Kidney Health & Awareness

Kidney Health & Awareness

The kidneys are our bodies main filtration system. Resembling two bean shape organs and located around the middle of your back below your ribs, they have an enormous job. Every day they filter 200 quarts of blood, eliminating around 2 quarts of waste. That is a tremendous amount of work. The kidneys filter your food, medications, and toxic substances that we ingest. In fact your kidneys work load also includes maintaining fluid balance in your body, it creates the hormones that produce red blood cells, regulates blood pressure, bone health, and it regulates the minerals in our blood.

As of now there are over 30 million Americans with kidney disease. 1 out of 9 adults have kidney disease with many of them not knowing it. That is because early stage kidney disease doesn’t have any remarkable symptoms that alerts a person about the problem. Those who get kidney disease don’t know they have it until it is too drastic of a problem for easy solutions. (Kidney Awareness Month was last month. However, -and to be honest- I missed that opportunity to share in bringing a timely awareness in unison with the national voice. But, I had it on my agenda to be the first post of April for Genesis Home Care, LLC.)

It is best to stay ahead of the condition by doing your part or taking charge of your health. The major factor with kidney health is the amount of work the kidneys have to do throughout their lifecycle. Remember they are part of our urinary system, with a responsibility of eliminating the waste from our bodies. If we can look at our body like a closed system much like a car that requires gas and oil to lubricate and run efficiently we can start to see how our kidneys work. You understand that you can not put diesel fuel in a gasoline engine or watered down oil for your transmission because it will quickly degrade your components and your engine will work harder from the bad energy sources. The same is true for our kidney’s.

What we consume has a big to-do with our bodies output result. You have heard the saying “you are what you eat”. I believe we all know that is an allegory describing not that you will turn into the physical form of what you consume but your body will give out what you put in. If your bad food choices out-weigh your good food choices then you increase the chances of negative health results. The harder your kidneys work over time the more stress you put on them. Unfortunately, sometimes there is nothing we can do to prevent bad health. I would like for us to lean on the responsible side and take positive action for our own health.

There are some things you can do to assist your kidneys in the hard work they do. Hydration! Remember the amount of blood the kidneys filter each day? 200 quarts! Well, proper hydration helps (A-LOT) with this process. It helps the body move and excrete the waste through urine and fecal matter. For a side note, your daily goal for hydration is about 64 ounces or 8 glasses of water a day (sugary drinks should not be a part of that equation). 

Some high risk factors for developing kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure, family history of kidney failure or heart disease. Even if you do not have one of the risk factors everyone should have the kidneys included in annual physical health assessments. When you do see your physician ask them these following questions: 

Have you had a kidney screen?- 

If you get routine physical assessments then you may have had a kidney screen before. So it would be good to ask if you have had one and then compare the new test with the old. 

How often should you be checked?- 

Your doctor will read your screen and instruct you on his findings and give a suggestive future plan. 

How can I keep my kidneys healthy?- 

Regardless of the report you get, you should ask this question so that you and your doctor are on the same page going forward. You can also ensure that you are including a nutritious diet plan, focus on foods with a high alkalinity,  and hydrate- you just can’t say enough about the importance of hydration for total body health.  

Know that the first thing you must do is get tested. Limit your intake/usage of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) these are over the counter pain medicines. If your doctor prescribed them to you than do as instructed, if you are self electing these drugs then limit them. Reduce  processed food consumption. 

Exercise, exercise, exercise! Try to get 30 minutes of physical activity a day. It will help control your blood pressure, oxygenate your blood cells, and lower blood sugar just to name a very few benefits. Lastly, hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes are leading causes of kidney disease and failure. 

Kidney disease is a serious condition that can sneak up on you without any warnings. The only sure way to know how your kidneys are doing is to have them checked. 

Disclaimer: This article is intended as a friendly reminder with recommendations. It is not medical advice, direction or prescription of any sort. Please refer to professional services for any health-related questions, concerns and relief.