Eat this not that: food swaps to repair kidneys
If you have kidney problems, you may already know that… DIET is the best way to lower your creatinine levels.
And there’s only one thing better than eating healthy,
it’s REPLACING KIDNEY KILLER FOODS MARKETED AS HEALTHY with true healthy STAPLES!
let’s see a magic trick!
And…. Ta daaaaa!
So today we will see the top 5 kidney killer FOODS BIG CORPORATIONS ARE marketing as healthy
we will replace them with tastier, healthier, kidney friendly superfoods!
so, let’s start immediately with our number 5.
And it is…
Oh orange juice!
Ok, here we go, let’s start with a real kidney killer drink sold as healthy!
Big marketing departments really fooled-us-all with this one.
Today orange juice is a true breakfast staple for so many people! I wish they knew how unhealthy it is!
Orange juice is the most popular juice in the US because corporations advertised it as a staple in a healthy diet for so many years!
They told us that orange juice is incredibly healthy: it’s so full of vitamins, it may even cure your cold.
After all, how can something made from fruits harm your body?
But Unfortunately, Many vitamins are damaged during the production of these juices.
And, according to the FDA, your average cup of orange juice contains 27g of sugar, roughly the same as a cup of Coca-Cola.
I doubt anyone recommends Coke to start the morning.
What this tells us is:
- first orange juice is NOT a healthy food.
And second, the opinion of the general public on the “healthy” way of eating is so biased by commercials and advertising, we end up eating the unhealthiest foods when we think we’re eating healthy.
I mean, just look at this glass of orange juice! It contains almost 8 teaspoons of sugar!
+
But also, up to 500mg of potassium! Which is not that bad if you’re in stage 2 or 3, but it’s a problem for people in stage 4 and 5.
So, what can we use to replace this junk food marketed as healthy?
Let’s do a magic trick!
And…. Ta daaaaa!
Real fruits and vegetables! And wow, a juicer machine!
Yes, if you have one of these juicer machines lying around, now it’s time to make it shine!
So, let’s juice something you can drink every morning that will help your kidneys get better!
First, one apple. Dice it and put the slices in here
Apples are incredibly heathy for people with kidney problems: apples are packed with antioxidants.
These substances help neutralize free radicals.
Really healthy!
And oh, what do we have here! Beetroot! Let’s add one to our juice. This small veggie right here can actually lower your blood pressure!
This superfood has been gaining popularity due to recent studies proving its efficacy in improving athletic performance, preventing bad cholesterol, supporting liver and kidney health.
And, last, some ginger! This is a favorite of mine
Ok, let’s do a taste test! Mmmm I like it! And it’s a million times healthier than store bought fruit juice! No added sugar here!
And, did you know that in a double-blind study, test subjects WHO consumed beetroot juice every day for 4 weeks, experienced a significant reduction in blood pressure!
You’re not getting this benefit from sugar-packed orange juice, that’s for sure!
So guys, let me know in comment section if you will this healthy juice!
Mmmm, I really like it…
But I can tell that there’s no sugar in here. I wonder if there’s something I can do to make it sweeter?
Maybe the next food right here under this bag?
Let’s see our number 4
And it is … honey!
Ok, honey is well known for its health benefits… right? Well, they say it can help a sore throat and that it’s a better alternative to sugar for diabetics.
Well, what they forgot to tell you is that this is only true for real, raw, unprocessed honey.
Basically you should eat it directly from the beehive! Like a bear!
Unfortunately, most of the honey available today is processed.
Which means that the manufacturer has heated and filtered it. This strips away most of the honey’s nutritional value and potential health benefits.
Also, manufacturers produce honey that is not pure and may contain added sugars or syrups.
And, according to a study published in 2018, on average, honey has a glycemic index score, or GI score of 58, while sugar’s GI score is 60.
This is very important not just for people with diabetes, high GI foods are very inflammatory and can even raise blood pressure.
Oh I shouldn’t have done this! I know you’re going to hate me for this, but I have to say it.
HONEY. IS. NOT. HEALTHY.
So, what should we replace it with?
Let’s do the trick!
POOOF
Oh, what do we have here…
My favorite sweetener, Stevia!
Ok, I’m not here to sell sweeteners, but this one has some really… sweet health benefits for people with kidney disease!
And I’m not just talking about the health benefits you would get from avoiding sugar, honey and other high GI sweeteners!
So I won’t tell you about the reduced calorie intake, risk of cavities and the help in managing blood sugar levels – which you would be getting from the use of no-calorie sweetener instead of sugar.
No, what I’m going to tell you is that, ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY, STEVIA CAN HAVE THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES IN THE TREATMENT OF KIDNEY DISEASE.
According to the researchers, kidney patients using stevia may have an improvement of some biochemical parameters such as Serum creatinine, Serum Uric acid and Fasting blood sugar. INCREDIBLE!
What this means is that stevia could not just make your coffee sweeter, but also your kidneys healthier.
Ok, I think this is the first time in my life I tell people to replace a natural food with a processed ONE!
Anyway, Time for our number 3 now!
Let’s see what’s inside! And it is…
A very yummy looking vegan burger made from eggplant! Sounds healthy, right?
Especially for people with kidney disease, having a healthy alternative to meat may be really helpful, since meat in large quantities is very unhealthy for impaired kidneys.
And a lot of people are eating this kind of burger right now. Eating fake meat, comes with a nice self-esteem reward:
according to McDonald’s and Nestle and other companies, this burger is going to save the world!
I mean, look at this website: if you don’t eat their burger, the world is gonna burn!
So health benefits and benefits for the environment too!
YES, marketing departments are really doing their best with this kind of fake meat products, right now.
But is this real?
Or is this just another junk food sold as healthy?
Well, unfortunately, vegetarian “meat” products are often filled with a host of questionable ingredients.
Just take a look at this food label. This is supposed to be a, eggplant hamburger, right? Well, there’s just 18% eggplant in it!
Most present ingredient is heavily processed soy flour! But there’s also regular flour, gluten and other additives.
Let’s be clear on this: these ingredients are Unhealthy, especially for people with kidney disease or high blood pressure.
And other brands are not better.
The problem with fake meat is that it doesn’t really taste like meat.
I mean, look at this
we are talking about plant-based substances that are heavily processed to LOOK like meat.
It’s clearly not going to taste good by itself.
So, food companies add a lot of salt and other additives here to make it taste better.
Here it is, salt.
A lot of it.
So, next time you see an ad for a burger that’s going to save the world because it doesn’t contain meat… you will know what to do.
Yes, the magic trick!
Oh, mushrooms! I love mushrooms!
And this is also a food I’ve never talked about, yet! Great! So, what do we have here?… these are white mushrooms.
Why are these so good for people with kidney problems?
First of all, they can replace meat in a lot of recipes!
You can grill them just like you would grill a steak, or you can make home made hamburgers from mushrooms!
And they have a lot of health benefits: Mushrooms are a low-carb, practically no-fat food loaded with precious nutrients:
They are the only good plant source of vitamin D – which is probably the vitamin you need most in your diet.
Also, the phytochemicals-or naturally occurring plant chemicals-in mushrooms seem to be especially potent, displaying some anti-cancer and anti-aging properties, according to recent studies.
Now, some mushrooms are too rich in potassium – and not everyone can have them.
But one cup, or around 100g, of white mushrooms, contains just 300mg of potassium and 80mg of phosphorus.
And remember that the phosphorus from plant foods is not completely absorbed by the body, unlike the phosphorus, or phosphate, used as additive in fake burgers and other packaged foods.
Also, one cup is almost two of these big mushrooms. It’s two portions, really, and it would be a lot more satisfying to eat than a fake burger.
And, if you’re not convinced yet, consider that mushrooms are one of the most sustainable foods on the planet.
But corporations are not going to tell you this until they find a way to profit from mushrooms.
So, if you want to improve the health of your kidneys and of the planet at the same time, avoid fake meat and eat mushrooms instead!
Ok, time for our number 2 now!
Number 2
Low-Fat Salad Dressing
Low-fat foods were once thought to be weight loss-friendly, when, in fact Low-fat salad dressings often make up for their lack of satisfying fat by adding sugar, high fructose corn syrup, salt, and additives and preservatives to the recipe instead.
For instance, a two-tablespoon serving of no fat salad dressing, may have up to a shocking 14 grams of sugar-that’s 5 grams more than you’d get in a fun-sized Snickers bar.
What should you use instead?
Let’s see!
Ah, apple cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
Two really healthy and very very yummy condiments!
Olive oil is probably the healthiest thing you can add to your salad.
According to studies, olive oil is what makes the Mediterranean diet so healthy for the heart.
What makes olive oil so healthy? First of all, it’s a potent anti-inflammatory.
Test-tube studies indicate that olive oil is so powerful it acts similarly to ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug. Incredible!
Also, olive oil is the best friend of your heart, thanks to its healthy fats.
And, obviously it is perfectly suitable for a kidney diet. Best way to get the benefits is to use it as a dip or as a salad dressing.
I always have olive oil on my table.
And it’s very important to choose the right olive oil. Actually, I’m lucky because here in Italy you can find the best olive oil in the world.
And there’s a huge difference between good, real extra virgin olive oil and cheap knockoffs.
Actually, if you look at these two bottles, the difference is immediately noticeable.
This one is so clear you can see trough it. Not real extra virgin olive oil – even if the producer still decided to write olio extra vergine di oliva here. Yes, labels can be deceiving.
This other bottle is totally different. The oil inside is dark, cloudy, it almost looks like mud.
This is how you can recognize real extra virgin olive oil.
Best brands of olive oil just crush their olives into a paste, then use a mechanical press to separate the oil from the pulp. And that’s it.
So, if you want to find an olive oil that will really help with your heart and kidney health, look for a bottle with these 3 peculiarities.
First, it has to be EXTRA virgin olive oil
Then, it has to be “First Cold Pressed” – in Italian it’s “estratto a freddo” you see?
Now, here’s a trick to tell immediately if the label tells the truth.
If you turn the bottle around, look at that, do you know what this is?
This olive sediment you can see on the bottom of the bottle means that this is the real deal.
When I saw this bottle on the supermarket shelf, I bought it without even looking at the label, I knew it was good just by looking at the oil cloudiness and sediment.
But, if you can’t find real Italian extra virgin olive oil, don’t worry – cheaper virgin olive oils still maintain some of the benefits.
And they are a lot better than any low fat salad dressing you can find.
Especially if you add some Apple cider vinegar or ACV, in short.
I have already talked about ACV in some of my previous videos: the benefits it has are so powerful you may even use it as a home remedy.
ACV has a powerful effect in keeping blood sugar levels in the normal range and to improve insulin levels – absolutely great for people with diabetes.
And this also makes it the ideal salad condiment. If you eat a salad with ACV before a meal, your body is going to process the sugar in it without spikes in your blood sugar levels.
And there’s another really important benefit of ACV for people suffering from chronic kidney disease.
ACV is supposed to Lower Cholesterol levels and to Improve Heart Health.
Now, like for olive oil, to get these benefits you want raw, organic, unfiltered ACV.
And, just like for olive oil, the cloudiness and residue you can find in the bottle are good indicators of the purity of the product.
Again, the more the residues and the cloudiness, the better. This is raw and unfiltered, as we can read on the label.
And it also contains some of the “Mother of Vinegar”. It’s the residue you can see here.
Luckily, raw unfiltered acv is a lot easier to find than good olive oil all around the world.
Ok guys, I bet you want to see our number 1 now!
Number 1 is…
Diet Yogurt!
Yogurt has been sold for decades now as a superfood for weight loss and gut health, especially by commercials targeted towards women!
Those commercials were so aggressive in some cases they had to be removed from airing!
In fact, diet yogurt is NOT the cure-all they tell you. Flavored yogurt is loaded with potentially-carcinogenic artificial colors and flavors.
Plus, it’s really loaded with phosphorus, and being dairy it’s the kind of phosphorus your body will entirely absorb.
And also, if we take a look at the label of this 0 fat yogurt, we may see that fat has been replaced with… sugar!
Let’s take a look at the label. Here it is, 17 grams of sugar per single serving!
WHAT?!?!
That’s what, like 4 teaspoons of sugar?
How did they even put all this sugar in here? I mean is this just sugar and nothing else?
I bet these ruined the HEALTH AND THE body of so many women!
Now, what if I tell you we can replace this FAI VIRGOLETTE “healthy” yogurt with a recipe that’s not just better tasting but also TRULY healthy for you?
Because it’s full of vitamins, fiber, omega 3s and antioxidants?
Is it possible? Well let’s see!
Tira in aria
Oh, what do we have here… a kiwi… one of the most alkaline forming fruit on Earth, also one of the best sources of vitamin c.
2 tangerine, really healthy citrus fruits, lower in potassium than oranges but better source of fiber
30 grams of walnuts, great! this is the nut with the highest antioxidant content in the world. Also, very low in potassium compared to other nuts and rich in omega 3s.
Just like chia seeds, my favorite seed.
Nuts and seeds will give a creamy consistency to our smoothie: and it will taste a bit like yogurt!
And also, half cup of kale.
The ingredients look very healthy, let’s see how they taste! Let’s make a very healthy smoothie! Yes a lot of new recipes today!
LET’S put everything in the blender…
Add 4 ice cubes and a little bit of water…
Mmm this is actually great!
Notice that I’m not using any sugar in this smoothie. And, when’ you’ll try it, you won’t feel the need for any sugar, I promise!
It’s really good! Let me know if you will try this smoothie! And also, if you liked my food swap video and if you want to see more like this one!
Ok guys, a new video is coming next Tuesday, as usual, if you don’t want to miss it, subscribe and set the notification bell to all.
In the meantime, 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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