Kidney Disease

Neil Solomon, M.D., Ph.D. What would your neighborhood look like if the waste disposal system, such as the weekly garbage pickup in front of your house, was cancelled for a year? Not a happy thought, right? Now just take that scenario and relate it to the body. In the body, our kidneys basically serve the function of taking out the trash. The process is done when the blood is circulated through the kidneys. The kidneys remove any waste from the blood and expel it into the urine. Not only do our kidneys remove waste, but they also extract the important nutrients from the blood and then reabsorb them into the blood stream. When the kidneys fail to work properly, the body becomes sick as its own waste-filled blood slowly poisons its other systems. This results in lots more sick cells. The next logical question is what causes the kidneys to stop working properly? There are actually a large number of related diseases that may cause kidney and urinary tract diseases. I will mention only a few of them in this book. Urologic disease, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), diabetes mellitus (Types 1 and 2), high blood pressure, kidney cancer, and glomerulonephritis all are related to chronic kidney failure. According to the National Kidney Foundation, diabetes and high blood pressure account for 57 percent of all end-stage renal disease. In end-stage renal disease, the patient must engage in a process called dialysis, which acts as an artificial kidney located outside of the body, or obtain a kidney transplant. Dialysis is very expensive, time consuming, and not nearly as efficient as an actual kidney. It may serve, however, to keep the person alive until he or she can obtain a transplant or until his or her kidneys start working again. Unfortunately surgical transplantation may also have many drawbacks. The body receiving the implant may fail to accept the new kidney, and the fact that there are not enough organs available to all who need new kidneys are just a few of the challenges with transplantation. The best method, of course, to combat kidney disease is prevention. A lifestyle for healthy people that includes drinking at least one quart of water a day, exercise, a healthy diet full of fiber, fruits and vegetables, and using natural supplements not only may reduce a person's weight and high blood pressure, but that sort of lifestyle reduces the chance of developing cancer and an assortment of other health conditions. The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has published what they believe to be the six most important signs of kidney and urinary tract diseases. I have listed them in the same order as reported by the NKF: 1. Burning or difficulty during urination. 2. More frequent urination, especially at night. 3. Passage of blood appearing in the urine. 4. Puffiness around eyes, swelling of hands and feet, especially in children. 5. Pain in small of back just below the ribs that is not aggravated by movement. 6. High blood pressure. By incorporating a natural supplement such as noni into an already healthy lifestyle, you may be augmenting your chance to stay clear of many of the diseases that lead to chronic kidney failure. In addition, much research has been done to show that noni has important constituents that boost and sustain cellular integrity. Please refer back to Dr. Mian-Ying Wang's research in Figures 1 and 2 in the cancer section that show the decrease in adduct markers (a test for cancer) in the kidneys of the mice, that were given over time, a mixture containing 10 percent noni juice. It is good to note that in end-stage renal failure, a patient's food intake is carefully monitored since high levels of potassium can cause cardiac arrest, or the heart to stop beating. [A particular brand of] Noni Juice contains 28.52 milligrams of potassium per ounce. This level is less than half the potassium level found in an ounce of orange juice or tomato juice, as determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Data Laboratory. Further, grape, pineapple, and apple juices contain higher levels of potassium than [this particular brand of] Noni Juice. The US RDA (United States Recommended Dietary Allowance) for potassium is 2,000 mg per day, seventy times higher than the level found in one ounce of noni juice. However, if you are in end-stage renal failure and have questions as to whether the level of potassium in noni juice would be a problem, I suggest to seek the advice of your physician. In my survey, of the 2,838 people who consumed noni juice in order to augment their kidneys' health, 67 percent reported successful results. Amount of Noni Usage: The average amount consumed by the 67 percent who reported positive results was 2 ounces per day.