This research report identifies a way to protect the kidney from damage caused by the dye used in an angiogram to view blood flow through the heart.
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Dietary Nitrates Reduce Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in ACSMedscape: Sue Hughes, August 29, 2023,
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/995956?ecd=wnl_tp10_daily_230830_MSCPEDIT_etid5804238&uac=305958HN&impID=5804238AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — A simple, low-cost 5-day course of dietary inorganic nitrate has shown apparent overwhelming benefit in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and reducing subsequent renal and cardiovascular outcomes.
"Currently, aside from intravenous hydration, there is no proven treatment that reduces contrast-induced nephropathy. We feel that dietary inorganic nitrate shows huge promise in this study, and these findings could have important implications in reducing this serious complication of coronary angiography," Jones concluded.
[Coronary angiography is a procedure that uses a special
dye (
contrast material) and x-rays to see how blood flows through the arteries in your heart. ]
At this point, "
the only way to get inorganic nitrate is in the diet — specifically by consuming beetroot juice or green leafy vegetables such as spinach and rocket.
However, Jones noted that it is possible to buy
beetroot shots, which contain 7 mmol of potassium nitrate in each shot, from health food shops and websites, and
two such shots per day for 5 days would give a similar dose as that used in this study, starting the day before angiography.
