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Questions and AnswersQuestion No.: 19509 Submitted By: P. Coumentakis Submitted on: January 20, 2010 Subject: failing kidneys Question: Dear Ralph, there is now in Greece a company of supplements, which represents the VRP here. So, it is possible for me now to get the VRP products easily. So, I would like to order as soon as possible some supplements for a close friend of mine, 73 years old, who is suffering for several years from kidney failure (around 6 kreatinin, 180 urea, 30 hematokrit at present). He takes erythropoetin, Vitamin D3 (1000 IU) and calcium. I would like to have your opinion on what other supplements he should take? Is it possible for him to take a multivitamin (which?) and lipoic acid (how much?) and resveratrol and co-enzyme q-10 (how much?) and what else? He is not having any dialysis. Please let me know in detail about supplements and diet for this case and what would you like me to send you as a present from Greece. Thank you! Your friend, P. Coumentakis Dr. Cinque's Answer: Dear Panayotis, I know of no reason why your friend with failing kidneys can't take any of the supplements you mentioned. They are all good supplements, and ones that I take myself for general health. I don't think it is going to stress his kidneys any further to take them. But unfortunately, there really isn't too much you can take specifically to help the kidneys. The main thing is to try to minimize their burden. That means restricting protein to the minimum that will suffice, which is probably about 40 to 45 grams a day. Also, since the kidneys are involved with sodium balance, I would restrict salt. And since alcohol and drugs are hard on the kidneys, they should be avoided too. I can see from the figures that he's quite anemic. I think the Erytropoetin is a good idea, but at the same time, you should monitor him for iron and Vitamin B12. He should follow his doctor's advice, but if his serum iron and ferritin are low, and iron-binding capacity is high, and his MCV is low, I'd certainly be in favor of him taking supplemental iron. And as for Vitamin B12, you could test for serum B12 and also do a methylmalonic acid, but then again, B12 is so completely safe, you could just go ahead and give it to him. Beyond that, it gets speculative. The kidneys are not like the liver, where there are many supplements proven to help, such as milk thistle, SAMe, glutathione, NAC, TMG, etc. One thing you did not mention is the cause of his kidney failure. For instance, was he taking NSAIDs for a long time? I don't know about Greece, but in America, they are a common cause of kidney failure. Is it from diabetic nephropathy? If so, diabetes supplements would be warranted. Is it from hypertension? If so, he would want to take supplements to address that. There are inflammatory diseases that can damage the kidneys, and in those cases, I'd be plying with natural anti-inflammatories like fish oil and curcumin. You asked about how much CoQ10, and I would give him the new ubiquinol form of it, 100 mgs, twice daily. And I would have him take Taurine because it has a protective effect on the kidneys, and I doubt he's going to get enough from his diet, especially since he must eat a low-protein diet. So, I would have him take a 600 mg capsule of Taurine twice daily. I hope this helps. |
