How Supplements Are Destroying Your Kidneys
How many supplements are you taking a day: One? Two? Twenty? Do you happen to be taking vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, or creatine? I ask because those are the most used supplements in the world, and it’s not uncommon for people to be using more than one supplement.
Supplements are used for the nutrients they provide; when someone is lacking a certain bodily nutrient or desiring more, they take a supplement to adjust their nutrient levels. This is the sole benefit and reason people take supplements.
What continues to be ignored, or rather unacknowledged, is the harm that supplements can do to your body and organs, specifically your kidneys.
There’s a pattern to be found between these supplements. Let’s see if you notice.
When did supplements become ‘a thing’, and why?
Aside from the use of medicinal herbs in ancient times, the earliest use of supplements as they are used today dates back to the early 1700s. Used for its noticeable benefits, cod liver oil was taken by those who had rickets, a bone softening disease, and those who were weakened by other deficiencies. By using cod liver oil, bones were noticeably stronger and deficiencies were noticeably corrected. These benefits are attributed to the high levels of vitamin A and D.
Today, people can do a quick internet search, “what supplements should I be taking and why?”, a very vague and dangerous question, and a list of supplements you should take and reasons why you should take them will pop up. They all sound like good reasons, so why not take all of them?
A reason people are urged to search this term is because of how prevalent the use of multivitamins, muscle enhancers, or fish oil is, raising the question “why?” and “should I?”.
Let me tell you why this matters.
Our ancestors didn’t know about magnesium glycinate versus magnesium oxide, or the difference between vitamin D2 and D3. You know what they did know? How to eat real food and when to eat it. They had access to nutrient-dense foods grown in rich soil, without pesticides coating every bite or chemicals polluting the air they breathed.
Today? We’re told we need a cabinet full of supplements just to function normally. And honestly, many of us do need that external support—our blood tests prove it. But what if there was another way?
What if instead of treating symptoms with more pills, we addressed the root cause through a comprehensive lifestyle protocol that actually works? The same protocol that took survival expert Nicole Apelian out of a wheelchair and helped her reclaim true vitality—without a medicine cabinet full of supplements.
Click here to discover the lifestyle protocol that prioritizes real wellness over quick fixes →
Because here’s the thing, throwing random supplements at vague health concerns isn’t just expensive, it can be dangerous…
The dangers of supplements
People don’t attribute harmful effects to the supplements they are using, but every year, there are thousands of supplement-induced adverse events reported by Poison Control Centres nationwide. A major cause of this is that the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate supplements or provide proof of safety and efficacy studies.
These adverse events are related to the kidney, and include health problems like CAM-induced immune-mediated nephrotoxicity (kidney damage caused by medications), nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) with acute renal injury, and hepatorenal syndrome (leads to reduced kidney function). It’s even possible to overdose on supplements, causing damage to the kidneys.
Vitamin D intake should be based on a person’s body weight and the current levels of vitamin D in the body, and then adjusted after 3-6 months of use. If the levels of vitamin D are continuously over what your body needs, it can lead to hypercalcemia, which is high amounts of calcium in the blood. This will eventually lead to vitamin D intoxication, causing renal damage and kidney stones.
According to worldwide adverse event reports, people have claimed to have notice a decrease in kidney and liver function. If large amounts of creatine are consumed regularly for long periods of time, the overload on the kidney and liver will cause stress and most likely damage.
Alternatives to supplements
A supplement’s purpose is to provide you with the nutrients from the foods that you don’t eat and the outdoors that you don’t see. If you are bedridden, injured and kept inside, or if you have allergies keeping you from eating certain foods, supplements are useful and can be used temporarily. You can very easily obtain the levels of nutrients needed from the food you eat. If you are taking supplements long-term, it’s likely you aren’t eating enough of the right foods.
Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly referred to as fish oil because it is exactly that, oil from fish. You can get omega-3 simply by eating delicious fish regularly, as opposed to taking large pills 3-6 times a day.
Vitamin D can also be found in fish. Vitamin D3 is found in microalgae, which can be eaten, and because it is a major food source for fish, vitamin D naturally accumulates in fish, making it the top natural source for vitamin D.
Creatine can be found in red meat and fish. Lately, people have been saying red meat is bad for us. In reality, it provides more benefits and does less damage than the supplements you might be taking. Humans have been eating red meat since the beginning of existence, and ironically, most commercial white meat is red when hunted in the wild, for example, turkey.
Have you noticed the pattern? All of these most popular supplements, those that continuously make it in the ‘top used’ results of surveys, can easily be replaced by fish.
Fish, that’s all.
This is a struggle for some; thus, the alternative (supplements that do more harm than good) is an easier, better route. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap; try this recipe.
There are literally hundreds of synthetic pills being pushed on us every day. Multivitamins, probiotics, adaptogens, nootropics—the list never ends. How the hell are you supposed to navigate all of that?
Easy. There are hundreds of natural remedies too.
You just need to know which ones actually work for YOUR body, YOUR deficiencies, YOUR lifestyle. Look, you can’t possibly know everything there is to know about every herb, root, and leaf on this planet. Neither can I. But you CAN have access to a comprehensive guide that contains it all.
Remedies for everything. All herbal. No synthetic garbage. No side effects.
Want to make your own lymphatic cleanser from plants growing in your backyard? It’s in there. Need a natural brain booster that doesn’t come with jitters and crashes? Covered. Looking for an antiparasitic tonic that actually works? You’ll find multiple options.
These are the same plants most people walk past every day without a second thought. The same remedies our great-grandparents used before Big Pharma convinced us we needed their lab-created alternatives.
Here’s just a tiny glimpse of what’s inside:
Pick any remedy that catches your eye and click for the full breakdown →
Because why settle for expensive synthetic supplements when nature already provided everything you need?
Fish stock for Soups or Rice
The intent behind this recipe is for you to be able to incorporate fish into your diet as much as possible, in the easiest, most ‘minimal’ way.
By making a fish stock or broth, you’re collecting the nutritional benefits from every single part of the fish, especially the bones, which are where most of the benefits lie.
This fish stock recipe is a “mother stock” used in many Japanese dishes; niboshi dashi. This is a non-authentic method of making niboshi dashi; authentic niboshi dashi uses dried whole sardines, and this method uses fresh/frozen whole sardines.
This method does cause the recipe to have a very strong and bitter fish flavor because of the whole sardines; however, you can bypass this by removing the heads and organs first, or by using white fish to make a different type of dashi.
A perfect example of how to use this fish broth is to use it as a base for a soup or stew. Even better, to eat it without noticing the strong fish flavor, use it to cook rice and then use the rice with soy sauce, or in a zesty taco mix!
Niboshi Dashi Recipe
Ingredients:
- 400-700g of fresh/frozen Whole Cleaned Sardines (7-10 Large Whole Sardines)
- 1000ml of Water
Instructions:
- Place the sardines in a medium sized pot and fill with water, let soak for 30 minutes to thaw and prevent uneven cooking
- On medium heat, bring the water to a slow boil, avoiding a rapid boil
- Set the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, scooping the foam from the top
- Serve a small portion, hot, as is, or store it in a glass container to use in recipes!
Fish isn’t your cup of tea? Yeah, I get it.
Honestly, it’s not mine either. But I can’t deny the power behind it—I’ll still use this remedy since I went through the trouble of making it. But if you want to skip the fishy taste, the prep work, and all the hassle that comes with it…
I’d recommend the BEST PLACE I’ve found to source the highest quality supplements you could ever take. And I only say this because I’ve tried them myself—they’re all natural, organic, handpicked, and crafted by someone I actually trust.
Here’s the story:
I met Nicole Apelian during a herbal academy class I took with her. This woman completely won me over. Her knowledge, her warmth, her incredible survival story, her living proof that natural remedies actually work, everything about her made me trust her completely.
When I discovered she has this small, intimate apothecary where she shares her personal tinctures with her community… it felt like being welcomed into an exclusive herbalist club. This is where I now source my supplements when I need them.
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Because if you’re going to take supplements, they might as well be from someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
