BOOST Energy & Repair Your Kidneys – 5 Remedies
In this video: the top 5 natural remedies and vitamins to restore your energy levels and to repair your kidneys!
Low energy levels are frustratingly common in people with kidney problems.
And unfortunately, being lethargic the whole day and sleepless during the night is not just bad for your quality of life, it may also impact your kidney health.
But, as usual, my aim is to find a solution to the problem and not just to the symptom.
So today we are going to see what natural remedies can help you boost both your energy levels and your kidney health!
My name is Katherine and this is 00Kidney! Welcome to our journey together to a better kidney health!
So let’s start immediately,
Today’s number 5 is a natural remedy that will help you sleep better and longer
Number 5
Melatonin
Ok, I can’t believe I’ve never talked about melatonin before!
Melatonin is my go-to home remedy, coupled with chamomile, when it comes to solving a lack of sleep problem.
It really works!
And, according to a recent study, it may also have kidney protective and repairing effects! More about this in a moment.
First, what is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone. It regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
It’s naturally produced by the body in response to darkness. It has a very important role in initiating and maintaining sleep.
As a dietary supplement, it is a natural, inexpensive, widely available remedy for insomnia.
Melatonin is sold over the counter, you may be able to find it even in supermarkets, and it’s often used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, such as from jet lag.
And a lot of people use melatonin if they have jobs that disrupt typical sleep schedules.
Now, regular sleeping patterns are key not just to improve energy levels during the day, but also to protect kidney health.
Why is it important to sleep well if you care about your kidneys?
Lack of sleep has been linked to a multitude of health problems.
Lack of sleep and sleep deprivation challenge all the organs in the body, the researchers say.
Symptoms such as infertility, mental health problems, weakened immune system, weight gain and even diabetes and heart disease are linked to it.
And the kidneys may be the organ more in danger, when not sleeping enough.
There’s a study from the Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital directly linking poor sleep to a rapid decline in kidney function.
People who slept five hours or less per night were those more at risk of rapid kidney function decline.
Now, to make things worse, accumulating evidence has suggested that subjects with CKD or on dialysis exhibit altered circadian rhythms of melatonin levels in the blood.
According to studies, the production of melatonin is decreased with the progression of CKD – so it may be even harder to sleep for people with kidney problems.
But this also means that taking melatonin as a supplement may work especially well for people with kidney problems.
So we are talking about a supplement that may really help in protecting the health of your kidneys and in restoring your energy levels.
And Melatonin supplements appear to be pretty safe.
They do not cause your body to produce less melatonin and are not associated with withdrawal or dependence – unlike many sleeping medications.
Now, melatonin may have interactions with blood sugar lowering medications taken to manage diabetes, so it’s very important to talk to your doctor before taking this supplement.
But there’s another thing I want to show you about melatonin.
A study shown that melatonin administration attenuated oxidative stress, inflammation, and restored renal function and structure.
According to the researchers, melatonin has a powerful Kidney protective effect, thanks to its anti-inflammatory property.
Now, this study was done on rats and was published in the Journal of Nephropharmacology.
But before telling you that this effect of melatonin is true for humans too, we will need more evidence.
Nonetheless melatonin may be really effective in protecting the kidneys even just for the sleep aid it provides.
Ok, there are 4 more vitamins and home remedies even more powerful.
Number 4 is one the most important vitamins for people with kidney problems.
Ok, let’s take a look
vitamin b12.
Vitamin b12 is crucial to improve energy levels.
Along with the other B vitamins, vitamin B12 helps transform the food you eat into energy that your cells can use.
Now, Vitamin b12 is one of the most important vitamins for people with kidney problems for two reasons:
First of all, it can help fight anemia.
Anemia can make you feel really weak and tired.
And it is very often present in people with kidney problems.
I’ve talked in depth about anemia in a recent video and I can tell you that treating anemia should be a priority in fighting kidney disease.
This is because anemia is not just the most common cause of fatigue, or constant tiredness, but it may also make kidney disease progress faster.
And, yes, vitamin b12 alongside with iron and the next vitamin I’ll talk about today can really help.
But it’s pretty hard to get enough vitamin b12 in a renal diet. You can find it mostly in meat, dairy, fish and eggs, all foods that someone on a renal diet should limit or avoid completely.
The only good plant-based sources of this vitamin are soy foods and mushrooms.
As a result, if you are following a plant-based diet, your energy levels may receive a boost with B12 supplements.
The other reason why vitamin b12 is important for you is because it is thought to delay CKD progression.
This is, at least, what a study conducted in 2019 and published on the journal “Nutrients” suggests.
And, according to the authors of the study, there’s another vitamin that should be recommended to slow down the progression of kidney disease.
It is…
Number 3 Folate or vitamin b9
Yes, this one is maybe even more important than vitamin B12.
According to studies, supplementing folate may slow the decline of renal function in people with chronic kidney disease.
Especially those who live in areas without folic acid fortification.
And also, just like vitamin b12, folate deficiency is linked to anemia.
So supplementing it may be really helpful in improving energy levels. Remember that I’m trying to find a solution to the cause here, not to the symptom.
Now, folate should be easier to get in a renal diet, compared to vitamin B12.
This is because plant based foods such-as leafy greens, asparagus, broccoli, but also seeds, nuts cauliflower and bell peppers are good sources of it.
So we have seen 2 vitamins today that people with kidney problems may want to supplement regularly, and not just to restore their energy levels.
But, as you may already know, if you have kidney disease taking a regular multivitamin is a risk.
Because, you know, some vitamins may accumulate and become toxic when the kidneys cannot filter them out properly.
What to do then? There are some brands that make vitamin supplements specifically made for people with kidney problems. These include Nephrocap, Rena-Vite Rx, ProRenal and more.
Now guys, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to finding the right renal vitamins brand.
And even if this topic is beyond the scope of today’s video, don’t worry: I’m preparing a detailed video review of these vitamin supplements.
It will be interesting, I promise. So stay tuned, set the notification bell to all – so Youtube will notify you as soon as I upload this video comparison.
Now guys, there are two other very powerful home remedies I want to show you now.
First there’s
Number 2 Beetroot Powder
I’ve already talked about the impressive healing properties of beetroot and beetroot juice.
And taken in powder, beetroot may be even more effective and safer.
Beetroot POWDER has become really popular among athletes, because it can improve energy levels during physical activities. So it is widely available and easy to find.
Both the powder and the food have some impressive benefits, including improved energy levels, preventing bad cholesterol, supporting liver health and, most important, it also boasts a kidney protective effect.
These effects are possible thanks to a substance called nitrate. It produces nitric oxide in the body, which will increase blood flow and oxygen delivery, while dilating your blood vessels.
This will ultimately reduce your blood pressure.
And this is a very powerful, measurable effect.
Actually, it’s so powerful that beetroot juice was used in a study on dialysis patients, with incredible results.
Test subjects taking the juice instead of the placebo were able to greatly reduce their dosage of blood pressure lowering drugs.
Now, there’s another very interesting study about beetroot supplements, from the Heart Research UK.
Researchers were looking into whether beetroot supplements could be used to prevent kidney failure arising from the use of dyes for coronary angiography.
These dyes are known to cause acute kidney injury.
Researchers think that the nitrate in beetroot may even be able to prevent kidney damage done by this dye.
So, a whole lot of incredible benefits!
And, you know, I’ve already talked about ways to introduce this superfood in your diet.
Now, the problem with beetroot is the potassium content.
A single, medium sized beet, weighting around 80 grams, contains up to 270mg of potassium.
Beetroot juice is even richer in this mineral.
Now, a better way of getting precious nitrate, the active compound in beetroot, without all this potassium may be beetroot powder.
According to Now Sports, a very big supplements brand, a single 9.5 grams serving of beetroot powder contains the nitrate of 2.5 whole beets and just 234 mg of potassium.
And this could be a win-win situation for people with kidney problems, in my opinion.
Because that’s the same potassium of one beet but the nitrate of 2 and half beets.
Another pro of the beetroot powder. These supplements are widely available on amazon.com and other stores, since they’re marketed toward athletes.
And they’re very, very cheap, just around 13$ for a 1 pound bottle. And the daily dose is one teaspoon, so 1 pound is going to last forever.
And I know this looks very tempting: for basically nothing, you would be getting powerful energizing, blood pressure lowering and kidney protecting effects.
But consult your doctor before using these supplements, alright?
The downside here is that these supplements are still being tested on people with kidney problems.
While the results of the studies on beetroot juice and raw beetroot are already published, these supplements still need testing.
So consult your doctor and monitor your blood pressure regularly if you take any beetroot product, because the blood pressure lowering properties of nitrate are indeed very powerful.
Ok, number 1, the most powerful supplement for today, at least when it comes to improve energy levels during the day.
It is…
Theanine and caffeine
ok, this is what brands call a nootropic, a cognitive enhancer. These supplements are all the rage right now.
Theanine, in particular is a natural substance present in green tea which can be used to improve mental function.
Theanine is not the same as theine, which is actually caffeine.
But it can be combined with caffeine to get better results – not just in terms of alertness and energy levels – but also in managing the side effects of caffeine.
Caffeine is commonly consumed for its energy-boosting properties in the form of coffee, tea or other beverages.
It works, obviously, and it’s considered safe for people with kidney disease if in the right dosages, up to 400 milligrams or 3-4 cups of coffee a day.
However, many people limit or completely avoid caffeine because it can lead to irritability, nervousness, restlessness and a crash after its initial energy boost.
But combining theanine with caffeine may be an easy way to prevent these side effects.
This is because theanine is thought to promote relaxation without increasing drowsiness.
In several studies, the combination of caffeine and L-theanine has been shown to improve memory and reaction time plus decrease tiredness and mental fatigue
So basically, these results suggest that adding theanine to caffeine can help you get the same energy-boosting benefits from caffeine without the unwanted side effects.
And some animal and lab studies show that theanine could help with dementia, high blood pressure, and unhealthy cholesterol levels.
Actually, people who drink green tea — which is high in theanine and has some caffeine — had a lower risk of stroke, one study found.
We don’t know if it was actually the theanine in the green tea that produced the benefit.
At this point you may ask isn’t a cup of green tea even better?
Well, if you want an answer to this question, watch this video!
And remember that following a kidney friendly diet, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep are the best ways to maintain your natural energy levels and to help your kidney function.
As usual, keep taking good care of your kidneys and be good to yourself! This is all for today, thank you for watching!
About the Author
Katherine My name is Katherine and I've been working with people suffering from kidney disease and other kidney issues for almost 10 years now. If there's one thing I learned is that you should never give up!
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