READING YOUR BLOOD TEST RESULTS
amounts cannot. Extra potassium in the diet helps to absorb
edema.
A diuretic is sometimes used to force extra excretion
through the kidneys so that an extra pulling force is felt at the
location of edema. If you already have edema, help it drain by
bandaging it in the morning, elevating it, as well as using sup-
plements for the adrenals and kidneys. Now, more than ever,
drink the kidney herb tea, increasing it to three cups a day after
a few days. (Be sure to start slowly, though.) Hydrochloric acid
drops (taken with meals) and cysteine are both diuretics, as is
ozonated water. But you may still need an additional diuretic
such as spironolactone, our natural diuretic (100 mg, two a
day), or a drug variety.
When electrolyte levels are too high, this is nearly always
evidence of dehydration. You need to drink more water. Do not
confuse water with beverages. To help the kidneys excrete salt
and other wastes, they need plain water to dilute all the wastes
they must process. One liter/quart a day, plain cold tap water,
besides other beverages, is a good rule to follow for rehydration.
If rehydration is needed immediately, drinking water does not
suffice; it must be given by IV. Prolonged diarrhea can result in
such an emergency, and requires clinical help.
Calcium and Phosphate
These are considered together because they make up our
bones and are regulated together by the parathyroid and thyroid
glands.
Four little parathyroid glands the size of peas are nestled in
the thyroid gland; they make parathyroid hormone (PTH). The
thyroid gland makes thyroid hormones, such as thyroxine (T 4 ),
but also calcitonin.
These two glands together control calcium and phosphate
levels in the blood and whether your bones will become harder
and healthier or will dissolve and become fragile.