Kidney Disease Patient Paralyzed By Eating Too Much…Fruit?!

Chronic Kidney disease will change a person’s life and make the impact of illness or excess even worse. The kidneys are a vital part of the body and the removal of waste and if their function becomes impaired or they become disabled, the human body cannot heal properly.

A man in his early 60s from Xi’an became paralyzed after eating too much fruit. The man, surname Wang, was rushed to the hospital after reporting sudden numbness in his limbs and becoming paralyzed. The condition was deemed serious by doctors and tests later revealed it was do to his habit of eating too much fruit. In addition, it was found Wang has kidneys which have not been functioning well.


Doctors determined the combination of these two factors, too much fruit and damaged kidneys were the reason for the paralysis. Believing what many believed and what science has said, that fruit is healthy, Wang ate a great deal of fruit. In fact, that is all he ate and overate. He is reported to have eaten approximately 5.5 lbs of bananas and 6 lbs. of oranges in one week.

While experts endlessly discuss the benefits of fruit in a person’s diet, there is such a thing of too much of a good thing. And while overdoing it can cause problem for a relatively healthy person, someone with kidney injury can experience far more harsh side effects.

But Wang’s problems were compounded by his damaged kidneys. The kidneys are a vital pair of organs in the human body, responsible for filtering waste. As blood passes through the kidneys, the waste and toxins which build up are filtered out and later released as urine.

When the kidneys become damaged and lose some of their function, such as in patients with chronic kidney disease, toxins begin to build. The waste and toxins build up so much they can begin causes damage to other organs in the body creating even more problems. For those suffering from chronic kidney disease, if the illness cannot be reversed, their only hopes lie in transplant or expensive, time consuming dialysis.

In the case of Wang, the paralysis was due to a build up of potassium in his blood as enough was not being filtered out. When a person has too much potassium in their blood, this condition is known as hyperkalemia.

Fruits such as oranges and bananas are exceptionally high in potassium. Doctors have recommended those with kidney disease should stay away from food high in potassium as this can cause severe problems such as in Wang’s case.

Interested in learning more about some of the unlikeliest culprits when it comes to negatively impacting kidney health? Take look at our Pinterest board and watch some of our videos on Youtube.