In this video: there are 7 very dangerous vitamin and mineral deficiencies you need to know - and to
avoid - if you want your kidneys to get better. Because there are home remedies, superfoods
supplements that work to treat these deficiencies.
But they can only help if you know exactly what you need to treat.
Beating nutritional deficiencies means feeling a lot better really fast!
And it's also going to help you repair your kidneys.
Katherine from 00kidney here, welcome to our journey together to a better kidney health.
Nutritional deficiencies are no joke for people with kidney problems - this is why getting
informed about them is key to improve. So, let's start immediately
Number 7 is an unusual deficiency that may affect especially those of you following a ...
healthy diet! Let's see
Iodine deficiency
What is iodine? Iodine is an essential mineral:
The thyroid basically runs on iodine. Never underestimate the importance of your
thyroid: if it doesn't work well, symptoms may seriously affect your
kidneys (and many other parts of your body.) Symptoms of serious iodine deficiency include
enlargement of the thyroid gland causing a bulge in the neck (goiter) but also fatigue,
constipation, sensitivity to cold temperatures and in some cases, unexplained Weight gain.
Now, what you may not know about iodine, is that
table salt - which is usually enriched with iodine - is where most people get most of this mineral.
Now, how much table salt do you have in your diet? If your answer is not at all, consider this:
according to studies, Iodine deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies, affecting
nearly a third of the world's population. People more at risk for this deficiency are
those living countries where there is very little iodine in the soil.
This includes South Asia and Southeast Asia, New Zealand and European countries.
But also, vegetarian and people who don't use iodized salt are at risk.
Now, as usual I want to focus on the solution, not on the problem.
So, how to avoid a iodine deficiency? Well, adding iodized salt to the diet
of someone with kidney problems is something only a fool would recommend.
Luckily there are a couple of foods that are safe for a renal diet and rich in iodine.
Eggs yolks, for example. On average,
one large egg contains 24 mcg of iodine in the yolk, or 16% of the daily value.
The other good dietary source of iodine is seaweed.
Especially wakame. Wakame is one of the
major types of edible seaweed. This sea vegetable is widely used in Asian dishes.
It's sold dry, and after soaking, wakame can easily replace leafy
greens in your favorite salads. This seaweed is not just a great
source of iodine: it has an impressive nutritional profile, actually.
Even in small amounts, it can help boost your intake of minerals like manganese,
folate, magnesium and calcium. Great for people with kidney problems!
But also Kombu Kelp Kombu kelp is a brown seaweed sold
dried or as a fine powder. It is often used to make a Japanese soup stock called dashi.
Kombu kelp can contain up to 3000 mcg of iodine per seaweed sheet
(1 gram). This provides almost 2,000% of the recommended daily intake and would represent
an easy way to solve the iodine problem. And now that we have solved this one,
let's take a look at the Vitamin deficiency Number 6
Vitamin b12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin,
is a water-soluble vitamin. This vitamin deficiency is very
common - just in the US there are more than 3 million cases per year.
How to tell if you have a vitamin b12 deficiency? A part from some aspecific symptoms like fatigue,
joint pain and dizziness, a b12 deficiency can cause a pale yellowish skin and a
sensation like pins and needles in the hand. Luckily, correcting this common deficiency
can make you feel more energized and can help your kidney health:
This is because this vitamin is essential for blood formation,
as well as brain and nerve function. Essential means that your body needs it
and it cannot produce it by itself. So it's especially useful for people
with kidney disease to find a way to get enough vitamin B12 day by day.
So, how to get enough of this nutrient? The best sources of this nutrient are dairy,
meat and fortified foods. So, you may understand
why people with kidney problems have difficulties getting enough vitamin b12.
There is, however, a food you can eat that's a good source of this vitamin.
nutritional yeast. Oh, I've never talked about this!
nutritional yeast is a go-to food for many vegetarians and vegans, because
it can help avoid nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional yeast is similar to the yeast that
people use in baking, but it undergoes a heating and drying process that renders it inactive.
Due to its nutritional content, yeast in this form may increase a person's energy,
support their immune system, and offer additional health benefits.
One of these is greatly helping with vitamin B12 deficiencies:
just one quarter cup of this yeast contains about 17 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B-12.
But you should consider that your daily intake of vitamin B12 should be around 2.4 mcg per day,
so you need less than a teaspoon of nutritional yeast.
You can add it to sauces, chilis, or curries. Or you can sprinkle nutritional yeast on
air-popped popcorn for a healthful snack. Number 5 is an easy to correct deficiency - and
as a bonus, correcting this one is also going to help you lower your blood pressure
Magnesium Magnesium deficiency,
also known as hypomagnesemia, is an often overlooked health problem. It
is especially common in people with diabetes. And, while a true magnesium deficiency is rare,
one study suggests that up to 75% Americans are not meeting their
recommended intake of this essential mineral. How to tell if you have a magnesium deficiency?
Usually, the first symptom of magnesium deficiency is loss of appetite. Fatigue,
muscle spasms and cramps and even irregular heartbeat may be present.
It's clear from these symptoms that this one is difficult to catch.
Symptoms may easily be misdiagnosed until your magnesium levels are extremely low.
Now, the other important symptom of this deficiency is hypertension.
And while this may look like a bad thing, there are studies
linking a diet rich in magnesium or magnesium supplementation to a lowered blood pressure.
So, if you have kidney problems and diabetes,
magnesium deficiency is another thing you should be keeping an eye on during your next checkup.
Don't take a magnesium supplement unless prescribed by your doctor.
Instead, focus on healthy foods that contain this mineral.
These include Tofu. Almonds. Cashews. Flaxseed, spinach, dark chocolate, oatmeal and quinoa.
Many of these foods may become regulars in a kidney diet - they're a great way
to get plenty other important nutrients too, actually.
Next one is a common deficiency with no symptoms - better watch out for this one.
Number 4 Calcium deficiency.
This is a common problem for people suffering from CKD. It's correlated to phosphorus, actually.
You may already know that people with kidney disease need to limit their phosphorus intake.
Impaired kidneys cannot remove phosphorus very well. And when this mineral is too abundant,
the body needs to bind it to calcium to get rid of it.
This may cause a calcium problem - a pathology known as mineral and bone disorder.
Usually, the disorder is detected by routine blood tests. If you have kidney problems,
get tested for calcium deficiency regularly.
Now, calcium is the most abundant mineral found in the body.
About 99 percent of the calcium in the body is in bones and teeth.
Additionally, calcium serves as a signaling molecule.
Without it, your heart, muscles, and nerves would not be able to function.
If levels of calcium are low for long periods, people may develop dry scaly skin, brittle nails,
and hair problems. Muscle cramps involving the back and legs are common.
Osteoporosis is also very common in case of calcium deficiency.
Now, the best way to avoid this problem is being very careful with PHOSPHORUS intake.
Foods such as dairy, meat, poultry but also
packaged foods containing phosphate should be avoided.
Unfortunately these foods are also some of the best sources of dietary calcium .
But there are also some foods that are rich in calcium and that you can actually eat.
These include Soybeans and soy-based foods, but also almonds, sesame and chia seeds and wakame.
Ok guys, there are 3 deficiencies that are so common in people with kidney disease you should
actually plan your diet around them. I'm not kidding, if you aren't doing
anything about these 3 deficiencies, you are taking unnecessary risks.
Let's see them Number 3
Iron This deficiency is
so common that you may even say that if you suffer from fatigue, and if you have kidney disease stage
3 or 4, probably it's iron deficiency anemia. This very common type of anemia happens
when you don't get enough iron and your body has problems making enough red blood cells.
Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues and organs, so, if you don't have enough red blood
cells, you're going to feel really tired. And the kidneys need this precious
oxygen too. Like any other organ in the body, they're not going to be
healthy if they don't get enough oxygen. Other signs of this deficiency include
headaches, problems with concentration, paleness and dizziness.
People with anemia also usually have extremely cold extremities.
Now, eating a diet rich in iron is really helpful if you have been diagnosed with this deficiency.
And there are some superfoods that really pack a punch when it comes to iron.
And fortunately, these are some of the healthiest foods you can find. So be sure you
are eating the foods you see here regularly. Greens such as Spinach, kale, swiss chard,
but also whole grains such as oats and barley, not to mention nuts and seeds here but also legumes.
These are all incredibly healthy, so eat them regularly no matter what.
Now, the trick when it comes to iron is being able to mix the right foods together. Iron coming from
vegetables is not easily absorbed by the body - unless you eat it with vitamin C rich foods.
So, when you eat your swiss chard, be sure to drizzle it with abundant lemon.
And don't forget your iron cast cookware. This is the best friend of people with anemia.
Cooking in one of these - especially if you are marinating with something acidic
like lemon - will take the iron from the pan and release it into your food.
This is a really easy and safe way to get more iron without the need for supplements.
And, yes, there are also iron supplements you can take - but iron supplementation
should always be directed by your doctor. And don't forget to watch my video about
how to beat anemia if you have missed it. Link is up here.
There are 2 more deficiencies you should absolutely know about
Number 2 Essential amino acids
Ok, this is a dangerous one. Also, a very, very common deficiency
in people with kidney disease - especially in those following a low protein diet.
Ok, amino acids technically are not a vitamin nor a mineral, but it's so common for people
with kidney disease to have this deficiency, I absolutely could not forget to include this one.
Amino acids are the building block of protein - which in
turn is the building block of the human body. The problem with amino acid is that they come...
already assembled. You see this lego bricks wall? This is a protein.
When you get protein from food, your body has to tear it down into these smaller blocks-
the lego bricks here represent the amino acids. When your body has the amino acids it needs,
it can reassemble them into the right shape to create tissue, muscles, organs,
skin... basically everything in the body. This process is absolutely essential. If you
don't eat enough protein, you don't have enough amino acids and you may become malnourished.
This may cause a cascade of health problems, including rapid loss of kidney function.
BUT when you eat protein, this whole process of tearing down the lego wall
will put a lot of strain on your kidneys. In fact, one of the most effective ways of
slowing down the progression of kidney disease, which works even in the advanced stages,
is to eat very little protein. Or almost no protein at all.
Patients following this diet - called the VLPD diet - are usually required to supplement with
a special type of amino acids made for people with kidney problems.
This is a diet that requires a lot of planning and it's beyond the scope of today's video. But if you
want to know more, don't worry, I've made a video you can watch or, even better, save for later.
Time for the number 1 now! Our number one is what
experts call the kidney vitamin. Be sure not to lack this one.
Number one, vitamin D. Now, this is one of those
vitamins people with kidney disease need to supplement more often - especially
those following a plant- based diet, which is in my opinion the best possible diet.
This happens because almost 80% of kidney disease patients have insufficient levels of Vitamin D.
There are dozens of possible symptoms in case of a deficiency of vitamin D.
fatigue, bone, back and muscle pain, but also hair loss are very common symptoms
if you don't get enough of this nutrient. Vitamin D is also needed by the immune system,
so regular sickness or infection and impaired wound healing are possible symptoms.
And even depression. Yes, all these problems for a single vitamin.
What to do then? Best sources possible
of vitamin D include shiitake mushrooms, egg yolks, fortified foods and salmon.
But also consider that you can get a lot of vitamin D from the sun - so never lose
an occasion to get some sun exposure, especially in the short days of winter.
Vitamin d can be supplemented, actually, but not all supplements are safe for people with
kidney disease. People with kidney disease cannot just take a regular multivitamin.
NOW, IF you want to know more about the easiest way to get enough vitamins, I've
recently made a very comprehensive video about the best brands of renal vitamins.
These vitamin supplements are completely safe and can help you covering many deficiencies.
You can watch the video clicking here. And, as usual, keep taking good care of
your kidneys and be good to yourself! This is all for today, thank you for watching!