Your kidneys are fist-sized and bean-shaped organs located at the bottom of your rib cage, on both sides of your spine. They perform several functions. Most importantly, they filter waste products, excess water, and other impurities from your blood. These waste products are stored in your bladder and later expelled through urine. In addition, your kidneys regulate pH, salt, and potassium levels in your body. They also produce hormones that regulate blood pressure and control the production of red blood cells. These are the 10 amazing ways to keep your kidneys healthy.
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Your kidneys are also responsible for activating a form of vitamin D that helps your body absorb calcium for building bones and regulating muscle function. Maintaining kidney health is important to your overall health and general well-being. By keeping your kidneys healthy, your body will filter and expel waste properly and produce hormones to help your body function properly. If you end up failing your body, you can end up needing a transplant or dialysis. The function of dialysis is to remove excess fluid and waste products from your blood. Your kidneys are supposed to do this themselves, but without proper care, they can stop working.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
1. Eat Healthy
A healthy diet that’s low in sodium, processed meats, and other kidney-damaging foods may help reduce the risk of kidney damage. Focus on eating fresh ingredients that are naturally low-sodium, such as cauliflower, blueberries, fish, whole grains, garlic, and more. Controlling high blood pressure and diabetes may help prevent kidney disease from getting worse.
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A kidney-friendly diet may also help protect your kidneys from further damage. Something like a kidney-friendly diet limits certain foods to prevent the minerals in those foods from building up in your body. Doing a ketogenic diet and avoiding carbohydrates and excessive proteins can be healthy for your kidneys. Being sure to get your micro and macro nutrients is also very important, from vitamins A-K and more.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
2. Intermittent Fast
Fasting is a great way to keep your self healthy because of it’s powerful detoxifying effects on the body. In general, intermittent fasting is safe and suitable for most healthy individuals. However, if you have kidney disease, it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider before trying intermittent fasting.
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It is not safe for everyone, especially those with health conditions like diabetes or heart-related issues. Intermittent fasting should be approached individually and with the help of a dietitian or physician. You should be sure to avoid fasting for too long to the point of starvation. As long as you get your nutrients in via supplements for prolonged fasts, you should end up just fine.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
3. Take Supplements
There are plenty of good supplements that benefit the kidneys on the market. As you can see, there are plenty of them listed on this page if you don’t have adblock on. You should also be sure to get your proper macro and micro nutrients in as much as possible. These include vitamins A-K, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and selenium. As long as you’re making sure you’re getting all of the elements that you need, you should be fine. If you still run into a problem, it’s obviously something else, so just be sure to take a multi-vitamin every day to avoid this issue.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
4. Exercise
Regular exercise is good for more than just your waistline. It can lower the risk of chronic kidney disease. It can also reduce your blood pressure and boost your heart health, which are both important to preventing kidney damage. You don’t have to run marathons to reap the reward of exercise. Walking, running, cycling, and even dancing are great for your health. Find an activity that keeps you busy and have fun. It’ll be easier to stick to it and have great results.
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Exercise induces profound changes in the renal haemodynamics and in electrolyte and protein excretion. Effective renal plasma flow is reduced during exercise. The reduction is related to the intensity of exercise and renal blood flow may fall to 25% of the resting value when strenuous work is performed. Just be careful, because rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome involving muscle breakdown and damage. When muscles are injured, they release their contents, including a muscle enzyme, into the bloodstream. The enzyme can harm the kidneys and can cause kidney failure in up to 40% of cases.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
5. Drink Water
There’s no magic behind the cliché advice to drink eight glasses of water a day, but it’s a good goal precisely because it encourages you to stay hydrated. Regular, consistent water intake is healthy for your kidneys. Water helps clear sodium and toxins from your kidneys. It also lowers your risk of chronic kidney disease. Aim for at least 1.5 to 2 liters in a day.
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Exactly how much water you need depends largely on your health and lifestyle. Factors like climate, exercise, gender, overall health, and whether or not you’re pregnant or breastfeeding are important to consider when planning your daily water intake. People who have previously had kidney stones should drink a bit more water to help prevent stone deposits in the future.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
6. Avoid Stress
Stress, like anything, can ruin any part of the body, including the kidneys. Chronic stressors and uncontrolled reactions to stress can also lead to kidney damage. As the blood filtering units of your body, your kidneys are prone to problems with blood circulation and blood vessels. High blood pressure and high blood sugar can place an additional strain or burden on your kidneys. Don’t worry though, because it’s not to say that you’re going to damage your kidneys from stress alone, but it certainly does not help. Stress should be avoided anyway, because who wants to be stressed.
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When kidneys are failing, the increased concentration and accumulation of substances in urine lead to a darker color which may be brown, red or purple. The color change is due to abnormal protein or sugar, high levels of red and white blood cells, and high numbers of tube-shaped particles called cellular casts.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
7. Get a Checkup
If you’re at high risk of kidney damage or kidney disease, it’s a good idea to have regular kidney function tests. The following people may benefit from regular screening are mostly people who are over 60 years old. Other factors include being born with low body weight, having cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and kidney damage. A regular kidney function test is a great way to know your kidney’s health and to check for possible changes. Getting ahead of any damage can help slow or prevent future damage. The last thing you want is a missing kidney or kidney transplant.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
8. Avoid Smoking and Drinking
Smoking damages your body’s blood vessels. This leads to slower blood flow throughout your body and to your kidneys. Smoking also puts your kidneys at an increased risk for cancer. If you stop smoking, your risk will drop. However, it’ll take many years to return to the risk level of a person who’s never smoked. Alcohol also causes changes in the function of the kidneys and makes them less able to filter the blood. Alcohol also affects the ability to regulate fluid and electrolytes in the body. When alcohol dehydrates (dries out) the body, the drying effect can affect the normal function of cells and organs, including the kidneys.
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If you regularly take over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication, you may be causing kidney damage. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen and naproxen, can damage your kidneys if you take them regularly for chronic pain, headaches, or arthritis. People with no kidney issues who take the medicine occasionally are likely in the clear. However, if you use these medicines daily, you could be risking your kidneys’ health. Talk with your doctor about kidney-safe treatments if you’re coping with pain.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
9. Keep a Healthy Weight
People who are overweight or obese are at risk for a number of health conditions that can damage the kidneys. These include diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease. Extra weight forces the kidneys to work harder and filter wastes above the normal level. Over time, this extra work increases the risk for kidney disease. Just remember, when there’s more of you, your kidneys have to work harder to keep up. Losing weight may preserve kidney function in obese people with kidney disease, according to a new study.
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The findings indicate that taking off the pounds could be an important step kidney disease patients can take to protect their health. Rapid weight loss can create energy deficiency and your kidneys will not be able to bear the pressure of the other activities. Most of the times, people who are devoid of the normal weight are advised by the doctor to gain weight or stop reducing the body weight to maintain the healthy condition of the kidney. So, just be sure to avoid losing too much weight and doing so too fast.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
10. Keep an Eye on Vitals
People with diabetes, or a condition that causes high blood sugar, may develop kidney damage. When your body’s cells can’t use the glucose (sugar) in your blood, your kidneys are forced to work extra hard to filter your blood. Over years of exertion, this can lead to life-threatening damage. However, if you can control your blood sugar, you reduce the risk of damage. Also, if the damage is caught early, your doctor can take steps to reduce or prevent additional damage.
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High blood pressure can cause kidney damage. If high blood pressure occurs with other health issues like diabetes, heart disease, or high cholesterol, the impact on your body can be significant. A healthy blood pressure reading is 120/80. Prehypertension is between that point and 139/89. Lifestyle and dietary changes may help lower your blood pressure at this point. If your blood pressure readings are consistently above 140/90, you may have high blood pressure. You should talk with your doctor about monitoring your blood pressure regularly, making changes to your lifestyle, and possibly taking medication.
Final Thoughts: The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
See, there are plenty of ways to keep your kidney’s healthy. There are also plenty of ways to get sick from your kidneys, and this is why you must take preventative action in response to it. It’s not to say that it’s too late if you end up with something, but it’s always better to avoid it. Things like chronic kidney disease, kidney stones, glomerulonephritis, polycystic kidney disease, and urinary tract infections can be prevented. This is why you should start young and early, keeping an eye on your health because you know your kidneys will appreciate it. The rest of your body will, too.
