A new study has shown that increasing your daily servings of fruits and vegetables by four (about two cups) can significantly slow the progression of chronic kidney disease. Kidney disease and improve blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Research suggests these benefits may be partly due to the ability of a Vegetation-Rich Diet To reduce body weight Acidity level.

The five-year study emphasizes the importance of dietary changes focused on fruits and vegetables to control high blood pressure, a major risk factor for both kidney and heart disease. Traditionally, doctors have not prioritized dietary changes for patients with high blood pressure unless medications fail. However, the study findings suggest that this approach should be reconsidered.

“Fruits and vegetables are of great importance in the management of hypertension, along with medications as needed,” says Dr. Donald E. Wesson, principal investigator and professor of internal medicine at the Dell Medical School of the University of Texas at Austin. “In our study, participants who increased their intake of fruits and vegetables had lower blood pressure, better kidney health and improved performance. cardiovascular health“They required lower doses of blood pressure medications compared to those who were not given blood pressure medications.”

The aim of the study was to determine whether lowering the body’s acidity levels could improve kidney disease symptoms. According to Dr. Wesson, digesting animal products such as meat increases the body’s acidity, while digesting most fruits and vegetables makes the body more alkaline (basic). The kidneys play a key role in maintaining this balance by removing excess acid from the blood and excreting it through urine. The aim of the study was to find out if a diet with more plants and fewer animal products could “lighten the load” on the kidneys, improving kidney and overall health.

The study included participants with hypertension (but not diabetes) and severe chronic kidney disease, as indicated by high levels of macroalbuminuria. The researchers divided the participants into three groups:

1. Who were instructed to include 2 to 4 cups of fruits and vegetables in their regular diet.

2. Those who have been advised to take sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) twice a day as an antacid to neutralise the acidity.

3. People who received standard medical care from their primary care doctors.

Participants kept food diaries during the study, and the fruit and vegetable group reported eating an additional two cups of fruit each day.

The findings were significant. Both the fruit and vegetable group and the sodium bicarbonate group saw improvements in kidney health, which the researchers attributed to a decrease in acidity levels. However, the group that increased fruit and vegetable intake also enjoyed additional heart health benefits. They saw decreased cholesterol levels, an average BMI drop from 28.2 to 27 (equivalent to about a six-pound weight loss for the average American), and lower blood pressure while taking less medication than the other groups.

The study findings reinforce the standard recommendation for individuals with kidney disease to eat more plant-based foods. Christopher Gardner, PhD, professor of medicine and director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, explains that reducing acidity through plant-based foods or sodium bicarbonate is beneficial for kidney health. He also suggests that participants who ate more fruits and vegetables improved their heart health by increasing fiber intake and reducing saturated fat.

Although the idea of ​​adopting a healthy diet to treat heart or kidney disease is not new, this study provides new evidence that people can make sustainable dietary changes with lasting health benefits. “What’s really impressive about this study is that the follow-up lasted five years, not just five weeks or five months,” says Dr. Gardner, who was not involved in the research. “These were long-term dietary changes that were maintained, resulting in long-term health benefits.”

Dr. Gardner also highlighted a gap in medical education, saying nutrition is often given little attention in medical school, leaving many physicians unprepared to advise patients about lifestyle changes such as diet. “However, this is not a complicated strategy – eat more plants – and hopefully studies like this will encourage more physicians to adopt this approach alongside other tools to treat and prevent disease,” he concluded.

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