Are You Kidney Me.....? Lets Talk – Kidney health

Until you experience an issue, it's very easy to forget about the important role that your kidneys play in a healthy day to day life.

From filtering your blood and getting rid of all the nasty stuff we put in daily, to producing hormones and ensuring that your body has the right balance of water, salts and minerals – they are a dynamic duo of epic proportions that we should be working hard to protect.

Only the size of a fist and shaped like a bean, they are nestled in comfortably just beneath your rib cage on either side of your spine, and despite their deceptively small size, their role in your body is huge and can be lifechanging.

As one of the most underappreciated and undervalued set of organs in the human body, today, on World Kidney Day, we wanted to take you through how you can show the incredible organs that are your kidneys some BIG love!

Here’s the sciency bit.....

Did you know...... A healthy kidney will filter the equivalent of half a cup of blood every single minute! This helps to remove excess water and waste products, turning them into urine for your body to dispel at your leisure. Their role also includes the removal of acids produced by cells in your body whilst ensuring that you have a balanced amount of sodium, phosphorus, calcium and potassium running through your system. When these minerals are out of balance, it can have a negative impact on a range of different bodily functions including your balance, nerve function and muscles.

Alongside this massively important job, your kidneys are at the core of the production of Vitamin D and Erythropoietin. Essential for healthy bones and the regulation of your immune system when infection hits, vitamin D is actually inactive in your body until your kidneys get their hands on it, converting it into something that your system can absorb and use.

Erythropoietin is produced when blood oxygen levels drop. Its purpose is to stimulate the production of mature red blood cells which in turn helps to maintain healthy levels of oxygen in your blood and tissues, allowing them to function properly.

They are a massively important tool in your arsenal and when they are looked after properly, they can make a huge difference to how successfully your body functions. So, the question is, what can you do to help preserve the health of these amazing organs?

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1. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!??

The best way to show your kidneys love is to keep them hydrated.

Next time you’re tempted to make the 5h cup of coffee or pour a glass of wine, why not consider a cool, refreshing glass of H20? Containing no salt, sugars or kilojoules, it’s the best way to keep your body hydrated throughout the day, and the healthiest way of keeping your kidneys clean and flushed through. The recommended daily amount is around 2.7 litres for women and 3.7 litres for men, but there is a check you can do based on body weight to help determine how much you should be drinking.

Top tip: Sip throughout the day. Don’t gulp. Your body will absorb it better if you drink it slowly. If you don’t, you will be peeing like the proverbial racehorse every 5 minutes!

2. Manage Your Blood Pressure

Hypertension or high blood pressure raises your risk of not only developing kidney disease, but also suffering with stroke, heart attack or heart failure and has also been linked to dementia and poor cognitive function in later life.

Ongoing issues with blood pressure cause damage to the arteries and vessels in and around your kidneys. A healthy blood pressure should read under 120/80mm Hg and can easily be monitored at home or by your doctor. It will vary dependant on activity and stress levels so it's important to make sure that if you are taking a reading, you are calm and relaxed and haven’t just run a marathon!

As with everything, the right food, regular exercise and keeping your weight steady is important, although these things alone will not guarantee that your blood pressure is where it should be. It's always worth keeping an eye on it and speaking to your doctor if you have any concerns at all.

If you have any enquiries with regards to BP machines, why not give our sales team a call on 0191 2867799.

3. Reduce Your Stress Levels

We live in a modern world and this one is unfortunately not always as easy as it should be.

There has been a huge push on self-care, meditation, and alternative therapies over the last few years to help deal with day-to-day pressure.

Whilst we may not be able to remove certain stresses, (I speak as the mother of a 15-year-old boy), there are many ways of reducing the impact that it has on our bodies. Whilst stress can push you to do great things, finding a way of dealing with it is paramount to reducing blood pressure, staying physically and mentally healthy, and allowing you to cope with everything that a modern world can throw at you.

4. Eat A Healthy Diet. Maintain a Healthy Weight?

We cannot recommend this one enough and it does tend to get brought up in everything that I write about, but I think the reality is, that just proves how important it really is!

There is nothing wrong with the occasional treat. As I like to say – everything in moderation. You should be able to enjoy life, but you also need your body to still be going strong as it starts to wear down. The best way to do that is by putting the best fuel into your engine. Fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy fats and protein – everything should be as fresh as you can manage and cooked from scratch. That way you control every element of what you are consuming. A low sodium diet is important to good kidney health so minimising salt intake is important. Your body needs sodium but not in the levels we tend to see it in processed foods.

Eating doesn’t have to be boring. Fresh food cooked from scratch absolutely blows processed out of the water. It's just a little more time consuming and requires a little more prep, but in the long run, your body will thank you.

5. Be Aware of the Amount of Over the Counter Medication You Take

This is something we should all be a little more cautious with, not just for the health of our kidneys but also for our general health.

Whilst NSAID’s, (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories), like ibuprofen etc won’t cause a problem for you in small amounts, reaching for the pills every time you have a headache or feel a little under the weather can create problems over time. A lot of the time, there are other less invasive treatments that you can use to get rid of headaches, general aches and pains or just feeling a little under the weather. Whilst we would never suggest you sit in pain rather than taking a tablet why not consider if you really need it and whether something else might do the trick. Sometimes, something as simple as dehydration can be the cause of headaches or pain and can be easily remedied with some water.

You know your body, and you should always be the judge on what it needs but it is worth considering that sometimes, too much of what makes you feel better can have a negative impact over time.

6. Be Vigilant For The Signs of Kidney Disease or Infection and Treat Quickly

Like anything else, prevention is most definitely better than cure, but if you know what to keep a look out for, the earlier you can catch problems, the better chance you have of dealing with them and hopefully preventing them from developing into something dangerous.

For kidney infections, you need to look out for the following:

·??????Fever and chills

·??????Burning or pain when you go to the toilet and the need to urinate often.

·??????A strong urge to go the toilet even when you don’t need to.

·??????Back, side, belly or groin pain

·??????Pus or blood in your urine or a strong smell or cloudy urine.

·??????Nausea and vomiting.

Kidney infections can manifest with a variety of symptoms, but with antibiotics they can be cured quickly and without too much discomfort. Not dealing with them early can turn a relatively harmless infection into something quite dangerous so it's important to get a check at your doctors if you think you may have an infection.

Kidney disease is a little more serious and quite often, in its early stages, there are no noticeable symptoms. As it develops however, the earlier it can be diagnosed, the better chance you have of managing it more effectively. The symptoms to watch out for are:

·??????weight loss and poor appetite

·??????swollen ankles, feet or hands – as a result of water retention (oedema)

·??????shortness of breath

·??????tiredness

·??????blood in your pee (urine)

·??????an increased need to pee – particularly at night

·??????difficulty sleeping (insomnia)

·??????itchy skin

·??????muscle cramps

·??????feeling sick

·??????headaches

·??????erectile dysfunction in men

Your kidneys really do prove that size does not matter!

Despite them not being one of the larger organs in your body, they do an incredible job of keeping your whole system running like clockwork. Without them quietly doing their job in the background, none of us would be here.

They are essential to your survival, so on World Kidney Day, let's give it up for your very own internal filter and commit to make one positive change to improve life for them.?

Written by Rebecca Reece