KIDNEY: Kidneys are as important to our health as our heart or lungs. It filters the blood, gets rid of toxic things and it will help to reabsorb all the good things, so the more you lose this filtering function, you start getting rid of nutrients you need and you hold waste products and they start backing up into your system. It removes waste from the blood and returns the cleaned blood back to the body.

Kidneys may get infected through the infections or bacteria which are formed in the other parts of the body and get flowed to the kidney through the blood.

In simpler terms, Kidneys filter our food, send waste products out from our body in the form of urine and cleans our body.

LET’S SEE HOW TO KEEP OUR FILTER SYSTEM HEALTHY:

DO’S:

•  Drink water :

Male: Consume up to 4.5 to 5 liters of water daily.

  Female: Consume 4 liters of water daily.

•  In a span of 1 hour, both kidneys filter around 5 liters of our blood 2 times.
• The excess amount of water will be sent out by the kidneys in the form of Urine. Kidneys throw out the unwanted chemicals from our body through urine.

• HEALTHY FOOD :

Have a proper amount of sodium, calcium intake foods.

•  Physical exercises:

Try to work out for at least 30 to 45 mins everyday and include walking in your daily routine.

• Yearly checkups:

Regular and timely body checkups are mandatory to know our health condition and to maintain it accordingly.   

       DON’TS :

• Do not stop or control your urine because it may cause kidneys to backup the waste products into 

• Humans should urinate around 2 to 2.5 liters of urine everyday, which helps to discrete the waste products from your body through urine.
• Do not take more amount of sugar content, which may lead to diabetes and makes it easy for kidneys to get damaged.
• Do not consume an excess amount of sodium (salt).

{Excess amount of salt makes kidneys difficult to filter. Kidney has to use around 40% to 50% of its energy in order to filter the excess amount of salt. So avoid taking excess amount of salt intake}

• Do not consume an excess amount of spicy foods.
• Avoid consuming excess amounts of alcohol.
• Avoid smoking.

CAUSES OF KIDNEY DAMAGE:

•  Hereditary:
• There is a possibility for our kidneys to get damaged through genes or through heredity.
• Maintain a proper diet by taking moderate amounts of salt, sugar, spices, and masala intake.
• Maintain physical fitness.
•  OBESITY:
• Obesity is also one of the main cause for  

kidney failure.

.   

• Proper physical exercises and proper diet with less amount of sugar can help you out dealing with obesity and kidney damage.
• DIABETES:
• Taking high amounts of sugar daily results in diabetes and further prevents the kidneys from working. An average person has to consume one teaspoon of sugar per day.

• Excessive amounts of alcohol, smoking, and salt intake does also result in kidney damage.

• SYMPTOMS OF KIDNEY FAILURE:

• Metallic taste in your mouth.
• Itchiness in your body.
• Ammonia breath.
• Edema{ Swelling in lower ankles and feet, swelling underneath your eyes.}
• Uremic frost{ Due to the backing up of uric acid into the blood}.It is actually backed up through the skin, usually on the scalp or the front part of your head.
• High blood pressure.
• Color change in urine.
• Foul smell from your urine and mouth.
• Muscular and body pains.
• Tiredness.
• Low lung capacity.
• Dizziness.

• TIPS TO KEEP YOUR KIDNEYS HEALTHY:
• Drink around 4 to 4.5 liters of water daily with space intervals.
• Avoid consuming alcohol, smoking.
• Avoid consuming an excess amount of salt intake. A human body requires around 400mg of sodium per day.

 But we are consuming around 4000 to 5000 mg and above amount of salt every day.And to filter this excess amount of sodium, kidneys need to use around 40% – 50% of its energy.

• Avoid consuming an excess amount of sugars. A human body requires 80mg/dl of blood sugar per day. That is 4gms of sugar in blood that is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar per day. But the average person is consuming around 15 teaspoons of sugar daily.

• Daily exercises and walking for at least 30 minutes                                                                 

FOOD TO TAKE :

Consume food which contains less sodium, sugar levels and moderate amounts of proteinous food.

FRUITS to take:

• Apples

{These are rich in anti inflammatory compounds, rich in pectin which is a soluble fiber that helps to manage risk factors for kidney damage}

• Bell peppers
• Blueberries
• Watermelon
• Custard apple  
• Grapes
• Muskmelon                
• Cranberries
• Guava

 Vegetables to take : 

• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Capsicum
• Carrots
• Brinjal
• Ladies finger
• Bottle Gourd 
• Ridge Gourd
• Leafy greens

• Fish , Sea food , Meat is also good for health.
•  Instead of using normal salt try to replace it with sea salt.

FOOD TO AVOID :

Avoid taking food which have high amount carbohydrates,sugar levels,sodium,calcium,proteins

• Avoid taking fruits like ,
• Banana
• Orange
• Papaya
• Kiwi
• Coconut

• Avoid taking vegetables like ,
• Beetroot
• Potato
• Tomato
• Sweet Potato
• Raddish
• Spinach
• Beet leaves

•  Avoid Almonds, Cashews , Pistachios if you have oxalate stones in kidneys. Because nuts like these are rich in oxalates and have a risk of developing painful kidney stones.

• Avoid high levels of glucose. Kidney is one of the four main body tissues which gets damaged with high intake of Glucose.

LET’S CHECK OUT SOME FREQUENT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RELATED TO OUR KIDNEYS :

Q. What do kidneys do in our body ?

A. They filter our blood and discharge all the waste products or chemicals from our body through urine. It functions as a filter system for our body. In a span of 1hour or both kidneys filter 5 liters of our blood 2 times.

Q. Causes for kidney damage ?

A. There are many causes for kidney damage. It is either due to hereditary obesity, alcohol consumption , smoking ,high sugar levels, high consumption of salt etc.

Q. How to maintain healthy kidneys ?

A. Consume moderate amounts of calcium foods .

• Maintain physical fitness.
• Do physical exercises. Go for a walk for at least one hour everyday.
• Consume less amount of sodium containing foods.
• Go for doctor check ups regularly at least once a year.
• Avoid taking spicy foods regularly. It makes it difficult for the kidneys to filter.
• Consume a limited amount of oxalates producing foods if you have kidney stones. 
• Drink 4 to 4.5 liters of water every day. Try to urinate around 2 to 2.5 liters daily which indicates that you have a good functioning of kidneys.

Q. What are the Recommended foods to take to have healthy kidneys ?

A. Try to consume fruits and vegetables and food which are less in carbohydrates, sodium, calcium, moderate proteins.

Include fruits like Bell peppers, Blueberries, Apples, Guava, Watermelon, Custard apple, Grapes, Muskmelon, Raspberries.

And vegetables like Cabbage, Cauliflower, Capsicum, Brinjal, Carrots, Lady’s finger, Ridge Gourd, Bottle gourd.

Include Fish, Seafood, Meat , Leafy greens, celery juices, Asparagus, Sea salt in your diet. Because these contain moderate and suitable amounts of calcium, sodium etc.

Q. What foods are to be avoided in order to protect kidneys?

A. Avoid taking high amounts of sugar. An average person requires 1 teaspoon of sugar per day. But the study says that an average person is consuming around 15 teaspoons of sugar daily and it results in diabetes,which further results in the damage of kidneys.

Avoid fruits like banana, orange, papaya, kiwi, coconut

Avoid vegetables like Beetroot, Sweetpotato, Raddish, Spinach, Potato because these contain high amounts of sodium.

If you have oxalate kidney stones then try to avoid nuts like almonds, cashews, pistachios because these are rich in oxalates.

Q. Is it okay to hold urine?

A. No. Never hold your urine even if you have that capacity to do it because it makes the kidneys to back up all the waste products back into your body and pollutes your blood. 

Q.What are the symptoms for a toxic kidney?

A. Metallic taste in your mouth, Itchiness in your body, Ammonia breath, Edema, Uremic frost, Color change in urine,foul smell from your urine as well as from your mouth,tiredness,dizziness,body pains.

Q. Can a damaged kidney get repaired?

A. Damaged kidneys can never get repaired.You have to just find some other routes to filter your body like dialysis.

Q. What are the treatment options for kidney failure?

A. Hemodialysis, Peritoneal dialysis, Kidney transplant, Conservative management.

Q.What happens to the body if the kidney could not filter anymore?

A. Your body fills with extra water and waste products and this condition is called uremia.You feel tired and weak because your body needs clean blood to function properly.

Q. Can a person survive without both kidneys?

A. You can survive through dialysis but temporarily. People with kidney failure may survive days to weeks without dialysis depending on the amount of kidney function they have, how severe their symptoms are and their overall medication.

Q. Can kidneys start working again after failure?

A. If the kidney failure is acute then yes they can start working after the underlying cause has been treated.