Opt for Alkaline Food For Healthier Kidneys!
A new study revealed the power of alkaline food in treating chronic disease such as kidney problems.
The study spearheaded by researchers at the Texas A&M College of Medicine asserted that a diet of fruits and vegetables may help kidney patients in several ways.
For one, a diet consisting of servings of fruits and vegetables which are both alkaline can counter metabolic acidosis, a condition commonly developed by people with kidney disease.
Aside from that, the study found out that those patients who included servings of fruits and vegetables in their diet have better blood pressure control, weight loss and other benefits of eating a healthy diet.
Interestingly, eating fruits and vegetables cut the cost of medications among kidney patients as well.
The Study and the Striking Results
To further probe the benefits of alkaline food, the researchers conducted a study by ‘prescribing’ fruits and vegetables to kidney disease patients. This comes with the purpose also to test if this kind of diet would treat their metabolic acidosis.
The researchers randomly selected 108 participants to be involved in the study and these participants were diagnosed to have high blood pressure and stage 3 chronic kidney disease. Part of the diet of the participants included fruits and vegetables, an oral alkaline medication, or the usual standard of care. Notably, the participants weren’t asked to cut their intake of unhealthy foods, but were simply told to add three servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
After one year of study, the researchers have come up with striking results.
Nimrit Goraya, MD, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and a nephrologist at Baylor Scott & White Health Central Texas, said, “Not only did the acidosis of the fruits and vegetables group get better, but they also started having better blood pressure control, weight loss and other benefits of eating a healthy diet.”
The team says that consuming fruits and vegetables plus taking the oral medication reduced a marker of metabolic acidosis and preserved kidney function about the same amount.
Oops There’s More
The researchers also found out that kidney patients with fruit and vegetables included in their diet were able to take fewer medications.
Goraya said, “Eating fruits and vegetables cut the cost of the medications they needed in half, and in the other two groups nothing happened.”
With this new finding, the study found that the savings were significant. To compare the big difference on savings, the researchers found that the five-year cost of medications to manage their blood pressure was under $80,000 for the fruits and vegetables group but over $150,000 for the other two.
