Why aren't doctors prescribing this ?
Again, its not just me many, many similar success stories seen in that FB group and everywhere on the Internet for those who revolutionize their diet.
Overall not sure why some doctors aren't onboard ... but personally Im going to follow the data of 1,000 success stories vs. three doctors. Crowd data is more powerful then a few doctor's who were trained in medicine vs. nutrition.
Kidney function is most often estimated indirectly, based on measurements of the amount of a chemical called creatine in the blood. Higher functioning kidneys lower creatine levels more effectively. But lowering the amount of creatine generated by your diet, by cutting out animal products, will also lower the creatine measured in your blood. That change in measurement does not reflect an actual improvement in your kidney function, I'm sorry to say.
At lower levels of kidney function, attempting to game the numbers in this way, by minimizing the creatinine you consume and by over-consuming water, could be dangerously misleading. And it shouldn't distract from measures that do stop the decline in kidney function, like blood pressure control and avoidance of certain kidney-damaging meds (e.g. high dose ibuprofen).
Good luck!
Cause what your saying above is the numbers don't matter? WHich contradicts all renal docs usage of the numbers!
Further yes my creatine is down and my eGFR is up, as well the fluid symptoms i suffered in 2019 are gone. My renal doc advocates plant based diets and has patients who has thwarted off dialysis for more then 20 years. Please tell me why I shouldn't follow all this data including from my primary care who advocates such diet change?
That's the money shot. What he is saying is that given the assumption of a normal diet and a well functioning kidney, creatine blood level is a useful proxy for indicating kidney health.
The problem comes in that your creatine level's usefulness as a proxy for kidney health is reliant on the assumption you're eating a relatively normal diet. If you eat one low in creatine, but also have failing kidneys, the low level of creatine intake masks the kidney health indicator because the doctor will likely assume you are eating a normal diet, and not calibrate the numbers to reflect your particular situation.
It's not that the numbers don't matter; it's that you need to understand how the mechanics of the measurement can be effected by violated base assumptions. Always talk with a physician, and try to give them as much relevant information with regards to your lifestyle as you can.
I too have experienced what happens when you have to run the gauntlet of physicians who seem to have stopped thinking upon receipt of their medical degree as well. Hence the encouragement to coordinate with a physician. Not necessarily the one who might not be doing a great job working with you to manage your health.
Is it safe?
*edit To add, I have a couple of associates at my office approaching kidney failure. They're all on diet interventions to reduce protein and potassium. Not sure how the potassium interacts with it but I'm not a doctor either.
potassium is a big deal since it is filtered out by the kidneys and if your kidney function is lowered, dangerous levels could build up and possibly lead to a heart attack.
on the flip side you generally have to start ramping up protein intake once on dialysis.
but agreed that this isn’t straightforward and if it was so easy, people wouldn’t be on dialysis and renal dietitians would be overjoyed. it’s infuriating to read the other comments suggesting it’s all some garbage american diet.
What harm will come from someone who is stage 3a to change their diet to uber healthy and increase water intake?
Are you a doctor?
It is everyones choice to make the best choices for themselves .. try things to see what works. I get labs monthly and review my progress/success with my renal doc. I finally found one who preaches diet change cause she has seen many patient success stories herself.
I suspect this may vary in the USA depending on your insurance it was costing the NHS about £300 per bottle (about a grand for two months) - I suspect the price in the US might be a lot more