Why is Carambola, or star fruit, considered harmful to individuals managing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)?
It contains a neurotoxin that healthy kidneys filter, but CKD patients cannot clear, leading to toxic buildup.
Carambola, or star fruit, possesses a specific neurotoxin that presents a critical danger to anyone with reduced kidney capacity, such as those diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). In a person with robust kidney function, the filtering mechanism efficiently processes and eliminates this toxin before it can accumulate to harmful levels in the bloodstream. However, when CKD reduces the kidney's filtering reserve, the clearance mechanism is impaired. Even small amounts of the star fruit can lead to the gradual accumulation of this neurotoxin to dangerous concentrations, which can overwhelm the system and precipitate an episode of acute renal failure, even when the patient might consume only a small portion.
