Up to 40 percent of adults with type 2 diabetes will eventually suffer from kidney failure.

Kidney damage from diabetes is called diabetic nephropathy. Diabetes injures the small blood vessels in the kidneys, so they cannot clean the blood properly.

And shockingly, in a study presented to the American Diabetes Association, primary care physicians failed to diagnose kidney disease in a mind-boggling 88 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes, even though diabetes is a primary risk factor for kidney failure.

That means if you have blood sugar problems, you need to be vigilant about the health of your kidneys — and that starts with understanding the direct threat to your body’s detoxification process and how to stop it in its tracks…

Aiding the detoxification process

The research, performed at the University of Cordoba and the Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research in Spain, followed more than 500 diabetics over a period of 5 years.

They set out to compare the effects of two types of healthy diets on the amount of a dangerous toxin that can build up in the body: the Mediterranean diet and another low-fat diet richer in carbohydrates.

Specifically, they wanted to learn how these diets might change levels of Advanced Glycation End Products, or AGEs.

AGEs are molecules that are produced naturally in the body and can be ingested through the diet, but spell danger for the kidneys as levels build thanks to their inflammatory and oxidizing properties.

The people in whom they are most likely to build up are those with blood sugar problems, since diabetic patients with kidney problems have more trouble eliminating them.

Luckily, the results of the study are good news for diabetics everywhere…

Patients who had eaten a Mediterranean diet during those years had lower levels of these harmful compounds in their blood. “We were able to verify that this diet better activates the detoxification process; that is, the mechanism by which the body eliminates these harmful substances,” said Francisco Miguel Gutiérrez, one of the study’s authors.

And by leveling up that detoxification, the kidneys can banish those AGE stopping the further damage that would otherwise occur as they back up.

Going Mediterranean is easy

The relationship between AGEs and kidney disease was already known, but the study is the first demonstration of “how a defined dietary pattern can mitigate the deterioration of kidney function in diabetic patients,” according to researcher Elena Yubero.

The good news, too, is that following the Mediterranean diet doesn’t have to be hard or feel restrictive.

Although the Mediterranean diet emphasizes good oils, like antioxidant-rich olive oil, fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds and inflammation-fighting omega-3s from fatty fish, it’s also less restrictive of other foods than most think.

That’s because previous studies have found adding meats like pork back into the Mediterranean diet can still offer big benefits.

And other research has shown that eating cheese on the diet can make it even healthier for your body.

If you have diabetes and switch to a Mediterranean diet, you’ll also be doing something good for your bones…

That’s because a growing body of evidence has also indicated not only do AGEs play a significant role in the progression of classical diabetes complications, but also in diabetic osteopathy.

Sources:

A study demonstrates one of the reasons why the Mediterranean diet improves kidney health in patients with diabetes — EurekAlert!