8 Expert tips to keep your kidneys healthy — Genestrings
Tips to keep kidneys healthy
The following are some ways to take care of your kidney health:
Drink plenty of water: This is the most common and easiest way to keep your kidneys healthy. Consuming plenty of water, especially warm water, helps the kidneys clear sodium, urea, and toxins from the body.
Low sodium/salt diet: Keep sodium or salt intake under control in your diet. This means you have to avoid packaged/restaurant foods as well. Also, don’t add extra salt to your food. A low-salt diet reduces the load on the kidneys and prevents the development of disorders related to hypertension. It also prevents the progression of kidney disease. Check Your Kidney Test
Maintain proper body weight: Eat healthy food and keep your weight under control. Have your body’s cholesterol levels checked regularly to prevent cholesterol deposits in your arteries. Also, keep saturated fat/fatty fried foods away from the diet and insist on eating lots of fruits and vegetables daily. As a person gains weight, the load on the kidneys increases.
Check blood sugar:Regularly check blood sugar and keep it under optimum levels. Kidney failure is very common in diabetic patients and can be prevented if detected early. Therefore, it is advised to keep a regular check on your blood sugar level, avoid sugary food products and see a doctor if you have high blood sugar (fasting or postprandial) level or HbA1c. Keep the HbA1c level below 6.0.
Blood Pressure monitoring: Monitor blood pressure regularly and keep it under control. If you have high blood pressure, take antihypertensives as advised by your doctor, and maintain a healthy lifestyle and make necessary dietary changes. In addition to kidney problems, high blood pressure can lead to stroke or heart attack.
Get a kidney function test done regularly: If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity or if you are over 60 years of age, as mentioned earlier, Kidney function tests, renal imaging, and urine analysis should be done regularly. If even the slightest protein in the urine is detected, visit your nephrologist. Diabetic patients should especially keep an eye on it.
Quit smoking: Smoking is one of the risk factors in the progression of kidney disease. Even smoking one cigarette can cause further damage to an already weak kidney. Smoking is also a risk factor for diabetes, high blood pressure, and CAD. So quitting smoking immediately is important not only for the kidneys but also for the overall health of the body.
Active lifestyle: Play sports like jogging, cycling, swimming, racquet games for at least 5 days a week for about 45 minutes daily. Thus maintain a healthy lifestyle by doing light exercises. Change your sedentary lifestyle, walk around the office or take a walk after lunch or exercise in the morning and evening.
Proper sleep: Balance your lifestyle properly by getting at least 8 hours of restful sleep in a day. Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to stay healthy.
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