This world kidney day let us vouch to get healthier. Kidney diseases can be a silent killer, which can largely affect your quality of life. There are numerous ways to reduce the risk of developing kidney disease and maintaining its health.
As a matter of fact, with every decade after your 30s, your kidney function reduces by 10%. Our kidneys are designed in a way that its filtration ability declines after the age of 30-40 years. If you increase the load on your kidneys right from the young age, your risk of developing kidney disease in later part of your life could increase. To be on the safe side, follow these few tips and take good care of your kidneys to prevent the risk of developing kidney problems.
1) Avoid self-medication: All the medicines you indulge have to go through your kidney for filtration. Increased dosage or taking medicines that you are not aware of can increase the toxin levels on your kidneys. Hence follow dosage recommendations and avoid self-medication. Common anti-inflammatory drugs can cause kidney diseases if consumed on a regular basis.
2) Think before you take supplements and herbal medicine: If you are popping in vitamin or herbal supplements, you should reconsider as excessive amounts of vitamins and certain plant extracts can cause kidney damage.
3) Control portion size and eat home cooked food to shed weight and maintain kidney health.
4) Fresh juices is or fluids help keeping your kidneys healthy, help the digestive system to flush out toxins. If you’re already suffering from kidney issues, avoid spinach and beets juices as these are rich in oxalic acid and lead to kidney stones instead have coconut water.
5) Don’t resist the urge to urinate. Filtration of blood is a vital function kidneys perform. When the process of filtration is done, extra amount of wastes and water is stored in the urinary bladder that has to be excreted. If you start overlooking the urge to go to the restroom, the urinary bladder stretches more than its capacity, affecting the filtration process, putting kidney stones risk.
Get your kidney function checked if you have any of the high risk factors:
- You have diabetes
- You have hypertension
- You are obese
- One of your parents or other family members suffers from kidney disease
Sujetha Shetty, Nutritionist, Gympik gives us a few vital kidney facts and how to prevent kidney disease. ‘Maintaining a healthy kidney doesn’t take huge changes in our daily routines but smaller changes every day could do the trick. Kidneys are the most important organs which perform the crucial functions in the body. They help removing the nutrients which cannot be used by the body known as toxic substances in the form of urine. Not only that, it also removes excess water from the body and produces hormone like erythropoietin which regulates red blood cell productions. It helps maintaining a balance between salt and water, regulates blood pressure, acid and calcium metabolism in the body. It is better to follow a healthy diet to maintain a healthy body throughout. It will not only help preventing kidney disease but also most of the deadly diseases.
Water intake: Keeping your body hydrated is one of the most important things that needs more focus. Doctors suggest, an average person should consume 2-3 litres of water which helps to flush out the toxins from body and keep kidney healthy. Our kidneys need water to function and when they get enough water only then they can eliminate toxins and metabolic waste from urine, digestive system and blood. Due to lack of enough water consumption, our body accumulates toxins and that results in damaging normal kidney functioning.
Go for health check-ups: It is advisable to get your urine test, blood pressure and blood sugar checked at least twice a year. Many of the causes of kidney disease strike at random, it is difficult to predict or prevent unless the early symptoms are recognized. Early diagnosis can help in preventing the progression of the disease as most of the kidney infections are treatable.
Stay active: Staying active might help you lower your blood pressure, stress levels and control weight. Hence, this helps in reducing the chances of kidney damage or any disease related to kidney. Moreover, when you are active, your endorphin levels go higher and boost your mood.
Consume probiotics: Probiotics are good bacteria that improve kidney health by removing wastes from the system and also contribute to digestive health.
DO EAT:
Apples, Grapefruits, Watermelon, Grapes, Mushrooms, Oatmeal, Cranberry juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, Pumpkin seeds, Bananas, Sprouts, Cucumbers, Potatoes, Papaya, Pumpkin, Legumes and seeds, Watermelon, Berries, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Red and Yellow bell peppers, Garlic, Onions, Olive oil.
DON’T EAT:
High animal protein diet, Salt, Artificial sweeteners, Dairy products, Caffeine, Soda, Carbonated beverages and Genetically modified foods.
Lifestyle Changes: Limit Alcohol intake: Alcohol consumption is associated with numerous health hazards, kidney damage or unhealthy kidney being one of them. Alcoholic beverages contain carcinogen and ethanol that disturb normal kidney functions making the body more prone to high blood pressure that is one of the one major reasons for kidney damage.
Avoid pain killers: Pain killers like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, naproxen (Aleve), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin), and acetaminophen (Tylenol) can prove fatal for kidneys. Moreover, frequent consumption of these non-prescription pills can also lead to kidney cancer if taken for a longer period.
Quit smoking: Tobacco causes cancer. The toxins released from tobacco not only damages lungs, mouth and other organs of the body, it also disturbs the function of kidneys and increases the risk of kidney damage that can lead to cancer.
Limit salt intake: Excessive salt or sodium intake in the food and beverages can lead to high blood pressure which is considered as one of the primary factors of kidney diseases.
DO’S AND DON’TS FOR KIDNEY HEALTH
- Choose healthy and fresh foods, include anti-oxidants in your diet.
- Reduce fatty foods and sugar intake.
- Get enough sleep.
- Limit caffeine consumption.
- Exercise or walk for at least 30 minutes a day and stay active.
- Increase fluid consumption and stay away from carbonated and sugary drinks.
- Avoid fatty and oily foods. Include good fats in your diet.
- Avoid processed foods.
- Limit alcohol and sodium consumption.
- Quit smoking or tobacco consumption.
- Increase daily water intake.
- Maintain a healthy blood pressure and blood sugar level.
- Consume enough fluid so that the body can produce at least two litres of clear urine per day. It is advisable to consume 2-3 litres of water per day.
- Limit sodium (salt) consumption to 6g/day.
- Cut down on animal protein and processed foods.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Include adequate dietary calcium in your diet.
- Eat fibrous foods. Add fruits and veggies.
- Include Omega-3 fatty acid.
