96 Achieving pH Balance to Treat Specific Ailments
program given to children, starting at birth, is estimated to have caused
millions of cases of kidney degeneration in the young.^1 A major source
of acidic waste the kidneys have to fi lter out of the blood is the end-
products of protein digestion. For example, the liver neutralizes serum
protein by converting it into salts. When it is unable to do so, the kid-
neys have to fi lter out this strong acid “as is.” The kidneys are also
burdened at times with the removal of acetic, lactic, and sulfuric acid,
the by-products of protein that the overworked liver hasn’t had the time
or suffi cient energy to neutralize. And when insulin levels are too low
to normalize high blood sugar levels, the kidneys have to fi lter out the
excess sugar from the blood as well.
As these sharp acidic particles stream through the capillaries in the
nephrons, they act like harsh cleaning solvents, scraping and scratching
the inside walls of these fragile micro blood vessels. And just as injured
arteries are patched up with calcium-encrusted fatty plaques, so the
damaged walls of these capillaries in the kidneys get fi lled in with
microscopic particles of calcium and fat. While it usually takes decades
before arteries become hardened, the tiny capillaries in the kidneys are
stopped up in much less time.
As nephrons are knocked out, the remaining fi lters need more plasma
(fl uid) in the blood to strain out the fi ltrate (the solid part of the blood)
if they are to do so without sustaining injury. The hormones comply by
increasing the volume of the blood. The downside is that with the
increase in blood volume, blood pressure rises. Doctors react by pre-
scribing a diuretic, which lowers the blood pressure by removing some
of the liquid plasma from the blood. Because this narrows the ratio
between the plasma (fl uid) and solid components in the blood, the
nephrons are once again more likely to be damaged as they fi lter out
solid particles from the blood plasma. The nephrons are injured in
another way as well. Once the acids cause the arteries in the general
circulatory system to harden so they can no longer absorb the pressure
of the circulating blood, the kidneys have to bear the impact.
It is thought that the nephron fi lters in the kidneys, unlike the liver
and even the lungs, have no regenerative power. Contradicting this
belief is the result of my recommendations of vitamin E to patients
affl icted with polycystic kidneys, end-stage lupus, and kidney failure.