Health: Could You Be at Risk for Kidney Disease

I was reading a very interesting and alarming article in Life Extension Magazine about some hidden factors behind the kidney disease epidemic. In case you were not aware, more than 1 in 10 Americans have some stage of chronic kidney disease and the prevalence for developing kidney disease is increasing in people 60 and older. (That got my attention!)

Besides the reasons most of us are familiar with – high blood pressure and diabetes – they mentioned common pain relievers like ibuprofen being extremely damaging to the kidneys and one other very commonly prescribed and overused class of drugs – proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like Prilosec and Prevacid.

This hits close to home for several reasons. A close friend was on these meds for years – probably 15. I kept telling him that those drugs are not tested for safety if used longer than 6 weeks but he said the doctor told him he had to stay on them, so he did. Fast forward to about a year and a half ago. His legs were so thin and weak (this is a 6 foot tall guy who was always sturdily built and has a very physically demanding job) he had trouble walking up the 3 steps to my front door. I asked what was wrong and he just said he lost all muscle in his legs. Well I can tell you why that probably happened. When you take those drugs you do not digest your protein. Even though he is a meat eater and loves protein foods, his body wasn’t getting the benefit from them.

When my son Chris had a perforated ulcer in his early 20’s the surgeon released him from the hospital with a prescription for a proton pump inhibiting drug and said he can eat whatever he wants as long as he takes those drugs for the rest of his life! Thankfully my son trusted me more than what the surgeon told him and he never filled the prescription, taking some natural supplements to protect his stomach as it healed instead.

I know those drugs are also associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis as well. In fact, regular users have a 10-40% increased risk of bone fractures.

A year later when he had an endoscopy to see how the healing had progressed, the technician told him if he hadn’t known he’d had an ulcer he never would’ve been able to tell. His stomach was totally healed.

I am so grateful we took that route. The study mentioned in the Life Extension article said people taking those drugs twice a day had a 46% higher risk of chronic kidney disease than those who only took it once a day. Those people had a 15% higher risk. Either way, choosing a different, more natural approach is highly recommended. The way I see it, heartburn and GERD are not PPI deficiencies! It is better to find the cause – maybe you need to make changes in your diet or habits – and correct that.  If you need some suggestions on how to do that, contact me directly.

Do you take proton pump inhibiting drugs for GERD or chronic heartburn?

**I am being interviewed by The Iron Jen on February 1st at 11 am ET and sharing some of my thoughts on how to make 2017 your healthiest ever. I hope you can join me – here are the call in details:

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/845424270

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll):  +14086380968,845424270# or +16465588656,845424270#

Or Telephone:

    Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)

    Meeting ID: 845 424 270

    International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=I_SnHOb8pJQtnZzy7S-E73SbBNyH70xj

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