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A vicious cycle: diabetes, heart and kidney disease
Humans are arguably the most complex creatures on earth. Our bodily systems are intricately connected in ways we haven’t even discovered yet.
One example is how closely our body’s metabolic system, which processes food into energy and maintains our blood sugar levels, works with our kidneys and our heart.
If something goes wrong with one of these three, it often leads to problems with the others.
In fact, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease overlap so much that last year the American Heart Association coined the term cardiovascular–kidney–metabolic (CKM) syndrome to describe people with two or more of these diseases.
But CKM syndrome also applies to people who are at risk for just one of these diseases.
Are you one of those people?
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What is CKM syndrome?
Only 15 percent of Americans meet the criteria for the advanced stages of CKM syndrome (they’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease).
However, an alarming 90 percent of American adults already show signs of one of these conditions.
CKM syndrome is a vicious cycle that usually begins with insulin resistance.
As blood sugar levels rise, blood vessels stiffen, making the heart work harder to help blood cells and nutrients squeeze through tight, inflexible vessels.
The increasing blood pressure that results is like kerosene on a fire. It triggers inflammation throughout the body.
This inflammation, combined with insulin resistance, drives up levels of triglycerides and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which contribute to plaque buildup in blood vessels. Eventually, the plaque can rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke.
Next stop: kidney damage
When blood sugar, blood pressure and triglycerides are elevated, blood flow to the kidneys is reduced, which causes scarring to the cells that filter the blood.
When your kidneys don’t filter blood as well as they should, an imbalance of fluid, hormones, acids and salts builds up in the body.
This further drives inflammation, which makes it even more difficult for the body to keep blood sugar in check.
And so the cycle continues.
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Be proactive: lower your risks now
Any of the following could be signs of developing kidney disease:
- high blood pressure
- puffiness around the eyes
- swelling of feet and hands
- blood in the urine
- painful or difficult urination
- more frequent urination, especially at night
- feeling cold all the time
As with most things, nutrition is key to preventing insulin resistance and keeping your body from entering this vicious cycle.
One study found that, particularly for women,15 millimoles per liter (mmol) of antioxidants per day should be your goal to achieve the maximum benefit of lowering your diabetes risk by over 25 percent.
Here are some ways to do that:
- Drink about 3 cups of pomegranate juice
- Drink about 2.5 cups of coffee
- Drink about 4 cups of green tea
- Eat about 8 ounces of sunflower seeds
- Eat about 25 ounces of strawberries
- Eat about 22 ounces of prunes
- Eat about 6 ounces of pecans
When you add those kinds of foods to your diet, you are also on your way to meeting one of the six ways to keep kidney disease from striking — all of which overlap with healthy practices that also promote heart health.
Be sure to eat thiamine-rich foods — because the vitamin has been found to slow, protect, and reverse kidney damage in the early stages. Avoid processed foods at all costs.
Editor’s note: Are you feeling unusually tired? You may think this is normal aging, but the problem could be your master hormone. When it’s not working, your risk of age-related diseases skyrockets. To reset what many call “the trigger for all disease” and live better, longer, click here to discover The Insulin Factor: How to Repair Your Body’s Master Controller and Conquer Chronic Disease!
Sources:
Diabetes Often Leads to Heart and Kidney Disease, Too — NY Times
Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association — Circulation
Prevalence of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Stages in US Adults, 2011-2020 — JAMA Network
Diabetes – A Major Risk Factor for Kidney Disease — National Kidney Foundation
By Joyce Hollman
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