Meds & Supplements That Can DAMAGE Kidneys

hey there welcome to Sugar MD today I'm diving into something super important especially for anyone facing kidney issues so let's chat about medications and even supplements that can cause kidney toxicity well understanding this is very important why because once your kidney is damaged typically there's no coming back when certain substances like medications certain supplements will decrease the kidney function permanently even kidney failure can happen acute kidney failure in some cases and in some cases is a chronic damage slow chronic damage so let's break down some of the ways these uh medications and supplements can really wreak havoc on your kidneys so what is really nephrotoxicity which is kidney toxicity right when a substance directly harm the kidney cells which are called nephrons as you know one of the biggest toxin for your nephron for your kidneys is high glucose well that's not a drug but it can directly damage your kidneys we'll talk about drugs today though okay so I'm just reminding you some facts there are a lot of mechanisms for glucose for example to damage your kidneys one of them is oxidative stress through free radical damage and there is esia which is La of you know or fancy way of saying kidneys are not getting enough blood flow certain medications can constrict those blood vessels cutting of that crucial Supply and causing major issues another big player in this nasty the game is inflammation some medications will trigger an inflammatory response in the kidneys leading to scarring and decreased function over time sometimes almost immediate let's not forget about the crystal deposition that's another form of drug side effect crystalline structures that actually block the tubules in the kidneys making it hard for them to do their job can you believe that it is really wild how so many different Pathways can lead to kidney damage it's important to be aware and have these conversations with your doctor so that you can make informed choices about what you are putting into your body the most common medication actually that affects the kidneys and a lot of people are surprisingly unaware of this are the pain medications or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs right I'm not talking about necessarily the opioids these are nonopioid non-steroidal drugs like ipren Naproxin stuff like that so they can be really hard on your kidneys if not used carefully even aspirin I know you know people are using baby aspirin sometimes but they're not as innocent as you may think so hopan like I said naproxen they damage your kidneys at higher doses by reducing the blood supply in your kidneys another one is actually acetaminophen like simple Tylenol right you have to be really cautious with with Tylenol as well especially in cases of overdose or pre-existing liver conditions now I said not opioid nonsteroidal are a problem those drugs but opioids are also a problem right and we know everybody knows there's a huge opioid Addiction in our country in the US so it is still a huge risk the reason is they cause dehydration they cause constipation these are the most common side effects you know it may not seem like a big deal especially when combined with not drinking enough water and constipation leads to decreased flow to your kidneys the longer the kidneys are under strain from this dehydration the more the damage will occur again they are great for pain management if used correctly but it is super important to use them wisely and stay hydrated too and prevent constipation at all cost if you can always keep the line of communication with your Healthcare Providers people ignore it they don't want to talk to the doctor or doctor is busy they ignore themselves and then next thing you know they get into much bigger complications that's why a lot of people for example with OIC type of drugs they end up with major problems they end up in the hospital sometimes they even have bow perforations CPE of you know or bowel obstructions and the reason for that is they just ignore the side effect of the medication just because they like the fact that they're losing weight or it's helping their diabetes but you know you don't want to really die from a medication By ignoring the side effects another common very common drug that are even sold as overthe counter which I don't think they should be sold over the counter but they are like pyc or Nexium prid right these are antio drugs they can increase the kidney risk in the long term now antibiotics and kidneys are also important so because like people are taking antibiotics like candies nowadays it is super important why because they some of them carry really big risks like aminoglycosides for for example as a group of antibiotics includes the Genty neomy amassin they're pretty potent prolonged to use can be harmful to your kidneys now some people have to use use these medications for a long time because of some deep seated infections or chronic infections Vancomycin is another medicine used especially in the hospitals very commonly especially they combine it with pil and tazobactum these will increase your kidney stress a lot that's why we see a lot of people in ICU on these drugs and their kidneys are failing we don't know if it is the sepsis itself or the drugs are causing it sometimes it is hard to tell solisten polymixin are also there are red flags there are some anti fungals chemotherapy drugs so you name it so let's talk about the antifungals then right so chemotheraputic agents are also they're they're important you know you have to some you use them and if you have a fungal infection you have to use antifungal but for example ersin b sopoby or tenob adob these are need to be adjusted significantly if your kidney function is low as well chemotherapy agents like cisplatin or IA fosi like they must be handled with caution they require significant adjustments and another one that you will be familiar with is diuretics right so they're often referred to as basically water pills and people use it like okay I have some Lex swelling giv some water pills well that sounds benign and very Innocent but they can actually cause dehydration slowly as well which is going to be harmful for your kidneys sometimes you have to use them for high blood pressure or real volume retention from heart failure or kidney failure but it has to be really carefully managed by your doctor uh to prevent dehydration so you need to be aware that they yes they reduce the volley but sometimes they do too much and that can be a problem chemotherapy and contrast agents right so people go they ask for CAT scans hey do do imaging for this Imaging for that and some of the Imaging required CAT scan I mean the IV die Etc not good for your kidneys even for MRI right so if you're getting a lot of MRI contrast galum that can accumulate especially if you have severe kidney disease it's not even recommended to get an MRI to begin with how about supplements right well supplements are generally good and they actually some of them help your kidneys but some of them can be harmful so it's better to know right before it's too late there are some weird supplements out there that you should be clear of you know that's for sure now some out there some gems that are really great for your kidneys especially if you are dealing with diabetes there's so much stress on your kidneys on a daily basis you may have to use some supplements but some of them can be harmful now let's talk about probiotics as a good one right I'm going to talk about first like what is good for your kidneys and we'll talk about what is bad for your kidneys when it comes to supplements probiotics are great they strengthen your gut health happier gut means happier kidneys probiotics really help maintain a balance of good bacteria that can reduce the inflammation which is great for your overall health because you do not want inflammation in your body that ends up in your kidneys alalo acid it's a powerful antioxidant that helps fight oxidative stress which is super common with people with insulin resistance or diabetes so people really underestimate the power of these supplements but they are to me should be like a baseline supplement for almost every diabetic alphao acid can even improve your insulin sensitivity beside being protective and let's not forget about the benyamine which is a B1 vitamin that really shines with diabetes and kidney issues like you know probably bamin has been shown in studies in multiple studies that it reduces the nerve damage and kidney injury so by supporting the metabolism of glucose that benyamine will really reduce the strain on your kidneys because when you utilize the glucose correctly you are going to avoid the alternate Pathways like sorbitol pathway or hexosamine pathway polyol pathway these are all Pathways that your body creates substances that becomes forever chemicals almost in your body and accumulates in your body and you cannot do anything about them it just they just keep creating inflammation unless you have strong antioxidants and bitamin in this case prevents from their production to begin with so which supplements then to avoid right well generally like I said most supplements are not heavy doses they are easily handled by your body but some people kind of go overboard or they overdo they go over the recommended amount or simply they shouldn't be taking because of degree of kidney function they have the dysfunction they have some of these supplements even if they're natural still needs to be processed by your kidneys so I'm going to tell you common ones take note of these uh one of them is called asteral an herb that is used for immune boosting properties but sometimes it can mess with your kidneys especially if you're not careful cery is interestingly is in the list here it has a lot of benefits if you overdo it I know it's a great snack but it may not be great for your health HSE tail well that's very familiar to me too because I actually grow them uh right in front of my house why well because they look good they're nice they're like a little bamboo they're like a thinner bamboos and U they are they're really cute it is trendy it's it works like a diuretic I never tried it myself but that's what it's known for at the same time you can lead to dehydration um if you if your kidneys are not great to begin with lorish fruit that is something love it I hate it personally but it's tasty uh it's some people like eat it every day but it can really cause a lot of imbalance and stress for your kidneys parsley root so again this is a diuretic you can eat parsley no problem but if you are kind of drinking parsley root tea all the time and stuff like that you know your kidneys may not like that too much another one is UA iy which has been used for again urinary issues but it can be hard on your kidneys on high doses creatine that's super popular right athletes or bodybuilders use a supplement to increase the muscle mass but guess what all of those byproducts end up in your kidneys and if you have kidney issues you don't want to really overwork your kidneys with too much of these supplements there's another one called Hine a that is uh for memory support again it can cause problems in susceptible individuals now there's something called nettle syis thing that's an interesting name right they have great benefits but again be conscious with the kidneys Penny Royal is another one you probably heard of that one is it has a huge history of medicinal use but uh again if overused could be a problem Yim is another one that is primarily for used for aodc properties but again you know you don't want to overdo that for a little fun then your kidneys can pay for it right cat's Claw is great for inflammation but might not be safe if you have K issues Golden Rod is again good for urinary Health in general but but again too much of it can be a problem Java Tea Leaf has diuretic properties again that's similar to any other diuretic could be a problem if you use too much Oregon grape this is directly interfering with kidney function so that definitely should be avoided so I think I covered most of these if I missed anything just let me know and if you found this episode helpful you know please subscribe share it with others and might beneficial please follow our community guidelines when commenting we are all nice people we want to be nice to each other and check out chamd KY support at um.com and we have a lot of resources uh we have books we have uh blogs uh we have audiobooks uh you name it we have all sorts of resources you can subscribe and get all the benefits so can just go to our website put your email down that way you know we know you're part of the family talk to you later hello everyone thanks for watching and this year we are announcing for 2025 January start a diabetes Ral program and we need your input so go to di reversal formula.com and sign up be a 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