Kidneys play an important role in keeping you healthy, by removing the body toxins and excess water from blood, controlling your blood pressure and stimulating the production of red blood cells.
Kidney diseases are silent killers, which largely affects your quality of life. High blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of Kidney failure put increased risk of developing kidney disease. But even if you are not under this you should know how to keep away from Kidney disease. There are few important ways to keep your kidney function healthy.
1. Keep fit and active
Involving your body in regular activity helps maintaining fitness. Regular exercise or moderate activity keeps your blood pressure & weight under control, therefore reducing the risk of chronic kidney disease. You should be careful about how much exercise you do because overexerting yourself can encumber your kidneys.
2. Maintain healthy fluid intake
It has been long suggested to drink 1.5-2 liters of water daily. Water helps the kidneys remove wastes from your blood as urine maintaining you body temperature. It also helps keep your blood vessels open so that blood can travel freely to your kidneys with essential nutrients. It flushes out infections and stone forming crystals. It’s important to remember that right amount of fluid intake depends on age, climate, exercise intensity, health conditions, pregnancy & breast feeding. People with history of kidney stone are advised to drink 2-3 liters of water daily to reduce risk of a new kidney stone.
3. Eat healthy & check weight
Most kidney diseases are result of medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure which relates to your eating habits. The best advice is to follow a healthy dietary nutrition for your body to control weight and high blood pressure. Reducing the salt intake can prevent diabetes & heart diseases associated with Chronic Kidney Disease.
4. Monitor Blood Pressure
Most of us generally know high blood pressure to be the reason for heart strokes & attacks, but it also leads to kidney diseases. At the normal blood pressure from 120/80 to 139/89, you need to make dietary changes. Any pressure level above 140/90 needs medical guidance and regular monitoring of blood pressure to avoid any damage to your kidneys which is very certain.
5. Quit smoking
Smoking damages blood vessels hence decreasing the blood flow to the kidneys. Due to inadequate blood flow in the kidneys, their function gets interrupted. It also increases the risk of high blood pressure and kidney cancers.
6. Keep control on blood sugar
People with uncontrolled blood sugar or diabetes are more likely to have kidney damage. Any kidney problem can be prevented if detected early through regular checkup with doctor and timely monitoring of blood sugar.
7. Do not take over the counter pills regularly
Some non-prescription medicines like ibuprofen can lead to kidney damage if taken regularly for long time. If you have chronic pain or arthritis, it is suggested to seek medical advice before taking any over the counter pain killers without putting your kidney at risk.
8. Regular kidney screening
If you have either diabetes, high blood pressure, or are obese your doctor will screen for any kidney dysfunction as part of routine care. Knowing your high risks and getting regular kidney screening is important.
Kidneys often get affected by various health conditions. Eat healthy, exercise regularly and having balanced BMI can keep your Kidneys healthy.