Despite the most persistent medical treatment and management of diabetes, approximately one-third of people living with diabetes will eventually suffer from diabetic nephropathy, or as it’s otherwise known, diabetic kidney issue. A new clinical trial sought to examine the effects of incorporating probiotic soy milk into the diet of a person at risk for diabetic kidney issues, as well as how this stacked up against the consumption of regular soy milk.
After randomly assigning one of the two varieties of soy milk to each member of the group for 8 weeks, the researchers examined albumin, eGFR, creatinine, and other levels commonly monitored in kidney-related problems.
Researchers found that probiotic soy milk improved:
- Reduced albumin in the urine. Albumin in the urine is a risk factor for kidney failure.
- Reduced creatinine levels which are a sign of kidney function improving.
- Reduced interleukin levels. Which is an inflammatory marker.
- Reduced serum sialic acid levels which is a reduction in disease activity.
- Improved eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) which is a sign of the kidneys doing better.
Soy milk without probiotics did not achieve similar rates of efficacy. The study concluded that probiotic soy milk was well-tolerated by diabetic nephropathy patients as well as diabetics at risk of developing nephropathy and resulted in a significant improvement to a number of different nephrotoxin levels.
Soy milk is a natural probiotic drink, but new products on the market have added additional live cultures to boost the potency of its probiotic qualities. Brands like Silk (in their Plus line) and Wildwood offer several different flavors to enjoy, so next time you’re shopping pick some up and give it a try.
And, if you’d like more ground-breaking news on foods and supplements for supporting more normal kidney function, be sure to check us out on Pinterest and Instagram.
Check out this video where we talk about diabetic kidney problems https://youtu.be/xqE-1vmpOZ8
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28884306
