Kidneys are organs that filter out all the impurities and excesses from the body. Everyone is blessed with two kidneys. There have been instances where people have survived with only one kidney.
Facts about kidney disease:
- Millions of patients suffer from kidney disease each year and don’t even know that they are suffering from the disease. The reason behind this being the fact that kidney disease doesn’t usually show symptoms until the later stages of the disease.
- Diabetes and blood pressure are the leading causes of kidney disease.
- Kidney disease can be prevented if we take certain measures and precautions such as exercise, consuming a diet of healthy food.
- Some people are at higher risk of getting kidney disease, mainly because of their diabetic or blood pressure condition, or even because of the race they belong to such as Hispanic, Asian, Native American or African American.
- Kidney disease is one of the leading causes of death all over the world.
Ways to lower the risk of kidney disease:
- Eating healthy
Eating healthy can lower the risk of getting diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. By eating healthy we mean eating a diet that is:
- Low in salt
- Low in fat
- High in fiber
- Eat frequent meals in tiny portions
- Avoid tobacco
Tobacco can cause endless problems to your body. Apart from increasing your blood pressure, it is known to cause severe heart problems. Tobacco can speed up the progress of a kidney disease. So it is best avoided.
- Limit alcohol consumption
Alcohol is said to increase blood pressure. It even contains a lot of sugar content. So it’s bad for both the blood pressure and sugar levels in the body. So limit your consumption of alcohol to remain healthy.
- Be physically fit by exercising
Everyone should undertake some kind of exercise or the other. Exercise keeps your body fit and keeps it strong to fight off diseases, by improving the immune system.
Take up the activity that you enjoy. It could be walking or even something as adventurous as trekking.
- Take medications properly
Medications are important for some people to keep their sugar and pressure levels in check. Kidney related diseases arise only when sugar and pressure levels are not maintained.
- Control your cholesterol
Having high cholesterol will only increase the complications and increase the risk of suffering from kidney diseases. When you are already a patient of diabetes, the risks are higher of kidney malfunction when you club it with high cholesterol.
So keep those kidney’s safe and don’t neglect your health.
Written by: Rasha Ashraf