Learn what therapies can slow the progression of kidney problems

If you have severe kidney disease as a result of your diabetes, you need to be followed by a nephrologist. However, early disease can be slowed and often reversed with natural therapies.

The following have been shown to slow the progression of kidney disease:

• Getting diabetes and hypertension under control
• Smoking cessation
• Regular exercise
• Protein restriction. While healthy kidneys can handle the enormous portions of protein common in the American diet, excess dietary protein can accelerate kidney damage. The usual recommendation for those with struggling kidneys is 0.6 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight. For a 150-pound person, that means 41 grams, the amount in one 3-ounce piece of fish, chicken, or beef, an egg, and half a cup each of beans and yogurt.

Effective Alternative Clinical Therapies

Two additional treatments that are extremely helpful in treating diabetes-related kidney disease:

• EDTA chelation. This therapy is particularly helpful for people with early kidney disease as a result of diabetes. Lead is a toxin, and even low levels of it have been shown to speed the progression of kidney damage. EDTA chelation is an FDA-approved therapy for removing lead that has also been shown to retard kidney disease.
• Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP). EECP may be even more effective than EDTA chelation for diabetes-related kidney disease. EECP is a mechanical therapy that dramatically increases blood flow throughout the body by squeezing blood from the lower extremities. It is used primarily to treat patients with heart disease, but EECP also benefits patients with kidney disease because it increases blood flow to the kidneys and urine production.