Is Juice Plus for Stage 5 CKD?

[SunshineMonster]

A friend of ours sells Juice Plus & wants to sponsor our 12 year old daughter with Goodpasture Syndrome & Stage 5 CKD. He just sent her a huge box of the Juice Plus Gummies. Does anyone know if these are safe for her to take? They have no sodium but I cannot find any information about the potassium & phosphorus levels. He said he went to a conference recently & asked about those levels & they said there were no significant levels of either but did not give an exact amount. Since these are nothing but fruits & veggies, I am a bit concerned about her taking them because I would think the Potassium level would at least be significant. Any information anyone could provide would be appreciated. Thanks!

[JimVanHorn]

I would stay with water, low calorie lemon drinks, iced tea decaff, artificially sweetened cool aide. For example protein bars, gator aid, liquid foods like Glucerna all have potassium and phosphates added. My creatinin went from 3.2 to 5.1 because I was not watching my potassium and phosphates. So NO potatoes (including chips or fries), tomatoes, dark colas, chocolate and more. See a kidney diet from Google, and if you don't know then maybe once is OK, but don't make anything you do not know about become a part of your child's daily diet. Your child needs your help now.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Hi,

I am not sure why there is so little nutritional information on this product. I had a hard time finding anything. That to me would make loud bells ring. I finally found it and this article said it has 58.4 mg of potassium. Not sure how often or how many gummies you would give her but that seems to me to be a lot for one little gummie.

This is a great article with the nutritional values at the bottom. nutritionstudies.org/whole-...

I did find this article which discussed the pros and cons of this product.

healthline.com/nutrition/ju...

Bottom line, I would be very careful with supplements for someone with stage five CKD.

myfitnesspal.com/food/calor...

[Hidden in reply to Bassetmommer]

There is plenty of information on these products on their website. I have Gout and CKD along with Crohn’s disease. I take Juice Plus every day and have for 6 years. It’s been a game changer in my health

[Blackknight1989]

Potentially harmful….could raise Vit K in CKD patients. As one who had post AKI Potassium issues stay away from supplements! If your K exceeds a surprising narrow range it disrupts heart rhythm and could lead to a potential fatal arrhythmia causing sudden death. If already eating a CKD diet you get plenty of fruits and veggies so the risk is unneeded and exceeding the diet recommended fruits and veggies allotment could cause metabolic acidosis. I had that and spent 4 months on a vent 6 in the hospital. Don’t risk it. The NKF guidance:

Use of Herbal Supplements in Chronic Kidney Disease

As a chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient, you may have considered the use of herbal products to assist you with various health concerns. This fact sheet will give you some information to enable you to make decisions regarding your use of herbs.

Use of herbal supplements may be unsafe for CKD patients, since your body is not able to clear waste products like a healthy person. There are some facts about herbs that every CKD patient should know:

Very few herbs have been studied in CKD patients. What may be safe for healthy persons may not be safe for someone with CKD, and in fact, could be dangerous. Therefore, you need to be very cautious about your use of these products.

The government does not regulate herbal supplements, so the exact content of these products is unknown.

Without regulation, there are no requirements for testing, so the purity, safety and effectiveness of the products are unknown.

Herbal preparations are subject to contamination (may contain toxic heavy metals such as lead or mercury).

Products may contain minerals harmful to CKD patients, for example: potassium.

Some herbs that may serve as diuretics may also cause “kidney irritation” or damage. These include bucha leaves and juniper berries. Uva Ursi and parsley capsules may have negative side effects as well.

Many herbs can interact with prescription drugs. A few examples are St. Johns Wort, echinacea, ginkgo, garlic, ginseng, ginger, and blue cohosh. Transplant patients are especially at risk, as any interaction between herbs and medications could potentially put them at risk for rejection or losing the kidney. It is important to ask your doctor and/or pharmacist about any herbs or medicines you want to take to avoid potential problems.