MEAT AND DAIRY KILL YOUR GAINS AND YOU Multiple studies [ex. 1, 2] show that if you eat meat, dairy and highly processed foods, you WILL have kidney problems which cause swelling (not the good kind) and hormonal imbalance. Kidney disease is not talked about too often but your kidneys are something we don’t think about until our lower back starts to hurt, or we have hormonal problems. Yes, the kidneys are a major player in the hormone balance game, and they also regulate ions, pH and osmolarity. The latter three functions mean your kidneys regulate the amount of fluid retention you have, along with the ability to eliminate toxins. Between 1990 and 2010, some of our leading problems increased dramatically, like chronic kidney disease. We saw a doubling in the tens of thousands of deaths and the hundreds of thousands of patients whose kidneys failed completely, requiring kidney transplants or lifelong dialysis. Many fitness enthusiasts eat animal protein and that intake profoundly affects normal human kidney function, inducing what’s called hyper-filtration, which increases the workload of the kidney causing it to eventually fail but cause all kinds of edema (body swelling) and hormonal issues along the way. . . The Meat-Sweet Diet or Standard American Diet causes an impairment of kidney blood flow, inflammation, subsequent leakage of protein in the urine, and a rapid decrease in kidney function. What is going on? Why does animal protein cause that overload reaction but plant protein doesn’t? The renal reaction happens to be an inflammatory response triggered by the animal protein. About one in eight of us now has chronic kidney disease—and most don’t even know it. About three-quarters of the millions of people affected don’t know that their kidneys are starting to fail. Early warning signs include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness, sleep problems, change in urinary patterns, decreased mental sharpness, swelling in feet and ankles, persistent itching, chest pain and shortness of breath if fluid is building up around the heart or in the lungs, and high blood pressure. . . . So, what can we do about it? One is to stop or lower your animal protein intake. For many, this isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Another is to choose something that will help digest the animal protein and also the inflammatory process. Research shows that the protease and peptidase enzymes in the Athlete Digestive Formula not only digest all proteins, they also lower C-reactive protein levels proving they are an effective anti-inflammatory. In addition, taking small dosages of herbs that cleanse and fortify the kidneys daily helps them deal with toxins from animal proteins and the others you might take in once in a while like alcohol and heavily processed foods. . . The GIB answer is simple: take ADF with each meal. You can also take 1-2 between meals to help with inflammatory proteins in the blood. Take 1 Liv Clean morning and night as well. This formula contains barberry, dandelion and milk thistle that all have great studies showing they help cleanse and fortify the kidneys and liver. These nutrients keep your edema levels down and gains up. . . PS: The GIB-100 performance powder has a combination of whey and vegetable protein. The difference with this formula is that it is already predigested with enzymes so you don't get the kidney damage or edema associated with dairy. . c .