The
main functions of the kidneys are the removal of metabolic
waste matter, of any toxic material and excess of water,
minerals, and bio-chemicals in order to keep their blood
levels within on optimal range. This is done by filtering
the blood and concentrating the waste in the form of urine.
In addition, the kidneys produce hormones, which affect
the salt balance and red blood cell production.
A
common kidney disorder is the formation of kidney stones.
These are mostly composed of calcium salts and to a lesser
degree of uric acid. Stones can partly block the flow of
urine and this may result in infections as well as accumulation
of waste matter in the blood. The passing of large stones
through the urethra can be extremely painful and is called
kidney colic.
Stone
formation as well as bacterial infections or accumulation
of toxic material may lead to acute or chronic inflammation
of the kidneys, also called nephritis or Bright's disease.
Symptoms are a rise in blood pressure, back pain, fatigue,
being listless and loss of appetite. Later oedema may develop;
one may feel dizzy and nauseated. Albumin, a protein compound,
will be passed in increasing quantities with the urine.
If
the condition continues to deteriorate, uraemia or renal
failure develops. High concentrations of waste matter accumulate
in the blood and all of the mentioned symptoms become more
severe. If nothing is done about it, death will eventually
occur. The conventional medical treatment is the removal
of these waste materials by filtering the blood through
an external membrane, a dialysis machine or artificial kidney.
When the condition deteriorates still further, a kidney
transplant is attempted.
The
disadvantages and dangers are that dialysis takes a long
time; 4 - 12 hours twice a week, and beneficial ingredients,
such as zinc may be lowered while harmful ones, such as
aluminium may accumulate. Kidney transplants have the major
disadvantage, apart from the risk of the operation itself,
that the lifelong requirement to take immune-suppressive
drugs weakens the immune system and predisposes to chronic
and severe infections as well as cancer.
NUTRITIONAL
CAUSES
From
the point of view of natural medicine there should rarely
be a need for such extreme measures, except in the case
of serious accidents. Prevention as well as cure begins
with two simple measures: raising the water intake and reducing
the salt intake. Disregarding these basic rules is the main
cause for the high incidence of kidney disease in hot climates
as in Queensland.
Nephritis
or Bright's Disease
Further
important nutritional factors in the development of kidney
disease are a high intake of protein, phosphate and calcium,
a low intake of magnesium and vitamin B6, and finally, chronic
inflammation due to food allergy.
Proteins
are generally high in phosphorus. Therefore, by restricting
the protein intake the amount of phosphate ingested or formed
in the body is reduced at the same time. With a severe restriction
of protein and phosphate intake, tests showed a 10 to 40
fold decrease in the progression of kidney disease and patients
who would normally have required immediate commencement
of dialysis could postpone this for about seven months.
A
high protein and phosphate intake imposes a greatly increased
workload on the kidneys. If their functions are already
impaired by stone formation or inflammation, then the individual
filtering units become more and more sclerotic, which means
they calcify and harden through overgrowth with tough, fibrous
tissue. This causes large amounts of protein to be lost
with the urine while other chemicals, such as salt and uric
acid remain in the body.
High
phosphate levels also cause an overactivity of the parathyroid
glands with a resultant rise in calcium blood levels. This
may lead to decalcification of bones and to the formation
of calcium deposits as with kidney stones, arteriosclerosis
and arthritic deformations. It raises the blood pressure
and damages the kidneys still further, in particular through
calcification of the kidneys with calcium phosphate.
In
addition to a high phosphate intake, a diet high in protein
produces much more waste products than any other class of
nutrients, especially in the form of urea, uric acid and
sulphates. Compared to proteins there is hardly any residue
in a properly metabolised carbohydrate or fat diet. Both
produce carbon dioxide and water as end products. Therefore,
with these foods there is hardly any need for dialysis.
Patients
with severe renal failure should restrict their protein
intake to less than 20 g and phosphorus to less than 400
mg. For children and as a maintenance diet amino acid supplements
may be necessary with severe protein restrictions.
Allergy
A
major cause of degeneration of the kidneys is chronic inflammation,
and a major cause of chronic inflammation is hidden food
allergy and chemical sensitivity, these are commonly due
to microbes from intestinal dysbiosis or root canal treatments.
While kidney patients are hardly ever tested for food allergy
in conventional medicine, in one recent test it was found
that about 65% reacted positive. However, due to their high
calcium and often low acidity levels, kidney patients usually
show only a weak allergy response with various testing procedures.
Therefore, the only reliable test is the avoidance of all
suspected foods and checking kidney functions after a prolonged
period of abstinence. In this way patients improved greatly.
Chronic
inflammations caused by hidden food allergies as well as
inflammations due to irritations caused by kidney stones
both accelerate the process of kidney degeneration. In addition
to avoiding the mentioned harmful influences, there are
several nutrients that help to overcome inflammations.
Commonly
used in natural medicine to remove infections and inflammations
are vitamin C, magnesium, propolis, various herbs such as
echinacea, golden seal and garlic, the anti-inflammatory
protein-digesting enzyme Bromelain from pineapple and the
omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils and linseed oil.
The
common polyunsaturated oils from oil seeds form mainly pro-inflammatory
tissue hormones, while the fish oils and the linolenic acid
in linseed tend to suppress inflammations. Trials with fish
oils produced significantly beneficial results in patients
with kidney disease. Protein loss in the urine could be
reduced by nearly 50%.
KIDNEY
STONES
Various
calcium salts are only slightly soluble and easily precipitate
during the filtration process in the kidneys. They may then
crystallise and combine to form kidney stones or urinary
calculi. It has been estimated that about 90% of such stones
contain calcium as main ingredient, mainly as phosphates
and oxalates. Phosphate stones are chalky and soft while
oxalate stones are small, dark and hard. Stones may also
contain a mixture of both. Uric acid stones form mainly
in acid urine and are yellow or black. A few stones are
formed from the oxidised amino acid cystine with a waxy
appearance.
A
high protein diet contains a large amount of phosphate that
overstimulates the parathyroids and raises the calcium blood
level. This gives rise to the formation of calcium phosphate
stones, especially when the urine is alkaline.
Sugar
Sucrose,
the common household sugar, has several negative effects.
One experimentally controlled study found that sugar added
to a meal will greatly increase urinary calcium as well
as oxalate excretions and that both reach maximum levels
together, thereby greatly increasing the possibility of
precipitation.
This
over-saturation of the kidneys tends to result in calcific
lesions that serve as foci on which crystals begin to aggregate
and start to form stones. Sugar also increases the urinary
output of an enzyme that is indicative of kidney disease.
Most at risk from sugar are individuals with an excessive
insulin response and this includes most stone formers.
In
addition, insulin levels remain permanently elevated in
maturity-onset diabetics and others due to habitual sugar
consumption. They are also elevated in stressed individuals
as the blood glucose levels become less sensitive to insulin
in the presence of high adrenalin levels. Increased insulin
levels in turn elevate the blood calcium levels that then
lead to an increased concentration of calcium in the urine.
It has been experimentally shown that stone-formers lose
up to five times the normal amount of calcium in the urine
after ingesting 100 g of sucrose. In one study about 60%
of habitual stone formers had an excessive insulin response
to sugar. Another demonstrated effect of high sucrose and
fructose consumption is a rise in blood levels of uric acid.
Vitamins,
Minerals and Stimulants
Two
minerals with a negative effect are sodium and cadmium.
In one study stone-formers normalised their excessive calcium
levels by restricting their sodium intake.
Cadmium
is a heavy metal that is significantly increased in stone-formers.
It causes renal tubular damage and can lead to calcific
foci with increased oxalate crystallisation. A group of
coppersmiths with chronic cadmium exposure had a 40% incidence
of kidney stones as compared to 3.5% in the general population.
Citric
acid is essential for cellular energy production. Elderly
individuals and those on diets high in meat and fat have
low levels of citric acid. Citric acid also prevents individual
crystals of calcium salts from fusing together to form stones.
Therefore, heavy meat-eaters easily become stone-formers.
In
one experiment long-term supplementation with sodium citrate
did not reduce stone formation while potassium citrate reduced
stone formation by 86% in susceptible individuals. Citrus
fruit provide a high intake of potassium citrate.
There
is an antagonism between calcium and magnesium due to a
common regulation through the parathyroids. Increased magnesium
supply tends to lower the calcium loss and inhibits the
precipitation of calcium salts in the kidneys. In two long-term
studies magnesium supplementation reduced the incidence
of calcium stone formation by more than 90%.
Vitamin
B6 is essential for the normal metabolism of oxalic acid.
A deficiency leads to accumulation of oxalic acid. In one
study oxalate stone formation was reduced with 60 mg vitamin
B6 daily but not with 20 mg. In another study with intakes
from 75 to 600 mg of vitamin B6, supplementation with 150
mg daily was found to be optimal for oxalate reduction in
the urine.
In
addition, vitamin A, folic acid and zinc may help to reduce
stone formation and supplementation can be of advantage.
Low levels of these cause various common nutrients to form
oxalic acid.
Long-term
coffee drinking or caffeine in general has been shown to
result in increased calcium loss. Two cups of coffee caused
an additional calcium loss of 22 mg per day. In addition,
with oxalate-related stones foods high in oxalic acid are
best avoided, such as rhubarb, cocoa, instant coffee, spinach
and tea.
Excessive
tea drinking, for instance, has been blamed for the high
incidence of oxalate kidney stones of the British troops
in India during the Second World War. However, generally
the effect of dietary oxalic acid is negligible, except
if one eats much refined food. With a healthy, mainly unrefined
diet most of the oxalic acid combines in the digestive tract
with calcium to form insoluble calcium oxalate, which is
then excreted. Only in diets low in fibre, vitamin B6 and
calcium is dietary oxalate a contributing factor to stone
formation.
There
have been allegations that high intakes of ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) may lead to the formation of oxalate kidney
stones. While there is a slight elevation of oxalate in
urine with mega doses, various controlled studies have not
found increased stone formation. On the contrary, there
are indications that the higher urine acidity from ascorbic
acid helps to prevent or dissolve phosphate kidney stones.
This, of course, is valid only for ascorbic acid, not for
calcium or sodium ascorbate. Nevertheless, in case of uraemia
or kidney failure a high vitamin C intake would contribute
to the workload of the kidneys and supplements should not
exceed 1 g daily.
Meat
While
all proteins increase phosphorus levels to some degree,
animal protein, especially from meat, has an additional
detrimental effect on stone formers. In comparison to vegetarians
urine excretions of calcium, oxalate and uric acid are 50
- 400% higher in non-vegetarians. The higher the intake
of animal protein, the higher is the level of these stone-forming
substances. Stone formers usually have the highest intakes
of animal protein.
It
has been calculated that the risk of stone-formation is
about 6 - 700% higher in those with a high intake of animal
protein as compared to vegetarians. In addition, meat is
the main source of uric acid. While urate stones represent
only a minority of kidney stones, elevated levels of uric
acid cause calcium oxalate to precipitate and crystallise.
DIET
Use
a low-allergy semi-vegetarian diet based mainly on fresh
raw and steamed vegetables. The amount of animal protein
as well as high-protein legumes should be determined by
the condition. If it is not too serious, that is if dialysis
is not required or expected, then fish may be used occasionally,
also a few eggs per weak and a small to moderate amount
of yoghurt or cottage cheese made of goats' milk.
However,
in more serious conditions and also as temporary mild cleansing
periods, avoid completely all animal protein and soybeans
and use other legumes only in moderation, preferably in
sprouted form. Brown rice and other non-gluten grains, cooked
and raw vegetables as well as extra-virgin olive oil may
provide the bulk of the energy requirement. Between and
before meals have some tart or acid fruit, such as grapefruit,
orange, pineapple, berries and apple. Except with low blood
pressure and sensitive skin, you may also have fruit meals
and fruit days.
Foods
of special benefit are fresh vegetable juices, including
wheat grass and other grasses and leaves with plenty of
parsley and celery, also dandelion leaves if available,
green beans and bean pod tea, cucumber, horseradish, lemon
juice, fenugreek, watermelon and banana. If available frequently
have a small amount of Jerusalem artichoke about the size
of a hen's egg. Preferably go for several months on a raw
vegetable and fruit diet.
We
can live healthily on a diet very low in protein only if
most of that protein is raw or unheated. Good sources for
this are sprouted seeds and fresh vegetable juices, especially
juice of grass and leaves. In addition frequently stir a
teaspoon of spirulina powder and wheat grass or barley grass
juice extract powder into a glass of juice or water and
drink before or between meals.
Minimize
meat, sugar and sweetened food, cow's milk products and
wheat products, processed food with added chemicals, salt
or salted food, polyunsaturated oils and margarine, soft
drinks, rhubarb, coffee, tea, alcohol, nicotine, baking
powder, and medicinal drugs.
Drink
plenty of good quality water, rainwater or soft bore water,
otherwise filtered or distilled but definitely no chlorinated
or fluoridated water. Drink 1 l each 30 to 60 minutes before
breakfast, lunch and dinner. You may drink water or weak
herb teas, diluted vegetable juices or water with lemon
juice.
Cadmium,
a heavy metal, has been shown to cause renal tubular damage.
Cadmium is widely used in the manufacture of plastics and
electro-plating. Avoid water conducted through black polythene
pipes, also from plated containers and the first water coming
out of taps. Galvanised iron contains some cadmium but that
is less harmful due to the very favourable ratio of zinc
to cadmium.
Frequently
have cleansing periods mainly on fruits only, mostly tart
and acid varieties. Also fasts on watermelons are excellent;
chew the seeds as well. However, sensitive individuals should
use fresh vegetables in preference and also fresh vegetable
juices. Highly recommended is the Basic Cleanse. Reintroduce
normal food gradually after a fast and watch for any sign
of allergy such as a high pulse rate, pain, discomfort or
rash and especially any deterioration in kidney functions.
For further details see also Allergies and Addictions.
Supplements
With
kidney stones, inflammation or infection of the urinary
tract and not more than a moderate deterioration in kidney
functions you may take with each meal up to half a teaspoon
of ascorbic acid and as a magnesium supplement either 1
teaspoon of milk of magnesia or half a teaspoon of magnesium
carbonate or magnesium chloride or somewhat less magnesium
oxide. Also take a low potency B complex, natural vitamin
E and either a halibut or shark liver oil capsule. With
kidney stones use additional vitamin B6 to raise the total
amount per meal to about 50 mg.
Use
a trace mineral supplement high in zinc and manganese or
use separate supplements for these. With serious impairment
of kidney functions use only a low-potency multivitamin-mineral
supplement and none of the others mentioned above. However,
on a diet very low in protein take supplements of essential
amino acids, this is especially important for children.
Test these amino acids but also all supplements for allergy.
Suitable
herbs to improve kidney functions and serve as mild diuretics
to prevent water retention and oedema are buchu, corn silk,
dandelion, elder and juniper berries, peach leaves and uva
ursi.
Warning:
If on dialysis do not stop your normal dialysis routine
when starting on this nutritional program. Instead phase
it out gradually according to the results of your urine
and blood analysis tests.
URINE
THERAPY
Drinking
one's own urine is common in India and was formerly also
a trusted home remedy in some rural parts of Europe. Fresh
urine generally is sterile and has excellent wound-healing
qualities. Some European health practitioners claim to have
obtained healing results with urine fasts, which could not
be achieved with other methods of fasting or healing (see
The Water of Life by J. W. Armstrong).
Success
rates approaching 100% have been claimed in the treatment
of severe kidney disorders including complete kidney failure.
Reasons for this strong healing potential of urine are:
It
destroys harmful intestinal bacteria and other parasites.
It
heals inflammations because of its antiseptic qualities.
Large
amounts of fluid pass through the body during a urine fast
and thoroughly flush the kidneys and intestines without
depleting the body of water-soluble vitamins and minerals,
which are simply recycled.
Harmful
urine ingredients will be discarded through the bowels but
may at the same time have a homoeopathic healing effect
in the form of an auto-immune therapy.
The
Urine Fast
Drink
all of your freshly voided urine and in addition sufficient
good-quality water for a total fluid intake of at least
5 litres on the first day. If the urine is very concentrated
in the beginning, it may be strongly diluted with water.
However, the more concentrated the urine, the stronger is
its stimulating effect on bowel movements.
After
several days, the urine usually becomes more or less clear
and tasteless. The overall daily fluid intake and output
may gradually build up to 10 litres or more. When high volumes
are reached, discontinue the addition of water.
The
high fluid intake, together with the stimulating properties
of the urine, will normally prompt frequent bowel movements,
especially in the beginning. In this way, harmful substances
such as toxins and uric acid are safely removed, while the
vitamins and minerals are reabsorbed.
Urine
fasts reportedly are more successful if the body is extensively
rubbed with urine during this time. Only small amounts are
needed, pour a teaspoonful into the hollow of a hand and
rub the skin until it is dry. The original recommendations
in The Water of Life speak of two hours of daily rubbing,
especially over diseased parts and problem areas. One may
also use urine compresses on these parts. After rubbing,
take a shower.
The
duration of urine fasts is commonly between four and ten
days. However, it varies greatly according to the nature
of the disease. With some life-threatening diseases it has
been found that the body often reacted quite badly if food
was given before it was properly cleansed. As with water
fasts, a return of the appetite usually indicates the completion
of the cleansing process. However, prolonged fasts, especially
if in poor health, should always be under the care of an
experienced practitioner.
Drinking
unpleasant urine: close your nose with thumb and forefinger
while drinking the urine and until you have rinsed your
mouth twice with diluted fruit juice, spit out the juice.
Alternatively, you may just hold your breath during this
time. Normally no bad taste or after-taste develops with
this procedure. However, as the body becomes cleaner the
urine loses its offensive qualities and tastes and smells
more or less like the food one has last eaten. With high
volumes discard the late evening urine to reduce urinating
during the night.
Armstrong
in The Water of Life gives many case histories, here just
a few details to show the scope of the therapy:
A
woman in her forties with complete kidney failure: Largely
because of water retention she had about doubled her normal
weight and been told by her doctors that she had two days
to live. Urine very scanty, thick, looking like a mixture
of blood and pus. By the fourth day of the urine fast her
urine flow had increased from less than 60 ml per day to
about 6 liter. On the 23rd day she tried a small amount
of carrot juice but had a strong setback. She continued
the fast and broke it on the 49th day with fresh orange
juice. A week later she had complete recovered.
A
male patient, also supposed to be close to death, had doubled
his weight to about 190 kg. He fasted for 55 days and was
completely recovered shortly afterwards. Another male patient
of 75 years fasted for 53 days and a boy of 11 years for
14 days. Both recovered completely.
A
young man of 19 years did not have bowel movements for one
week and had not passed urine for 72 hours. Armstrong gave
him some of his own urine. Two hours later he passed a small
amount of foul urine. Eight hours later he was nearly free
of the excruciating pain he had suffered for weeks. On the
fifth day a doctor intervened and gave him a tablespoon
of ground wheat in water. Immediately the flow of urine
stopped and soon the former painful condition had returned.
The urine fast was restarted and broken on the 17th day.
Ten days later he was back at work.
In
cases of Bright's disease when patients were not close to
death fasts lasted from four to fourteen days until recovery.
Armstrong also gives the case of a man with a diseased kidney
in addition to a large stone. The kidney was due to be removed.
After several short fasts on urine this kidney was declared
to be healthy and without stone by the same hospital staff
who before wanted to remove it.
If
you want to use a less radical method than a full urine
fast, try the following: Collect your first morning urine,
dilute it to half a litre and drink immediately. One to
two hours later this will cause you to urinate a second
time and again you dilute it to half a litre and drink it.
Do that a third and possibly a fourth time and then have
your breakfast and your normal food and drink for the rest
of the day.
If
you start at 5 or 6 a.m. you may have your breakfast between
9 and 10 a.m. and have given your kidneys an excellent flush
in the meantime that will quickly dissolve any stones and
wash out any calcifications and microbes. Repeat this as
often as necessary to heal your kidneys.
However,
my favorite to re-activate kidney functions is to drink,
slowly and spaced out, about 3 liters of high-quality water
(no chlorine or fluoride) before breakfast. To each liter
add up to a cupful of fresh urine and the content of one
capsule of MegaHydrin or Microhydrin. Instead of these you
may also use alkaline water from a water ionizer. Useful
alternative antioxidants are ascorbic acid and alpha lipoic
acid. Preferably start with smaller amounts and only gradually
increase to 3 liters if problems arise, such as water retention,
then reduce the fluid intake temporarily. If already on
dialysis then use water low in minerals with these additions
and increase the volume of drinking water more slowly to
match the output of urine.
Armstrong
claims to have cured many thousands of patients, many of
them with so-called incurable diseases and close to death.
However, he is emphatic that no medical or other drugs must
be taken during urine fasts. While I suspect that most kidney
patients will prefer dialysis or kidney transplants, I offer
this information for the few who are willing to try. For
details and further information see also the related articles
Urea and Urine Therapy and Urine Therapy Prevents Kidney
Failure.
ADDITIONAL
THERAPY
A
more conventional therapy to delay the need for dialysis
is colonic irrigation (colonies) with plenty of low-mineral
water. This helps to reduce high blood levels of toxins
and waste.
Epsom
salts and castor oil packs over the kidneys can be of great
benefit. Wet a cloth with concentrated warm Epsom salt solution
and place it over the kidneys. Keep warm for 1 - 2 hours
with a hot water bottle. At other times use warm castor
oil on a woollen cloth, keep warm. Repeat these packs frequently.
With inflammation and pain a fresh outer cabbage leaf over
the kidneys may bring relief.
To
use colour therapy, shine a bright orange light at close
range onto the kidney area for kidney stones, but use blue
light in case of pain. Exclude daylight or other electric
light. In case of weak kidneys violet light is best. More
convenient than a coloured light bulb is coloured cellophane,
place several layers of violet cellophane over the kidneys
and expose this to bright light or sunshine. Generally keep
light bulbs about half a meter away from the skin. Treat
for 30 to 60 minutes at a time.
The
foot reflexes for the kidneys are near the centre of the
soles of the feet. Press around this area until you find
the sorest spot and then continue to press. You may also
press it onto a stone or golf ball or against the edge of
a table. Repeat daily until recovered. It also helps to
press into tight muscles at the small of the back and tap
the vertebrae in this area. For further details see the
article on Reflexology.
Adopt
a daily routine of meditation or relaxation exercises followed
by guided imagery. Imagine white or golden yellow-healing
energy entering the top of your head, filling your body
and concentrating in the kidneys. For other mind healing
methods see Mind Therapies.
The
kidneys are linked through acupuncture meridians to the
teeth and jaws in upper and lower positions 1 and 2. Dead
teeth, a metal bridge, root, gum or jawbone infections or
inflammations in these positions tend to interfere with
kidney and bladder functions. While generally all dead teeth
should be removed, with kidney diseases it is important
to sanitise any problems with the front teeth.
Constipation
can contribute to kidney problems. If necessary use more
laxative food such as ground linseed and psyllium hulls.
Most important is the Ultimate Cleanse to sanitize the intestines
and eliminate microbes which are commonly a main cause of
this disease.
With
kidney failure combine the Ultimate Cleanse with Reflexology,
diet, and drinking as much diluted lemon or grapefruit juice
or (organic) cider vinegar as possible before meals without
causing fluid retention. The citrus juices should be freshly
pressed and diluted with water that has a low mineral content.
If the body is or becomes too acid see if you can neutralize
it with spirulina powder.
To
recapitulate: Have a high fluid intake as unpolluted water
(rain water, filtered or distilled), diluted herb teas or
diluted wheat grass juice and fresh vegetable juices; minimise
the intake of meat, sweet food, sodium, calcium and phosphates;
use plenty of raw food, especially salads and acid citrus
fruit. Have frequent and prolonged fasting periods on apples,
citrus fruit, wheat grass and other vegetable juices, try
urine fast; do the ultimate cleanse and test for food allergies.
The
most important supplements are ascorbic acid, vitamin B6,
magnesium and zinc, ground linseed, fish oils, and a mixture
of kidney herbs,. Sanitise your front teeth, possibly spinal
adjustment and stimulation at the small of the back, experiment
with packs, colour therapy, reflexology and mind improvement
methods.
