PKDiet was first begun to lessen pain from PKD and PLD. Through careful observation, eliminating foods that increased symptoms such as bloating, measurable girth, pain, and other symptoms, an evolutional process created PKDiet. The fruition of this ongoing project has shaped an alkaline diet geared toward healthy cystic liver and kidneys. PKDiet is alkaline, vegan, limits animal proteins to a neutral protein balance and, through alkalinity, there is an expected lowering of body acids: uric acid, oxalic acid, malic acid, lactic acid; creating a friendlier environment for diminishing cyst growth.
All the following diets seem similar in many respects: gout diets, low oxalate diets, alkaline diets, neutral protein diets. PKDiet has been designed through our mutual experiences with continued feedback from our bodies, observing, by trial and error, which foods make us feel better and which foods make us feel worse. We are in ready anticipation of a future date when clinical trials will begin, coupling PKDiet with potassium (or sodium) citrate to prove its effectiveness in diminishing cyst size, cyst numbers, increasing renal perfusion and prolonging kidney and liver health.
SAVING FAILING KIDNEYS
An article from the 2006 Malaysian Star documents that kidney patients eating diet eliminating all animal proteins have been successful in slowing down proteinuria, an early symptom of diminished kidney functioning. This treatment provides a possible alternative to costly dialysis and or transplant. Several doctors from around the world, China (Prof. Lin), France (Prof. Aparicio), USA (Mackenzie Walser, MD), Mexico (Teplan MD), India (Prakash MD) and Hungary have announced similar conclusions : Individuals with nephrotic syndrome can slow down their disease if they begin -
- Low Protein
Diet dropping the protein to 0.6 or Very Low Protein
- 0.3 grams/kg
- Eliminate
animal proteins low phosphorus low sodium
- Essential
amino acids supplements (Gambro or Calwood) check
with your doc before implementing.
- ACE inhibitors for blood pressure control check
with your doc before implementing.
- Alkalize i.e. sodium citrate, potassium citrate check
with your doc before implementing.
- Correct
anemia and take a few well chosen other supplements check
with your doc before implementing.
It seems, out of desperation from sky rocketing health care costs, comes some simple solutions. If individuals lowered protein intake, proteinuria dropped 30%. With ACE inhibitors alone, proteinuria dropped 40%. Combining both treatments, proteinuria dropped 90%. A Chinese study is ongoing involving 18,000 individuals at 17 centers. The beauty of this is that it is never too late to begin. We with cystic organs have the opportunity to discover what diminishes symptoms and prolongs our health.
Some researchers have discovered that as kidney failure progresses
the protein intake needs to be dropped to 0.3 grams VLPD (very low protein diet).
According to Prof Aparicio (Bordeaux France), it has been calculated that
each 0.2g decrease in protein intake slows down the progression of kidney failure
by 29%. Low protein diets are supplemented with only the essential amino
acids designed for kidney health by (Gambro or Calwood). The world’s largest
manufacturer of ferments for making keto-acids is Ajinomoto. By eliminating
animal proteins, this lightens the load on the
kidneys, lowers uric acids and blood urea nitrogen BUN, an indicator of kidney
health. Here is one possibility to extend life expectancy where dialysis or
transplant is not economically feasible.
Within the USA, Hawaii has the longest life expectancy of any state yet there we have a 30% higher rate of kidney disease. Individuals with kidney disease are living longer. Now we are seeking an even greater quality of life. Some individuals miss eating familiar protein dishes, but once supplementing with essential amino acids, these cravings seem to lessen.
Gambro’s amino acids come in capsules and the taste has a way of repeating itself. Many find its capsule format easy to take. Its capsule form makes it convenient for travel. It is designed to easily slide down the throat and to be taken with a minimum of fluid, helpful for individuals that are fluid restricted. Calwood’s amino acids are available in cherry, grape, orange powders that mix with liquid. There is also a chewable candy, very sweet and artificial tasting. Calwood's EAA's contain artificial sweeteners to mask their smell and taste.
If one uses another form of amino acids from a health food store,
these contain additional, non-essential amino acids. By taking non-essential
amino acids muscle breakdown begins. The end product from muscle breakdown
together with continued consumption of animal proteins,
triggers a rise in waste products, an elevation in BUN blood urea nitrogen,
a rise in urine proteins, and an increase in body acid production. Soy,
whey, grain, and nut powders in addition to containing non-essential amino acids,
also contain high amounts of phosphorus contributing further to
the buildup of nitrogen waste products. Elimination increases the kidneys' workload.
Essential amino acids EAA supplements is one way to supply the body with sufficient
protein (building blocks) while eating low phosphorus and low potassium foods.
Dropping the intake of protein while supplementing with EAA essential amino
acids has the added benefit of raising serum albumin.
Here is the formula of the essential amino acids from Calwood.
|
|
| Nutrasentials USP Grade Amino Acids |
| L-Histidine |
8.0% |
280 mg |
| L-Isoleucine |
10.1% |
360 mg |
| L-Leucine |
15.9% |
560 mg |
| L-Lysine |
11.6% |
410 mg |
| L-Methionine |
15.9% |
560 mg |
| L-Phenylalanine |
15.9% |
560 mg |
| L-Threonine |
7.3% |
250 mg |
| L-Tryptophan |
3.6% |
130 mg |
| L-Valine |
11.6% |
410 mg |
| |
|
|
| TOTAL |
100.0% |
3520 mg |
% AS A TOTAL OF AMINO ACIDS PRESENT
mg PER SERVING VALUE |
Nutritional Facts
Serving Size: 1 Heaping Scoops
Servings per package: 55* (lemon tea has 33 servings per package)
Amino Acids/serving: 3.5 g |
Amount per Serving
Calories 14 Calories
Fat 0 |
%Daily Value* |
| Total Fat |
0 g |
0% |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
0% |
| Sodium |
196 mg |
8% |
| Potassium |
49 mg |
|
| Total Carbohydrate |
3.5 g** |
0% |
| Dietary Fiber |
0 g |
0% |
| Protein |
3.5 g |
|
| Iron |
|
<2% |
Not a significant source of calories from fat,
saturated fat, cholesterol, calcium, or iron.
** Not digested and therefore not available as a source of calories |
* Percentage Daily Values are based on a 2,000
calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower based on
your calorie needs: |
| |
Calories |
2,000 |
2,500 |
| Total Fat |
Less Than |
65 g |
80 g |
| Sat Fat |
Less than |
20 g |
25 g |
| Cholesterol |
Less than |
300 mg |
300 mg |
| Sodium |
Less than |
2,400 mg |
2,400 mg |
| Total Carbohydrate |
|
300 g |
375 g |
| Dietary Fiber |
|
25 g |
30 g |
 protein testing albustix are available 100 for $33
through Canada
HOW CAN
I BE SURE I AM GETTING ADEQUATE PROTEIN? With healthy cystic kidneys, it is 0.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Groups have calculated the optimum amount of protein needed
to keep the body neither gaining weight nor losing muscle mass. This is called
neutral nitrogen balance. Better proteins are vegetable proteins.
The following
is a formula to calculate your daily intake of protein. If you
weigh 156 pounds, divide this by 2.2 (pounds per kilogram). This
will give you 70 kilograms. Multiply 70 kilograms by 0.6 (grams
of protein per kilogram). This will give you 42.5 grams of protein
or 43 grams. Click here to review a list of protein in some foods
| 115 pounds |
52 kilograms |
31 grams of protein |
| 156 pounds |
70 kilograms |
43 grams of protein |
| 190 pounds |
86 grams of protein |
52 grams of protein |
A large glass of carrot juice has
5 grams of protein so does an egg. Salad Mallow has 10 grams of protein in a
100 gram portion. Once dialysis begins the protein requirement to stay in
a neutral nitrogen balance may change. Some say it increases others have tried decreasing it to 0.3 grams /kilogram of body and supplementing with essential amino acids from Gambro or Calwood. Excess protein is converted to sugar and sugar is stored as fat.
If you are a vegan —Cabbage
contains all the essential amino acids. I juice cabbage regularly with 5 almonds.
In addition to adding anti-oxidants, the almonds also adds additional essential
fatty acids which facilitates the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins. Amino
acids are components which make up a protein. The body is unable to manufacture
essential amino acid; they must be ingested daily.
To give you an idea of how much protein
to eat, my requirement is 31 grams. I found (that by making dietary changes
to exclude dairy, exclude soy, and exclude many animal products) I still had
to be careful not to exceed my daily protein requirement. Vegetables
have sufficient protein, especially while juicing abundant amounts of raw vegetables. CAUTION if you must restrict potassium, or phosphorus, check with your dietitian
which foods are appropriate for you.
Cranberries
If you enjoy meat regularly, the
dietary changes must be done slowly by first adding cranberry juice to the diet
to bind ammonia and change it to ammonium. Ammonia is a nitrogen based buffer
produced to neutralize a heavy ingestion of protein type of foods. Northland
brand of 100% juice cran-raspberry, cranberry-peach, cran-orange, cran-grape,
cran-apple, cran-blackberry are all pretty tasty. I dilute them with 1 ounce
of spring water to 2 ounces of juice. 2 ounces of fresh cranberry juice can
be made from raw or frozen cranberries alone or by combining the juice with
apples or other favorite fruits. I dilute both of these juices with 1 ounce
of mineral water.
Within a weeks time you may notice,
a beautifying and softening of your skin a resulting side effect results from
drinking cranberry juice diluted with water. An anecdotal piece of medical wisdom
has at last won scientific confirmation: cranberry juice helps clear urinary
infections! Cranberries, lingonberries, and blueberries are among the rare fruits
which are acid producing. Drinking the juice from these fruits has lowered the
number of bladder and kidney infections. The cranberry has a substance in it
which prevents the bacteria from sticking to the cell wall. This substance helps
to counteract any micro-hemorrhages that may occur within the bladder and kidney.
This is perfect for polycystic kidney disease. For a long time Dr. Grantham
(Kansas University) has made the observation that there seems to exist an inflammation
of the polycystic kidney which leaves behind some residual scar tissue within
the kidney itself. This appears to be present in early in individuals with polycystic
kidney disease PKD.
To be assured that I receive the
potential benefits from cranberry juice, II drink 2 ounces of cranberry juice
diluted with one ounce of mineral water. I have observed that my urine remains
an alkaline pH of 6.5 to 7.5. I feel I am drinking almost a medicinal amount
of freshly squeezed cranberry juice. On such occasions when I am experiencing
stress from travel, jet leg, tiredness, or going to see the doctor, I will juice
some extra citrus fruit— a lemon, an orange, or a grapefruit or kumquats,
to assist my urine to remain basic (slightly toward a pH of 6.5 to 7.5). I have
been using non-alcoholic organic nettle extract which in addition to alkalizing
the urine also decreases uric acid. Uric acid is known to be elevated with PKD.
A researcher who has been exclusively researching blueberries and cranberries
says her studies show that cranberry is alkaline forming. For interesting web
site try Cranberry
and Blueberry research.
Along with cranberry juice, try adding
cooked vegetables to one meal; raw may be too drastic a change for a 100% meat
eater. Perhaps the first week have one all vegetarian meal, the second week
have two days of all vegetarian meals until you have slowly made the transition
gradually to where you are eating one or two meals a week which contain animal
products and the other meals are vegetarian.
Soy
Soy is a legume, a bean. It is a nitrogen rich protein and to be avoided with nephrotic syndrome. Some of us who have polycystic liver
disease PLD attempted to substitute soy protein in our diets. The result was
liver cysts that grew and grew and grew. The liver cysts mistook the phytoestrogens
in soy to be true estrogen. The hormonal receptors within liver cysts triggered
cyst growth. We quickly stopped that experiment. For information on the New Zealand experience and their ban on soy, click here.
Soy is high in phosphates which often
is restricted in the later stages of PKD polycystic kidney disease . In soy animal
studies, soy products were not taken in addition to other proteins but were substituted
entirely for the protein in the animal diet. These studies were done with animals
with diabetes and not PKD polycystic kidney disease.
A study conducted by Dr. Ogburn,
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,
Canada. His conclusion was that there is the possibility perhaps to alter the
outcome of polycystic kidney disease by some type of dietary changes. What those
are is not yet clear. CAUTION if you wish
to use soy and do have any liver cysts, many of us have noted that soy products
increases the number and size of liver cysts and intensifies the feeling of
fullness following a meal to the point that some have experienced pain. This
has been observed to happen even with cultured organic soy.
IF I EAT
A DIET WHICH BRINGS MY (urinary) pH TO 6.5 - 7.5, WILL I BE ON A LOW PROTEIN
DIET?
Your dietary protein will probably be near to the ideal amount of neutral protein about 30-55 grams of protein. After a visit to your dietitian, a book called Food Values of Portions Commonly Used by Bowes and Church allows you to calculate the protein in common foods. I have found a great computer program called Diet Sleuth. It is available for free. I liked it so much; I bought
all updates for $34. It will calculate the sodium, protein, fat, carbohydrates,
calories, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, etc. once you key in what
foods you have eaten. I eat fresh foods, mostly vegan vegetarian, maybe 50% raw.
I keep myself alkaline, testing between 7.0-8.0. I go for walks. I exercise.
My blood pressure is now optimally controlled at 100/70.This is not a low protein diet, but calculated
as to the optimum amount of protein for your own unique body or 0.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
FOAM TEST: Notice if your
urine has a large amount of foam to it. This may be evidence that
you are spilling protein or that you may have had a bit too much
protein the day before. If you know that you are going to eat a
large amount of protein, drink ample of water to dilute it. Try
a slice of fresh pineapple, pineapple juice, or papaya. Both fruits
are loaded with enzymes that help to digest proteins. Pineapple
contains bromelain and Papaya contains papain. After a rich protein
meal I take a Vitamin E and Rose Hips Vitamin C. These two vitamins
are blood thinners which prevent platelets from clumping together
and will prevent a lethal heart attack.
SMELL TEST: Sniff if your urine has an ammonia smell. This may indicate that your
kidneys are using the ammonia buffers to try and change your system to the alkaline.
Your body has very little alkaline reserves left. Try drinking plenty of diluted
cranberry juice, increasing your water intake and make dietary changes gradually.
HIGH ANIMAL PROTEIN FOODS = HIGH IN PHOSPHORUS = ACIDIC These foods can accelerate kidney decline
| Animal Protein |
BBQ Ribs |
Bass |
Beef |
Buffalo |
Catfish |
| Cheese |
Chicken |
Dairy |
Egg White |
Fish |
French Fried Potato |
| Game |
Ground Meat |
Halibut |
Hamburger |
Ice Cream |
Lamb |
| Lobster |
Mackerel |
Meat Balls |
Milk and Milk Shakes |
Ostrich |
Peanuts< |
| Pork |
Potato Chip |
Poultry |
Quail |
Quiche |
Red Meat |
| Roast Beef |
Salmon |
Sardines |
Scallops |
Soy (if liver cysts avoid) |
Squid |
| Steak |
Stew |
Tacos |
Trout |
Tuna |
Turkey |
ANIMAL PROTEINS These foods are better choices if you cannot totally eliminate animal proteins:
| Cultured Buttermilk (2 ounces) |
Egg Yolk (one) |
Enmenthaler (Swiss) Cheese (one ounce) |
Flat non oily Fish (limit 3 ounces once a week) |
| Goat Cheese (one ounce) |
Lamb (3 ounces) |
Skim Milk (limit 2 ounces) |
Yogurt (plain limit 3 ounces) |
Contributions of some helpful food sources and more:
List of Low Protein Foods from Gayle
Cheese low Phosphorus developed by Nephrologist Dairy Delicious from JC
Soups frozen low sodium vegan by Tabatchnick. Some Organic Soups; some low sodium soups.
Vegetarian Entrees special diets frozen Taste like Chicken Nuggets from Gardenburgers Soy Free
Amy's organic frozen entrees, low sodium Celiac Disease, Vegetarian soups
Non yeasted breads by Pacific Bakery Spelt Rice Kamut; Rebates and deals; nutritional info; recipes spelt and spreads
Video How to bake Non Yeasted Breads
Tupelo honey Apiary honey farm
Bread Alone cookbook useful for baking bread
Omega 3's hemp seed oil caps useful for daily essential fatty acids
pH testing paper
Protein testing strips
|
