New Study Shows Fruits & Vegs Effective in Lowering Blood Pressure in Kidney Patients
March is National Kidney Month and according to the National Kidney Foundation, 1 in 3 Americans are at risk for kidney disease, 37 million people have chronic kidney disease, 660,000 people live with kidney failure and over 100,000 people are awaiting a kidney transplant.
Now, according to new research, fruits and vegetables may be the perfect medication to lower blood pressure for kidney patients.
The study followed a tracking system of a group of patients with different medical treatments.
The researchers aimed to discover which type of medication works better.
As expected, healthy food tops the kind of treatment for kidney patients. Dr. Nimrit Goraya was the author of the study, and she described the connection between kidney disease control and fruit and vegetable intake. According to Goraya, the impact was considerable regarding lower costs and disease control.
She explained, “This study has been done over five years, but every year since the therapy with fruits and vegetables began, we were able to lower medications.”
Goraya, Director for Nephrology in Baylor Scott & White Healthcare, and her team presented their findings at the American Heart Association meeting on blood pressure.
The second leading cause of kidney failure is high blood pressure because the kidneys and the heart depend on each other for optimal health, as explained by the heart association.
The study included 108 kidney disease patients and assigned them into three groups. One group was assigned to take sodium bicarbonate, which the kidneys have difficulty excreting. The second group was assigned to three or four servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The last group was the control group without any treatments.
After the five-year experimental period, the fruit and vegetable group showed a systolic blood pressure reading at 125 mmHg compared to the 135 mmHg and 134 mmHg of the medication and no treatment groups.
The authors noted that the group taking fruits and vegetables had lower doses of blood pressure medication compared to the other groups.
The results found the fruit and vegetable group to have a reduced total expenditure of $80,000 over five years compared to the average total of $153,000 of the other two groups.
Goraya explained that an amount of processes are set in motion when nutrition goes up. She suggested that kidney disease control isn’t achieved only through the consumption of healthy foods but through avoiding fast food, reducing salt intake and losing weight.
For kidney health, start eating healthy today!
To support the National Kidney Foundation visit https://www.kidney.org/
Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon Psy.D., DABPS, C.HT. is a double board certified integrative and interventional psychologist, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and master success coach. She’s considered an expert in integrative health and believes in a holistic approach-treating the body and the mind. As the founder and director of Dr. Aimee and Associates, and now The Center for Integrative and Functional Health and Wellness, Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon and her team of experts don’t just treat symptoms, they solve health problems, create better outcomes and change lives. For more info visit thecifhw.com/
By Dr Aimee Harris-Newon
Director, The Center for Integrated and Functional Health & Wellness