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Why are kidneys important and how to protect them

Why are kidneys important and how to protect them 23 Dec

Your kidneys are the organs that filter out all those waste and extra fluid from your blood before flushing it out of the body. The waste management the kidney does is vital for the balance of our body especially the chemical and blood pressure balance. It the necessary care is not given to your kidney and if you are unaware of its functioning then it can lead to serious health issues including kidney stones, urinary tract infection, hypertension and finally kidney disease.

Kidney disease due to uncontrolled sugar in the body commonly known as diabetes is fast becoming a worldwide health problem. High blood sugar along with diabetes puts the kidneys to extra hard work which results in their stopping altogether or dysfunction leading to Chronic Kidney Disease or CKD.

You need to follow simple steps in daily life to ensure the health of your kidneys, the following are few tips for having a healthy and functioning kidney throughout life.

 

Reduce Acid Build-Up with Fruits and Vegetables

 

Including more fruits and vegetables is healthy because it reduces the risk of metabolic acidosis or acid secretion in the body and also prevents kidney injury when it tries to filter out the extra acids. When you consume more fruits and vegetables they in effect help the kidneys to easily filter out excess acids from the blood and in turn from the body.

Doctors usually treat patients with Chronic Kidney Disease with bicarbonate or oral alkaline medicines to reduce the acidic concentration. In a recent study which had two sets of patients, one set was given oral medicines for metabolic acidosis whereas another group was given fruits and vegetables, doctors found that in both cases there was a similar reduction in acid build-up.

 

Take Fish Oil for dialysis success

 

Dialysis patients who consume Omega 3 fatty acids as in fish oil were found to have less cardiac problems and acute cardiac arrest when compared to those who do not take any Omega 3 fatty acids. Therefore taking fish oil which is available in various forms including capsules give kidney disease patients protection from cardiac arrest.

 

Cut intake of Salt, Proteins & Water

 

The body has to waste a lot of energy when they have to expel unwanted salt, protein and water. The kidneys as the main filtering system of the body have to work harder to expel these waste substances. If you consume excess of these substances then the kidney comes under stress and may even fail leading to chronic kidney disease and other health problems.

Salt or sodium is integral to maintaining healthy fluid balance of the body. If excess salt is not filtered out especially in a known CKD patient then it will lead to high BP which leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Eating too much of protein, more than one gram per pound of body weight produces extra urea nitrogen in the blood and the kidneys will have to work harder to remove it.

Drinking too much of water when you actually don’t need it puts the kidneys to extra hard work in expelling the excess water through urine which leads to health complications.

 

Fitness is Foremost Protection

 

Studies have shown that regular exercise does a world of good to patients with CKD or Chronic Kidney Disease where it helps to maintain healthier blood pressure and a healthy heart. Those who exercise also follow a healthy nutritional diet and have a better lifestyle both of which help improve the condition of CKD patients.


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