Kidney disease often lurks in the shadows, becoming noticeable only in its advanced stages, which is why it is often referred to as a ‘silent’ invader.
Small Changes, Big Impact, Everyday Habits to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy: Kidney disease is a ‘silent’ invader. Most often, it comes into one’s notice only at an advanced stage. Alarmingly, more than 10% of the global population is affected by this disease, and it is a major health problem especially in low-and middle-income countries like India. Kidneys help human body perform many important tasks such as filtering waste out of the blood and expelling them through the urine. Kidneys also activate Vitamin D for bone and muscle health, maintain the balance of potassium and calcium in the blood, and release hormones that help regulate blood pressure and red blood cell production.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
It is more common among the elderly people, diabetic patients, and people with high blood pressure. Major reasons for a spike in kidney disease are increasing lifespan, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. CKD will lead to accumulation of waste in the blood, weak bones, and high blood pressure. The disease will also increase the risk of cardiac arrest and stroke. Thus, it’s important to take care of the kidneys by maintaining a health-conscious lifestyle. But many people don’t know whether their kidneys are in danger as the symptoms are hardly noticeable at early stages. Some of the major symptoms are foamy or red-coloured urine, swollen feet, fatigue, sleeplessness, muscle spasms, itchy skin, breathlessness, low appetite, foul breath, and loss of memory and concentration. Your family physician can recommend a blood test called eGFR as well as a urine test called uACR to determine the kidney health. The earlier you detect, the better the chances of saving the organ and securing a positive treatment outcome.
Dr Bilal Thangal T M, Medical Lead, NURA shares ten tips to keep your kidneys healthy:
Beware Of Over Medication
Prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), which are used for reducing pain, swelling, and fever, can damage the kidneys. They are widely available and can be purchased without prescription. If you take a high dose of them in one go, that may lead to kidney failure. Further, continuous use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) for treating conditions like chronic acid reflux and stomach and duodenal ulcers, can strengthen one’s chances of getting kidney disease. You can use these medicines only for a limited period as directed by a physician.
Avoid Unbranded Herbal Medicines
Often, ayurvedic/ herbal medicines are recommended as a panacea for many diseases. Since most of them are made by local agencies, without any quality control or regulatory oversight, consuming them may result in damaging one’s kidneys. Use branded ayurvedic/ herbal medicines only with the prescription of a registered ayurveda practitioner.
Use Antibiotics Wisely
Antibiotics can damage the kidneys if one uses them frequently. For example, ‘aminoglycosides’ can cause nephrotoxicity. They include neomycin, tobramycin (Tobrex), gentamycin (Garamycin), and amikacin (Amikin). Some types like penicillin, sulfonamides, and cephalosporins are also likely to cause kidney injury. The repeated use of such antibiotics leads to increased accumulation of chemicals in the renal filters, which hampers kidney functions. Over-the-counter availability of antibiotics makes this issue more serious. So, use antibiotics judiciously and only on the advice of a physician.
Choose Healthy Food
The kidneys have to process whatever one eats or drinks. It can be anything like fat, fibre, starches, sugar, salt or alcohol. Over a period of time, an unhealthy diet can lead to high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity that affect the filtering capacity of the kidneys. Only a healthy diet, which includes fruits, vegetables and whole grains, can support the kidney functions properly.
Reduce Salt Intake
Salt affects people’s health in many ways. High salt consumption leads to high blood pressure, a major cause of kidney disease. It also causes kidney stones, which may create injury if not treated properly. In some people, high salt intake may raise the level of protein in their urine. This condition is called ‘proteinuria’ or ‘albuminuria’. This is harmful for the kidneys as excessive sodium consumption forces the kidneys to leak more protein into the urine.
Drink More Water
Water helps the kidneys do filtration properly, get nutrients to the organ and move waste into urinary bladder. If there is no sufficient water, the kidney filters get damaged and it may lead to kidney stones and infections.
Exercise Regularly
Regular physical activity helps re-energize the human body by preventing serious complications like high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure that can lead to cardiovascular disease, stroke and kidney damage. But remember, too much exercise can harm your kidneys as it will force the organ to perform its duties heavily and strenuously. It is better to go for mild or moderate exercises, lasting for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Heavy drinking can take a serious toll on your health. Alcohol can cause changes in the kidney function and make the organ unable to filter the blood properly. Further, the kidneys do the job of keeping the right amount of water in the human body. Alcohol weakens this ability of the organ. Also, alcohol creates excess dehydration in the body that can derail the normal functions of many vital organs, including the kidneys. Moreover, too much drinking can affect one’s blood pressure. People who drink heavily are bound to experience hypertension. And high blood pressure is a common cause of kidney disease.
Say No To Smoking
Smoking increases the risk of kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma). The increased risk is directly proportional to how much one smokes. The risk reduces gradually when one quits smoking. More importantly, smoking damage blood vessels, which also reduces blood flow to the kidneys, thus affecting the kidney functions.
Control Lifestyle Diseases
The most common lifestyle conditions that affect the kidneys are diabetes and high blood pressure. A healthy diet and regular exercise will help people keep both the conditions under control. Keep a close eye on your blood sugar level and take insulin whenever needed. For hypertension, check the level of blood pressure regularly and take medicines exactly as the doctor prescribes.
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