Former beauty queen Bea Rose Santiago reveals she receives dialysis five times a week
Two years since Miss International 2013 Bea Rose Santiago revealed she has chronic kidney disease, the former beauty queen now shared that she has been receivng dialysis five times a week.
Lately, the beauty queen has been having a difficult time with her protein intake and now has "low phosphate, low hemoglobin and having muscle aches." She updated her followers about it on Instagram with a masked selfie showing her prescribed medicine.
"I need weekly Aranesp and Iron shots to help me since I dialyze 5x a week and each time is 8 hrs while I sleep," Santiago said.
While she used to be on a plant-based diet, the Fil-Canadian actress is now slowly trying to eat more protein, adding oats milk and goat's cheese to her diet. "My doctors and nutritionist recommended many vegan options, but after two months, I am now a pescatarian on the weekends and vegetarian on weekdays," she also wrote. She also added, "I dont consume cow’s milk and eggs."
Though she calls herself a "lazy cook," she suggests others "to live by a plant-based diet just make sure you eat proper nutrition."
"Life is beautiful. I always believed that God always finds a way! There's always a reason why we go through life."
Back in 2018, Santiago confirmed that she had been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. Since she damaged her kidneys when she was younger, little did she know that it would be more senstitive and vulnerable than normal. "I can't overdo things and I just found out."
She mentioned gym and workout drinks as the culprit and reminded people to be wary of what they take. "Guys, if you take pre-workout [supplements and drinks]… plus heavy workout, be careful!" she said. "Apparently, there are many more like me! We damaged our kidneys because of our gym life!"
"Before you do or change your diet or drink something, make sure you don't have bad health history problems! Always ask your doctors!" she reminded people.
Photo from Bea Rose Santiago's Instagram (@bea.santiago)