Diets

October 12, 2018

Real Vegan BLOOD TEST Results Explained

what’s up guys it’s Nicole a can to keep vegan and today I’m going to be sharing my vegan blood test results this is a really requested video after I showed some vitamin supplements that I take in a recent what I ate today video so I thought I would share my results with you guys and show you whether or not being vegan is scientifically proven to be healthy or not I really want this video to be as helpful as possible for you guys so in addition to just sharing my blood test results I’m also going to be showing you what foods I eat as a vegan that help keep me nourishing and keep my blood nutrient levels really high and I’m also going to be answering questions that I get all the time about blood test results and where to get them and what to ask for as well as supplements that I take and recommend and most of my blood test results are really good so I’m excited to share that with you but there were also places that I could definitely improve upon which I’m going to be really honest with you and show you what my levels were and what I’m doing now to improve so I hope you guys are excited and let’s get started my doctor I asked her to do a blood test and I told her I was vegan and that I wanted to really double check my vitamin b12 my vitamin D and I wanted to make sure that I had enough protein and all those different kinds of things so I basically said everything that can be tested please go ahead and test that I think that’s an important thing to point out because I’ve also had blood work done in the past where they didn’t test something like vitamin D or vitamin b12 sometimes you do have to ask it depends on what your insurance covers and it depends on what you’re there for the doctor for they don’t automatically test everything so it’s just really important to be really clear about what you want and why you want it and if you tell them you’re vegan and you want to get all of your things checked out they’ll probably check all the little boxes for you so that’s great the process is just the same as any other time that you’ve gotten blood work it’s not any different I didn’t have to get more blood drawn and after about a week I just got emails and my blood results I printed them out and I’m going to share them with you guys healthy range is 6.0 to 8.3 and I was at a 6.4 this does fluctuate depending on the day and this was all while I was fasting I had to fast before doing this blood test for like 12 hours or something like that so it definitely knows fluctuate but as long as it’s in that range you’re golden so the number one way that I get plant protein is with beans and lentils I really love making Mexican food out of beans just because you can really kind of make it different every single time with different spices and you can play around with textures here I’m making my chili lime chickpea tacos and I will put all of the recipes that you see in these clips in the description box you can check that out but these are delicious and really flavorful way to add some protein to your diet I also love the black bean enchiladas and I also really like lentils and I use lentils and tacos and burritos but also in sauces like I really love my soup that I make it’s lasagna soup and that has lentils and you would never know what they totally blend in and speaking of blending you can also blend up feeds I know a lot of people don’t like the texture so you can blend them into hum muses and bean dips and use them as a sandwich spread or I also have a recipe on this channel form white bean guacamole that’s really high in protein and also iron and other things that legumes give you as well and if you’re not into beans and lentils youkan also do tempeh or tofu those are really great dense sources of plant-based protein here I’m showing you my teriyaki tempeh it’s one of my like10-minute go-to recipes super easy to make and you can use it for a number of different things here I’m doing it in kind of like a sushi bowl so again I will link this down below my calcium levels almost as much as I get asked about where I get my protein people assume that if you don’t drink cow’s milk that you just can’t get enough calcium and that’s just totally not true my calcium levels are really good so the normal range is eight point three to ten point five and mine was nine point nine so definitely on the higher end of normal but still in that healthy normal range and a ways that Alike to get my calcium as lots of lea dark leafy greens I eat a lot of mixed greens I eat a lot of spinach I do sometimes do kale although it’s a little bit hard on my digestion so I don’t do like excessive amounts but also foods like book choy are very high in calcium and things like tahini and different nuts and seeds you’re going to get a lot of good calcium I also drink fortified a plant milk it’s usually almond milk but sometimes it’s soy sometimes it’s hemp sometimes it’s hazelnut I’m kind of like in a phase right now or I like to try different plant milks and like use them indifferent ways for recipes and stuff everyone has cholesterol in their body and everyone has good cholesterol and bad cholesterol and a lot of the times bad cholesterol is considered to be genetic and I have a lot of high cholesterol levels in my family particularly on my dad’s side of the family and almost everyone of that immediate side of the family has passed away from heart disease knowing that that’s my family history it definitely motivates me to stay on plant-based diet so I’ve been touched it all throughout my life for my cholesterol levels and when I was in the fifth grade I actually had high cholesterol and had to go on a low-fat diet I think I was like 11 wasn’t on adieu to lose weight but I had to really kind of cut out a lot of rich especially like dairy type foods back then because my cholesterol levels were high so what’s really cool to see is that my cholesterol levels are really good and within a healthy range because obviously I’m not eating animals and that is the biggest source of extra cholesterol in the body so a healthy range for cholesterol is 135 to 200 and mine was 154 so that’s on the lower end which is really good I’m very pleased with that if you’re not a vegan and you’re watching this or if you have family member or friend who is not vegan who has high cholesterol definitely make sure that you know or that they know that shellfish things like lobster and crab and shrimp are actually pretty high in cholesterol people think that seafood is like healthier meat to eat and there’s a lot of reasons why that’s not true but also that they are quite high in cholesterol also egg everyone thinks eggs are so healthy but they are really richen cholesterol especially since you hardly ever just eat one egg I would definitely recommend cutting out dairy cutting out foods like red meat and shellfish and cheese and cow’s milk products that are going to be really rich in cholesterol because that stuff is just it’s not good for you okay now to the good stuff my vitaminb12 levels were within a healthy range healthy range is anywhere from 193 to980 – so that’s a really big range because your body does store vitamin b12mine was 254 so it’s going to be in that range in the healthy range my doctor was not concerned about my vitamin b12 but when I talked to her about it and I told her I wasn’t supplementing she said that could go ahead and take a vitamin b12supplement not every single day but few times a week just to make sure that my levels are high and that I kind of get more just like the middle area of that because IMM b12 is extremely important especially for your arteries and also your energy levels if you don’t have a lot of energy one thing that you might want to check is your vitamin b12levels because B vitamins are what helps you convert your carbohydrates into energy fortified plant milks again and also from foods like nutritional yeast and spirulina I like to put spirulina in my smoothies and that has a good amount of vitamin b12 naturally as well so there are definitely natural ways to get it if you and your doctor decide that taking vitamin b12 supplement would be a good idea then I would totally recommend taking the kind that I take which is the my kind organics from the Garden of Life it is in organic vegan vitamin b12 and I would also recommend looking for the methyl cobalamin versus the Chi know oval Avon it’s a lot more absorbable even though it’s really hard to say these were not great and this was really eye-opening for me the healthy range for vitamin D is a 30 to 100 and mine was a15-point to so it’s very low deficient is less than 10 and insufficient is 10 to 30 so I was not technically deficient I was insufficient but getting closer to the deficient range insufficient just means that you know you really need to focus on it if you get deficient it can cause like actual health problems my doctor recommended that I take 1000 IU’s of vitamin D every day for 3 months so I opted for a vegan version again from the my kind organics this is a vanilla flavor that I spray under my tongue and have been taking that ever since she recommended it to me and there are also natural ways to get vitamin D the Mainway is from the Sun and you can also get it from fortified foods so things like plant milks that are fortified with vitamin D and also mushrooms you’ll see on the package that it’ll say sometimes fortified with vitamin D specifically so definitely seek those out and I like incorporating them into my pastas here’s recipe for my creamy pumpkin pasta I also put them on my pizzas and I like making little mushroom caps as appetizers this is a picture from backing the fall time when I was doing my Thanksgiving recipe series I mean this as an appetizer so I’ll link all those down below if you want to find ways to get more mushrooms into your diet ever since I started taking the supplement and also finding natural ways to get vitamin D I have noticed that I’ve felt so much better but I will say that itis really important to go to your doctor first because getting too much vitamin Dis also a thing and that can actually be really toxic so check with your doctor see if you need it and if you do I highly recommend supplementing because it’s made a huge difference in my overall mood it makes me think they’re mine 66 shake these are the only supplements I’m currently taking they’re the only ones that I need it to take and that’s another question I get asked all the time how do you know what you should supplement and what you should be taking because you hear all these different things and I totally understand wanting to know like what do I do someone just tell me what to do and the thing is the only way you’re going to know is if you got your doctor and you ask for a blood test and when you get those results back you will see where you’re doing really well and where you can improve you don’t need to feel bad if you aren’t perfect to if there’s things you can work on there are lots of ways to improve your diet mostly through a whole food plant-based diet but also through really wonderful supplements like this that are just really going to help you feel the best you can possibly feel and they’re going to keep you healthy for a long time and I think it’s actually a really wonderful blessing that we have that we can go tithe doctor and get this test done and really find out how we can make ourselves even better I think it’s really great so if you’ve been on the fence about whether or not you should good if it’s even worth it it’s a hundred percent worth it I definitely recommend it and it’s also just kind of fun like I find that veganism has changed my life in so many ways but one of the ways is that it’s kind of this fun hobby to like learn how to take care of myself and that kind of process of learning and experimenting and all that stuff has really infiltrated other areas of my life and really helped me become proactive person and kind of literally building myself into the person I want to be from the ground up and it’s crazy that that starts with food and making afoot related choice I hope this video was helpful for you guys I hope that it inspired you to go get your blood work done I would love to know like what kind of supplements that you take if you take any I just love if you guys would chime in in the comments below because not only do I find it interesting but you could also really help other people who are watching this video and we can all just kind of share the things that we know and that we’ve learned along the way so thank you guys so much for watching I love you so much and I hope you have a really great day bye

April 29, 2018

by Dr.Megan Ralf

What is a Ketogenic Diet? Relation to Diabetes, Ketone, & Cholesterol

Definition|Diet Plan|Lab Work|Coffee It Works|Conclusion
Definition
What is a Keto Diet?
Keto diet is the other name for “low carb diet, now you may recognize what does it meant by ketogenic diet.
Also, nutritionists may give it a name “low carb high fat (LCHF)”.
Some books and even big health websites define keto diet as:

keto diet: where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy

This is a scientific error, ketones are metabolic byproduct after burning fats (fatty acids to be accurate).
When you reduce carbs and start using more fats, the body transform logically to make energy from fats instead of usual carbs, as a result liver will breakdown fats and more ketone will left behind, ketones must out the body through urination.
The process of producing ketones in the liver called ketosis, a healthy process to protect our body during starvation and low food intake, ketosis is a manifestation of our body adaptation.

Diet Plan

A step by step guide to Kete Diet Plan

Sorted from most to least important:

A strict low-carb diet:Restrict carbohydrates to 20 digestible grams per day or less.
Restrict protein to moderate levels as it hard to be used by the body and consume high amount of energy during protein metabolism.
Eat enough fat to feel satisfied, it may be hard to be done at the beginning.
Avoid snacking when not hungry because it emphasizes glucose built up and increase belly size.
If necessary, add intermittent fasting periods of time.

Lab Work

Blood tests for Keto Diet

Blood glucose test and lipids profile test as well as urinary ketone test are most important, required every week to adjust your diet and keep it healthy, other tests may be used to reassure everything is OK and working inside the body.
Urine Ketone test
By discarding a urine sample and insert a dipstick of ketone you can show how much ketone bodies you have, the ketone level in urine is directly proportional to fat burning process and effectiveness of “low-carb-high-fat-diet”.
Compare your level with the ketone chart here: ketone levels
Fasting Glucose and Insulin
It is considered ideal if you have a fasting blood glucose level of 100 mg/dl. A fasting insulin level of less than 25 mIU/L is ideal and the target insulin level two hours after a meal should be 16-166 mIU/L
Don’t forget to learn how to adjust your sugar levels and insulin (c-peptide), full guide at:
Fasting Blood Glucose Levels
What is C-Peptide Test?
Lipid Profile Test
Lipids test consists of five test and they’re Total Cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotiens (LDL), High Density Lipoprotiens,Very Low density Lipoprotiens (vLDL), and Triglycerides.
LDL high level is more likely to have a cardiovascular disease, triglycerides breakdown will cause high ketone concentration in urine.
You can monitor your ketogenic diet by keep lipid levels in the target levels, better to do lipid profile each week.
Do you know: what does high cholesterol mean?
HbA1C, glycated hemoglobin test
A1C blood test gives a 3 month average reading of your blood glucose, a useful indicator on how efficiently your body uses glucose and and important alarm on how insulin resistant you are, best to take A1c every 3 months.
Complete levels guide and how to use it are here:> Hgb A1c levels chart
Vitamin B12 test
Normal levels of Vit.B12 are 200-900 pg/ml, help produce more cells and molecules in the body, recommended every year.
High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP)
C-reactive protein is a key predictor of sever inflammation, used to monitor cardiovascular and chronic diseases, best time for CRP test is when you fell unusual or very fatigue.
See full explanation and levels interpretation at: What is CRP Normal Range?
Thyroid Function
As much as thyroid produce enough thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) the body metabolism become more adequate and effieint, be sure that thyroid hormones at the optimum level before starting a ketogenic plan.
A comprehensive guide to thyroid function test results at: Thyroid Levels chart
Cortisol Levels
High Cortisol levels is a good early indicator of overactive pituitary gland which means high stress levels, elevated cortisol can cause excess weight gain around the midsection.
Best to take a cortisol test every other week, reference levels are 10-20 ug/dl.
Vitamin D
The sun rays act as a catalytic agent to transform Vitamin D in the skin to its active form (name 25(OH)D), vitamin D deficiency will cause low calcium levels which lead to bone diseases.
Optimum 25(OH)D level that you want is between 20-100 ng/mL, a yearly Vitamin D check up is enough.
Magnesium Test
Magnesium activates over 300 reactions in the body on a constant basis daily. Magnesium is crucial factor to nerve transmission, muscle contraction, blood coagulation, energy production, nutrient metabolism and in particular bone cell formation.
When to do magnesium testing?

After a symptoms of magnesium deficiency appear due to:
chronically low blood levels of calcium and potassium.
muscle weakness
twitching
cramping
confusion
cardiac arrhythmias
seizures.

Target magnesium level is between 1.7-2.2 mg/dL,
Taking Magnesium supplements Regulates Levels of Calcium, Potassium and Sodium which helps Increase Energy, Calms Nerves and Anxiety, helps with Digestion by Relieving Constipation, as well as Prevents Migraine Headaches.
Ever heard about protein diet, get to know How to Set Protein Diet by BUN Creatinine Uric Levels
Coffee It Works

Keto Coffee It Works

“It Works” made a coffee called “Keto Coffee”, this product provides you with protein in the form of collagen peptides and unique fatty acids from Grass-Fed Butter and Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), the possible benefits include: support your body’s ketone production and the process of ketosis.
The idea behind keto coffee is that give your body fuel that is rich in nutrient-dense, blood sugar–stabilizing fat.
Suitable for who need to put something in his coffee or tea. Coffee contains a very small amount of carbohydrate.
Beer is not recommended if you are on a keto low carb diet.

Does the Ketogenic Diet Work?

Glucose is the body’s primary source of energy when carbohydrates are present However, in the absence of carbs, the liver takes fatty acids in the body and converts them to ketone bodies, also known as ketones, as an energy source. This process is known as ketosis, and it’s the goal for those on a ketogenic diet.

April 23, 2018

by Dr.Megan Ralf

What Does Ketone Levels in Urine and Blood mean?

What is ketones?

Ketones are end products of burning fatty-acids (fats) in the body, the medical term is (fatty acid metabolism).
Ketone bodies in urine are Acetone, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyric acid.
Ketones in the body urine and blood come from liver and completely processed and only negligible amount appear in urine, but when carbohydrates in unavailable or he body unable to use Carbs. then the fatty acids become the predominant source of body fuel.
As the body increases its usage of fatty acids, the burning product increased, I mean ketones of course, and liver will leave excess amounts to go out by urination, that’s why you have plus ketone in urine.

What does ketonuria mean?

The disease in which ketones are present in urine is called “ketonuria”
Ketonuria is a medical condition in which ketone bodies are present in our urine
How do you know you have ketone in urine?
Simply by smelling fruit-like odor from the breath and on the urine sample especially children with type 1 diabetes, this is due to acetone, a direct by-product of the spontaneous decomposition of acetoacetic acid.
ACETONE is often described as smelling like fruit or like some nail polish remover that contains acetone.
Sometimes the odor is more subtle due to lower concentrations of acetone.

Ketone Levels

Presence of ketones may be considered a healthy sign and may be a harm indicator, just learn how to know the relationship between ketone levels and your health.
Optimal ketone levels offer many health benefits, also used as health indicators for who doing weight loss, physical and mental performance.

Normal Ketone levels

Normal healthy person will not show ketone bodies in his/her urine test.
The normal human body uses carbohydrates to make energy units that fuel brain, muscles, and other cells, in some unusual cases the body uses fats instead carbohydrates to produce energy, burning fats will produce more acetone and ketonic bodies.
Low ketone level in urine is insignificant and can’t considered as a disease or anything.
Diabetes patient with type 2 may not show ketone in urine unless urinary sugar become highly elevated
Please read: urine sugar levels chart

Urine Ketone Levels Chart

Ketone bodies finding in urine is a direct measure of ketone level.

Trace ketone in urine is less than +1 and lower than 20 mg/dl, considered negative ketonuria.
A mild Ketone (Plus one +1) is a value 20 – 29 mg/dl.
A moderate high ketone (plus two ++2) is a value of 30–40 mg/dl.
A marked high ketone Plus three +++3) is a finding of 80 mg/dl or greater.

urine ketone levels chat

High ketone levels in urine

Urine test usually seen positive for ketone in patients with sever diabetes mellitus, so that urine results show high glucose and high ketone, but there are some unusual cases whereas urine has only ketone high levels without glucose in urine, such cases include:
Keto Diet or Ketogenic diet
Applying “high fats low carbs diet” will lead to high ketone levels in urine, urine ketone test used as a monitor test for keto diet.
Read more at: what is ketogenic diet?
Fasting for long period:
Presence of ketones in a healthy fasting person is a good indicator, as his body uses its alternative sources of fuel.
Starvation:
Very long period of fasting can aggressively consume and deplete all sources of energy and ketonic bodies in the urine will be a very important indicator when a starved person starts to heal.
Losing weight:
What happens when you start a weight loss program?
Weight loss means carbohydrate burning more than usual, so the body compensates for a lack of energy source by burning fat instead of carbohydrates, the accumulated fats will be reduced and carbohydrates stopped accumulation, thus the body loses weight, but burning fats will produce acetone in blood and urine.
Measuring ketone in urine will help you make decision about your Weight Loss Diet, read about Keto Diet Plan
Presurgical patients and Acutely ill patients
These people receive many IV solution bottles (glucose), thus ready-glucose enters the blood without using much insulin, body response is made by burning fats and may be proteins, thus ketones come to the scene.
Also a patient stay for longtime in hospital can develop ketone bodies in his urine as a result of increased fatigue and reduced nutrient led by the course of the disease.
Pregnant women
Pregnant females have an additional fuel machine, the fetus of course, so that you may find acetone-like in urine of some pregnant females not all of them of course.

Diabetes without ketone in urine

There is a case where there’s glucose in urine but no Ketone in urine is present, called hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome (HHNS).
Also know as Hyperosmolar Hyperglycaemic State (HHS): when glucose in blood being high it usually seen in urine, and ketone as well as a result of alternative usage of carbs, therefore the urine of a diabetes patient has a relative amount of both glucose and ketone.
However, after glucose in blood exceeds 1000 it might be a doubt when lab technician can’t find positive ketone in urine.
So that, HHNS is a medical syndrome following extremely high glucose levels and doesn’t show a ketone value in the urine.
You can explore: Blood Glucose Levels Chart
Conclusion:
Acetone and ketone bodies in urine come from excessive burning fats due to diabetes, ketogenic diet, or other stress situation made to the body organs, common characteristics are fruity-breath and fruit-like-odor urine. Also urine test is enough to detect the ketone level in your urine.

September 14, 2017

by Dr.Megan Ralf

Understand GFR Blood Test and Normal GFR Levels Range

GFR word stands for Glomerular Filtration Rate and tells how well your kidneys are working?
Most people who developed CKD they weren’t know at earlier time because the disease itself progress silently for long period of time.
Usually a man comes to the ER room complains from signs such as swelling, high blood pressure, nausea, poor appetite, and vomiting.
After doing General Medical Checkup at the laboratory, results come with high creatinine level which indicate chronic disease of the kidney.

Normal GFR Levels

The GFR results seen in healthy individuals with normal kidney function.

Normal GFR Levels Chart by Age

Age (years)	Average estimated GFR %
20 – 29	116
30 – 39	107
40 – 49	99
50 – 59	93
60 – 69	85
70+	75

Remember: GFR declines with age, even in people without kidney disease.

Chart of Chronic Kidney Disease Stages by GFR Ranges

How to tell which Chronic Kidney Disease stage you are in by GFR levels?

CKD Stage	Normal GFR Range
Stage 1 with normal or high GFR	Greater than 90 mL/min
Stage 2 Mild CKD	60-89 mL/min
Stage 3A Moderate CKD	45-59 mL/min
Stage 3B Moderate CKD	30-44 mL/min
Stage 4 Severe CKD	15-29 mL/min
Stage 5 End Stage CKD	Less than 15 mL/min

What Do GFR Blood Test Results mean?

Every GFR number can lead to a diagnosis of renal dysfunction, here’s GFR levels explained

Meaning of Normal GFR

It means the percentage of normal kidney function which is an estimate of remaining kidney function.
When GFR is 100 milliliters per minute (mL/min) it means you have 100% kidney function, while GFR of 30 mL/min means your kidney function is reduced to 30% of its ability of creatinine clearance.
As the chronic kidney disease progresses the GFR decreases.
When GFR is less than 15 mL/min it means you lost about 90 to 85 percent of kidney function and developed end stage kidney disease that need dialysis to take wastes of the body out.
Normal GFR range means normal kidney function while low GFR level means that your kidney function is low.

Meaning of GFR Levels from 60 to 89

If you have mildly low GFR from 60 and less than 90 you’re not a kidney disease patient unless you see protein in urine test, then your kidney at the stage 1 CKD.
However, low GFR must remain for three consecutive months for CKd to be diagnosed.
There are usually no symptoms at stage 1 to indicate the kidney damage.
Best approaches to prevent kidney disease progresses more is to stop or minimize the dosage of ibuprofen and other medications that cause kidney damage.

Meaning of GFR Levels from 60 to 30

If you have GFR results between 30 and 59, this means moderate stages of chronic kidney disease.
What happens at Stage 3 CKD? complications of kidney disease such as high blood pressure, anemia, early bone disease as well as kidney pain felt in back, muscle cramps, and swelling (edema) of extremities due to fluid retention.
What blood test results show when I have Stage 3 CKD?
protein in urine, low hemoglobin, low calcium level, and low serum albumin in addition to S.creatinine over 3 mg/dl and BUN over 100 mg/dl.
Recommendations: treatment plan by a nephrologist and keep the blood levels at satisfactory values.

Meaning of Low GFR Levels below 15

GFR below 30 means sever kidney disease while GFR of 15 or below means Kidney Failure.
Lab results: SCR over 10 mg/dl, BUN over 150 mg/dl, Low Vitamin D, High PTH, Low Calcium, and abnormal cell casts in urine (with foamy stinky dark urine).
What to do if GFR range is 15?
Kidney failure reverse process include dialysis or kidney transplant when needed to survive.

How is GFR checked?

There are two methods to come with GFR level: blood and urine

Estimation of eGFR from creatinine in blood

eGFR stands for Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate.
By using the level of creatinine, your age, race and gender and substitute in a special equation.
There are two questions to calculate eGFR from a blood creatinine sample, the old C-G equation and the newer MDRD equation.
First equation: The MDRD eGFR equation.

MDRD equation is only for chronic kidney disease (CKD), acute renal failure will not come with accurate eGFR results.
eGFR stands for Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate.

The difference between GFR and Creatinine clearance

Estimations of creatinine clearance and GFR are not the same, that’s why?
The kidney filtration system consists of glomerules part which filters creatinine and the tubules parts which filters
reabsorb important chemicals from the initial filtrate.
GFR MDRD equation measures only the glomerular ability to filter creatinine as a waste.
While Creatinine clearance C_G equation counts the whole path of creatinine removal which consists of the glomerular filtration and the active creatinine secretion in the proximal tubule which should not be counted toward GFR
Median difference between GFR and CrCl is 3, so that you may round your renal estimation to the nearest 5 mL/min/1.73 m2
The medications that inhibit the active secretion of creatinine in the proximal tubule will falsly elevate serm creatinine but not the GFR.
The medications that can cause false increase in serum creatinine isfor instance; trimethoprim, cefoxitin (an antibiotic sometimes used for perioperative prophylaxis.
There’s no clinical significance of this difference except the mentioned below:

Creatinine clearance is a good marker for drug dosing instead of GFR.
MDRD GFR equation is valid only for chronic kidney disease and not accurate for acute renal failure as the Cockcroft and Gault equation.
Because MDRD set after studies on patients with renal dysfunction, it loses precision in patients with normal renal function whose GFR above 60 mL/min/1.73 m2.

Second Equation: Creatinine clearance equation (Cockcroft and Gault)

The Cockcroft and Gault equation estimates creatinine clearance and is not adjusted for body surface area.
GFR estimates from the MDRD Study equation doesn’t rely on a patient’s size to estimate kidney function.

Modify the estimate and range of the Cockcroft-Gault by calculate BMI to avoid the error results from the differences of patient’s body weight and BMI.

Creatinine clearance method

Measuring GFR from creatinine clearance test for 24 hour urine Collection.
Useful in patients who have large muscle mass or a marked decrease in muscle mass.

How do doctors identify kidney problems?

Lab test results to check for kidney disease:
Measuring the level of serum creatinine in your blood: to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR), as GFR helps to identify which stage of the disease your kidneys are reached.
Urine test for protein in urine: Proteinuria is a sign of mild kidney damage even if the GFR is about 90.
Normal blood pressure level represents normal selective ion exchange by kidney system.
Recommendations:
Here some tips of what to do if you have abnormal GFR test results?
Repeat Creatinine, GFR and Urine tests periodically even if the numbers are normal, especially if you from those at risk to develop kidney disease.
Early detection and identification of kidney problems lead to early treatments and close prevention of worsening the disease.
You can search by zip code for the local Kidney early evaluation Program (KeeP®) screenings at:
www.kidney.org/KEEP
A free program offers free screening tests for: anyone 18 years and older at increased risk for kidney disease: