Kidney Health The main function of healthy kidneys is to clean your blood by removing excess water (and salt) from the liquid you drink, and wastes from food. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines, acting as the body’s refuse removers. Healthy kidneys clean your blood and make hormones that keep your bones strong and your blood healthy. The wastes and extra water that are left become urine, which flows to the bladder. The bladder stores urine until releasing it during urination, and the cleansed blood returns to the heart and re-circulates throughout the body. Unhealthy Kidneys Kidney malfunction leads to the accumulation of numerous nitrogen-based waste products in the bloodstream, including urea, uric acid, creatinine and possibly several others. Any excess of these waste products in the bloodstream may also lead to kidney stones, kidney failure and/or other complications. Most human nitrogen-based waste products come from amino acids, the building blocks of protein that are essential for human life. When these amino acids have completed their useful life cycle, they are broken down in the liver and produce ammonia. How unhealthy kidney function is determined? Creatinine Creatinine is a chemical waste molecule that is generated from muscle metabolism. The kidneys filter out most of the creatinine and dispose of it in the urine. If kidneys are damaged and/or not functioning normally, the amount of creatinine in your urine goes down while its level in your blood goes up. Blood-Urea-Nitrogen (BUN) BUN is used to aid in determining kidney function and usually is compared or obtained along with blood creatinine levels. If BUN levels are high it is often an indication of impaired kidney function. A BUN-to-creatinine ratio can help doctors check for problems, such as dehydration, that may cause abnormal BUN and creatinine levels. Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) Creatinine is used by doctors to calculate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of the kidneys. This is important because as the blood creatinine rises, GFR falls and the kidneys' capacity to clear wastes from the body diminishes. A high GFR (greater than 90) and the absence of protein in the urine indicate normal kidney function. Probiotics What are Probiotics? Probiotics and its beneficial effects are an emerging area of medicine that has only recently come into the public eye in the USA. Experts have debated how to define probiotics. One widely used definition, developed by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is that probiotics are "live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host." (Microorganisms are tiny living organisms—such as bacteria, viruses, and yeasts—that can be seen only under a microscope.) Probiotics and probiotic foods have recently become popular in the United States, even though such products have been marketed for decades in Europe and Asia. The growth of probiotics emerges as many scientists are now focused on the role of beneficial bacteria to aid digestion, boost natural defenses, and compete with bacteria that could cause health problems. Most probiotic products can be found in the dairy case of supermarkets or as dietary supplements. A normal human digestive tract contains about 400 types (strains) of probiotic bacteria that control and reduce the growth of harmful bacteria and promote a healthy digestive system. Probiotic organisms make up 95% of the total number of cells in the human body. Some good bacteria are absolutely necessary for overall health and not just bowel health. In normal good health, some bad bacteria that cause disease are crowded out by good bacteria. Intestinal bacteria can benefit health by breaking down toxins, synthesizing vitamins, and defending against infection. They may also play a role in preventing such diseases as peptic ulcers, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease. What are Prebiotics? Prebiotics are nondigestible nutrients that are used as an energy source by certain beneficial bacteria that naturally live in your intestines. Prebiotics are sometimes known as fermentable fiber. Prebiotics give the probiotic bacteria a chance to exert their influence. Eating a diet that includes prebiotics and probiotics may help restore these friendly bacteria. Kibow Biotics® contains prebiotics, which is a Psyllium Husk (naturally occurring plant material). Side Effects of Probiotics Some live microorganisms have a long history of use as probiotics without causing illness in people. Probiotics' side effects, if they occur, tend to be mild and digestive (such as gas or bloating). More serious effects have been seen in some people. Probiotics might theoretically cause infections that need to be treated with antibiotics, especially in people with underlying health conditions. The only side effects experienced by patients in our safety trials of Kibow Biotics® was minor bloating that disappeared in about a week while the patients continued taking the supplement.   Patented Enteric Technology – How Kibow Biotics® Works? Selection of Bacteria We use three microbial strains of beneficial bacteria (S.thermophilus(KB19), L.acidophilus (KB27) and B.longum (KB31)). Our microbes are natural occurring and not genetically modified. They are screened, selected and grown under uremic conditions, so that they have a higher affinity for uremic toxins. These microbes are specifically from classes already approved for human consumption and are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) under US FDA guidelines. Balance In our body, an equilibrium of uremic toxins normally exists between the blood and the colon's lumen (GI tract) which is higher during diseased conditions. Our patented enteric probiotic technology utilizes these toxins to grow and a gradient concentration is generated which drives a passive diffusion of toxins from the blood to the colon's lumen. The actual mechanism takes place in the large intestines. As the kidney’s function slows down, nitrogenous wastes build up in the blood and diffuse into the intestinal fluid by natural physiological process: 1. When the kidney becomes compromised, uremic toxins build up in the blood. Large numbers of these toxins diffuse into the colon because of the extensive network of blood vessels surrounding it. 2. Following a journey in the upper GI, Probiotic microbes are released from a enteric coated capsule and enter the large intestine into the ileo-caecal region. 3. Once in the colon, the microbes target and metabolize the uremic nitrogenous wastes as nutrients for its growth. 4. The microbes which have a high affinity for the toxins then metabolize them as nutrients. As they metabolize the uremic toxins, the microbes begin to multiply and this in turn allows for even a greater diffusion of toxins into the bowel. 5. Eventually the metabolized toxins are carried down through the bowel and out of the body as solid waste, sparing the compromised kidneys of the burden. Scientists are calling the process of using probiotic organisms to transform the colon into a blood cleansing agent, an “enteric kidney.” This pseudo kidney with the aid of microbes, indirectly removes toxic wastes and helps eliminate them as fecal matter, thus reducing the burden on the kidneys. Consequently, it is possible to maintain a healthy kidney function with the oral use of Kibow Biotics. The probiotics in Kibow Biotics® have been clinically tested and shown to be safe, effective and free of serious side effects when taken for as long as six months. Disclaimer The statements in this website and the products have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All content within Kibow Biotech, Inc Website is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. Kibow Biotech is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of the Kibow Biotech website.