholesterol levels in the blood, and increased haemoglobin production in patients with chronic kidney disease. I recommend a dosage of 1000-4000mg a day.