Protect Your Kidneys: Habits and Lifestyle Choices to Avoid

These small, bean-shaped organs do far more than most of us realize. Every day, our kidneys filter about 200 liters of blood – despite the fact that the average adult only has about 5 liters circulating in the body. This means our kidneys continuously cycle through and filter all our blood about 40 times a day! In doing so, they remove waste, balance electrolytes, and regulate fluid levels. They also help control blood pressure, produce hormones that keep our bones healthy, and ensure adequate red blood cell levels. Without healthy kidneys, toxins would build up, blood pressure could spiral out of control, and essential body functions would start to break down. Our kidneys are essential for keeping us in balance, making it all the more important to protect them. Everyday choices – like how we manage our blood pressure – can have a direct impact on them.

Let’s now explore some common practices that affect blood pressure. First up: eating too much salt. Over time, high blood pressure from a salty diet can strain and damage the kidneys’ delicate blood vessels, impairing their function. Another powerful lifestyle change for managing blood pressure is regular exercise.

Smoking is another habit that silently impacts your blood pressure and harms your kidneys. Besides smoking, alcohol consumption is another practice that can be as damaging to your kidneys as it is to your overall health. Like tobacco, alcohol is an intoxicant. Its effects on the kidneys are far from mild. Alcohol dehydrates the body, forcing these organs to work harder to balance fluids and filter out toxins. This frequent dehydration strains them, impairing their ability to remove waste efficiently.

Another essential step in protecting your kidneys is staying well-hydrated. Too much sugar consumption can take a serious toll on your health – especially on your kidneys. When blood sugar levels are consistently high, they stress the kidneys, making it harder for them to filter waste. Additionally, high sugar intake can increase the risk of kidney stones, as it may interfere with the calcium and oxalate balance in the body.

Other dietary choices, such as eliminating animal-people protein, are also essential for kidney health. A case-control study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that high consumption of red and processed animal-people meat significantly increased the odds of microalbuminuria, or protein in the urine which can indicate possible kidney disease, and even kidney failure. By adopting a low-fat vegan diet, individuals can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce body weight, and decrease harmful fat accumulation in organs, all of which support better kidney function.