MANILA -- Former Miss International Bea Rose Santiago recently revealed that she is undergoing dialysis five times a week.
The beauty queen made the statement in an Instagram post, which showed a photo of her holding her prescription at the Toronto General Hospital in Canada.
She said she has been "having a hard time with my protein intake," adding that she has "low phosphate, low hemoglobin, and having muscle aches."
"My doctors and nutritionist recommended many vegan options but after 2 months, I am now a pescatarian on the weekends and vegetarian on weekdays. I don't consume cow's milk and eggs, but I do love oats milk and goat's cheese," Santiago said.
"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. Works like magic," she added.
In the comments section, many of Santiago's friends and followers sent their prayers and messages of support.
Replying to one of the comments, the Miss International 2013 titleholder expressed optimism despite her situation, saying that "God always finds a way."
"There's always a reason why we go through life," she said.
It was back in 2018 when Santiago first opened up about her chronic kidney disease, a condition she said was a result of her "gym life."
"Guys, if you take pre-workout [drinks]… plus heavy workout, be careful!" she added. “"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 stressed.
Related video: