5 Must-Follow Rules to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
Our kidneys do a lot for us. They process one of the most grueling tasks that keep other organs working healthily – they aid in flushing out toxins from our bodies. However, you will never realize when your kidneys are falling ill. Chronic kidney disease (CDK) is a major health problem that usually goes undetected during its early stages. The advanced stages of kidney diseases often require dialysis or transplant, followed by expensive treatments.
But, if you are able to detect a kidney problem early, you can control the progression of the disease through simple but quite valuable lifestyle changes. In fact, if you follow the golden rules to kidney health, you can also stop CKD from developing.
Regardless of these golden rules, you must get your kidneys and other vitals regularly checked to stay safe, healthy and hearty. This is even more important for people who are at-risk zones, such as people with BP, diabetes, obesity, and heart problems.
What Kidneys Do and Why Should Your Protect Them
– Healthy kidneys and good lifestyle control your blood pressure naturally by keeping blood minerals, such as sodium, phosphorus, and potassium in balance.
– Kidneys secrete a number of hormones, such as erythropoietin, calcitriol, and renin that monitor blood pressure level.
– Filter toxins and fluid wastes from the blood and pass it out through urination.
– Monitor the body’s fluid level.
– Maintain bone health by activating Vitamin D.
If you do not protect them, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can weaken your bones, cause high blood pressure and kidney failure (ESRD), greater the risks of brain stroke and heart attack, decrease red blood cell count, damage nerves, and if left untreated, may lead to death.
Prolonged use of NSAIDs, diabetes, high blood pressure, genes, Native American or African-American race, obesity, low birth weight, and older age are some of the key risk factors of CKD.
Golden Rules for Healthy Kidneys
While you cannot reverse Chronic Kidney Disease (CDK), you can definitely slower its progress or better yet, stop it from developing by following the tips mentioned below:
Stay Fit and Exercise Regularly
Exercise and active life is the solution for eliminating the development of all health conditions, right from diabetes to kidney disease to heart problems. Regular exercising (30 minutes a day, 5 days a week), reduces blood pressure, burns fat, boosts metabolism, improves stamina, and definitely reduces the risk of CKD. You can stay active in so many ways – join gym, walk at least half an hour a day, go for runs, go swimming and cycling, try Zumba, aerobics or any other dance form, practice kickboxing and martial arts, or do yoga.
KEEP A CHECK ON YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE LEVEL
Blood pressure is a slow killing disease – it can lead to stroke and heart attack. Preeclampsia and eclampsia happen when BP is uncontrollable during pregnancy, which can harm the baby and the mother. High BP is also a common cause of kidney damage and kidney failure. You furthermore increase the risks of CDK if your BP is associated with other diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. The normal BP range falls between 120/80. If your BP is above 130/85 and below 140/90, you are pre-hypertensive. You need to monitor and try to control your blood pressure naturally. If BP level is above 140/90, you need medical intervention and regular health assessment.
CONTROL YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL
Diabetes is a slow poison. Uncontrolled diabetes is the root cause of CDK, neuropathy, heart diseases, damaged nervous system, skin problems, stroke, and early death. About half the people who have diabetes develop kidney problems. Therefore, it is important for diabetic people to keep control of blood sugar levels by choosing a healthy lifestyle.
CONSUME ENOUGH FLUID
Drinking enough water per day has shown significant improvement in kidney health. Although no concrete research has been made on this, many believe that drinking a minimum of 2 liters of water per day can effectively remove toxins, sodium, and urea from our body and normalize kidney’s functioning. You must also consume alcohol in limited quantity (4 to 5 servings per week) to reduce possible developments of kidney stones and CKD. Consuming enough fluids can alleviate several health conditions, including toxin accumulation in liver and obesity.
QUIT SMOKING
Smoking is injurious to health. How many of you take this seriously? Hardly anyone, truth be told. Smoking is worse than consuming alcohol because it slows down the flow of the blood to the kidneys, impairing its ability to function the way it should. Furthermore, smoking also increases the risks of several cancers, including that of the lungs and kidneys by 50%.
Fatigue, weakness, difficulty in urination, painful urination, increased urination at night, frothy urine, blood in urine, increased thirst, swollen face, hands, ankles and feet, and puffy eyes are some of the early signs of kidney problem. If you observe any of these, get your health evaluated and take suitable measures.
AUTHOR BIO:
Daniel is a proficient writer who firmly believes in the age-old remedies and holistic medicine as a primary cure for several diseases. After graduating she embarked on a journey to find the truth about holistic and natural remedies.
