To be healthy overall, you need to remember your kidneys. That can allow you to expel waste efficiently and produce necessary hormones. Here are some ways you can adequately care for your kidneys.
Stay Active
You probably engage in regular exercise to keep your physique up. However, medical experts, such as Kent Thiry, say it does wonders for your kidney health. Exercising improves your heart health and lowers your blood pressure, which is crucial to help your kidneys stay healthy.
The even better news is that you don’t have to be in marathon shape. You can try various activities, such as walking, mountain biking, running, or dancing. The critical thing to do is look for something you have fun doing. That ensures you stick with it and reap the benefits.
Watch Your Blood Sugar
Diabetes, or high blood sugar levels, can lead to kidney problems. That’s because high blood sugar causes your kidneys to work harder. But, like the engine in a car, straining makes them wear out quicker.
Therefore, part of your kidney care should be watching your blood sugar. In addition, if you do have diabetes or a similar condition, check your kidney function regularly.
Monitor Your Blood Pressure
Another problem that can damage your kidneys is high blood pressure. When high blood pressure is paired with high cholesterol, heart disease, or diabetes, your kidneys will feel it.
Your doctor can tell you when you have high blood pressure. The term they will likely use is prehypertension. At this point, they can help you make lifestyle changes to ensure you don’t have to end up on a long-term kidney care plan.
Stay Trim
Overweight individuals have a higher risk of disease that can damage their kidneys. Some of the things they are susceptible to include kidney diseases, heart diseases, and diabetes. The best way to stay slim is to eat a healthy diet and avoid sodium and processed foods. Instead, opt for natural and healthy foods, such as vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains.
Drink Fluids
Staying hydrated with plenty of water is good for you in many ways. One of the benefits of water is improved kidney function. In addition, water can help cleanse your kidneys. Therefore, you have a lower chance of diseases or failure.
Don’t Smoke
By now, everyone should know that smoking damages your blood vessels. However, you might not know that this causes slower blood flow through your kidneys, making their job harder. Smoking also increases your risk of cancer, and your kidneys are not immune to cancer. Fortunately, quitting smoking can help lower your cancer risk and boost your kidney health.
Don’t Take Too Many Over-the-Counter Pain Pills
Regularly taking over-the-counter pain medicines can destroy your kidneys. For example, ibuprofen is one of the worst options if you take it for arthritis or headaches. If you have no kidney issues and only take it once in a while, you’re probably fine. However, daily doses could be problematic.
Kidney problems are real. With these being such crucial organs, that can be a problem. That said, there are things you can do to help prevent them. Following the tips on this list can help you keep your kidneys healthy. That will help you achieve better health overall.
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