Hello, this is Katherine, welcome to the MOST IMPORTANT video you'll watch the whole year.
Let's say that you want to lower your creatinine levels and to REVERSE kidney disease.
But you only have 10 minutes to spare.
Yes, this guide is going to be as straight to point as it gets.
These are the 5 things, ranked by importance, you absolutely need to know to improve your
kidney health.
Kidney health tip Number 5, the power of your mind
Your mind is your most powerful weapon to BEAT kidney disease.
NEVER underestimate what it can do.
I want to clarify one thing immediately.
You CAN beat this terrifying disease.
There are ways to improve your kidney function, IN ALL THE STAGES.
Just don't let your diagnosis claim control of your life.
Whether you are recently diagnosed or you've been fighting kidney disease for years,
YOU POSSESS more power than you realize.
It's no secret: PATIENTS WHO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THEIR HEALTHCARE AND TREATMENT DECISIONS
HAVE BETTER OVERALL OUTCOMES.
So hear me very well here: There are ways to lower your creatinine levels.
There are ways to improve your kidney function.
It's not easy, I know, but guess what?
I've seen people do it.
There are several people here on 00Kidney who did this, some of them have also shared
their stories here.
Let their stories be your motivation.
Because, if you're here and you have decided to fight then YOU CAN DO IT.
Starting from the next step:
Number 4 the LIFE-SAVING TESTS To beat kidney disease, you have to know it.
You have to know in what stage you are and what is the cause of the kidney damage.
It's not enough to get tested, you will need to know what the most important values on
your lab results mean, ok?
But don't worry, you don't have to be able to read all the numbers on your labs.
Just the most important ones, the LIFE-SAVING TESTS.
First, Serum Creatinine, or creatinine in blood.
This is one of the main indicators of kidney function, if you have been diagnosed with
CKD you should be test for this regularly.
So, how to read this test?
Normal levels of creatinine in the blood are approximately 0.6 to 1.2 milligrams per deciliter,
in adults.
Now, when these levels rise, it means that kidney function is decreasing.
If this happens, there's another value we should be looking at.
Glomerular filtration rate, or GFR.
GFR is the most sensitive and accurate gauge of kidney function.
Now, if you have GFR lower than 60 for more than 3 months, it means that you have chronic
kidney disease.
GFR also tells you what your stage of CKD is.
The lower this number, the more advanced the stage.
Between 59 and 30, you are in stage 3.
Between 29 and 15, you are in stage 4 and less than 15 stage 5.
These are very important because you need to adjust your diet and lifestyle to these
values.
Don't worry if I'm going too fast here, I've made a whole video to explain this in details,
including the symptoms of kidney damage.
Link is up here if you want to know more.
Now a very useful kidney health tip: While your stage of kidney disease dictates
its own treatment, there are lifestyle changes that can help basically anyone, no matter
the stage.
Avoid stress, drink only in moderation, avoid irregular sleep patterns, exercise regularly.
And, most importantly, avoid painkillers.
Regular use of NSAIDs like naproxen, ibuprofen... has been proven to cause life lasting kidney
damage, so avoid them.
And follow the next step:
Number 3 the renal diet.
This one is fundamental.
You should leverage your way of eating and use it to nourish your kidneys instead of
burdening them.
To do this, the renal diet has to be two things: plant based and alkalizing.
The main focus should be to reduce protein intake to the minimum, especially those coming
from meat and processed foods.
This is not a vegan diet, it's the smart way of eating to support the recovery of your
kidneys.
Best way to achieve this?
Start replacing processed foods, sugar or sodium rich foods including sweetened drinks,
added sugars, fatty foods, processed meats with
foods rich in all those nutrients your kidneys need.
follow a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, lean protein
and fish.
Focus on greens low in phosphorus and potassium.
Yes, this is how you eat smart.
And I know that finding the right foods to eat on a daily basis is hard for people suffering
from kidney disease.
This is why I've made a playlist just for you.
Here you'll find the best, healthiest and tastiest superfoods to add to your renal diet.
And these aren't just fruit and veggies, there's whole grains you can eat, there's snack...
just take a look!
But don't forget the next step!
This alone could save your life.
2) Keep blood sugar and diabetes under control.
Now, diabetes is the number 1 cause of kidney disease so this is a very important step.
The kidney friendly diet, the medications, the lifestyle changes... everything you do
is basically aimed at keeping blood pressure and blood sugar levels at healthy levels.
This will give your kidneys the chance to recover.
METTI SLIDE Remember that a fasting blood sugar level
less than 100 mg/dL is normal, anything between 100 to 125 mg/dL is prediabetes and If it's
126 mg/dL or higher it's diabetes.
If this happens, don't worry, it can still be managed.
The winning strategy is really simple and effective.
Eat smart, follow a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits and absolutely avoid sweetened drinks
and added sugars.
The aim here is to keep a healthy weight, which is really important to manage diabetes.
Other lifestyle changes like being physically active and avoid stress are important too.
Yes, these recommendations, with the needed adjustments, are valid for any kidney patient...
or basically anyone.
And don't forget our last step:
Number 1) Lower blood pressure.
The best way to improve your kidney health, is to improve your heart health.
Take all the necessary steps to keep a healthy blood pressure.
Remember that you can check your blood pressure at home easily, and you should do it regularly.
Most of the steps I'm describing in this video... the renal diet, the treatments... will help
reaching the goal of lowering blood pressure to a healthy level.
This is because, and maybe you didn't know this but, the kidneys are involved in the
regulation of the blood pressure.
Hypertension is the second main cause of kidney disease, but kidney disease can also cause
hypertension as a complication.
If you want to reverse kidney disease, the first thing you want to do is to lower blood
pressure and keep it in the correct range.
The kidneys are only able to handle blood pressure in a range of 130/80.
Anything higher than this is bound to cause damage over time.
If the systolic raises above 120 and below 130, blood pressure is considered elevated,
while if the numbers are above 130 on 80, we are talking about hypertension.
If the blood pressure is this high, the pressure on the kidneys is also too high.
This can cause kidney damage and lead to CKD or make it progress faster.
As this infographic reminds us, some lifestyle changes like being more active, eating better
can greatly help with hypertension.
Just like for diabetes, right?
These are the good habits that can help anyone because a healthier lifestyle can give you
incredible results.
Now, making all these changes to your diet and lifestyle can look daunting at first,
but it's the only proven way to improve kidney health which has no side effects.
Also, having a healthy lifestyle is going to look a lot easier once you start to see
the first improvements in your kidney function.
And, to speed up these results, keep getting informed.
In this video up here,
the best advice on how to improve your renal diet.
A great way to give your kidneys all the nutrients they need.
And here, how a stage 5 kidney disease patient got his kidneys back.
This is all for today, thank you for watching.