World Kidney Day: Managing (CKD)!
“Managing Chronic Kidney Disease,” urging people to take charge of their health, is the theme for 2021 World Kidney Day. What this means is self-care is important for every area of your life including the kidneys, getting them checked out and treating them good is imperative to our survival.
Did you know that kidney disease is a silent killer that can affect your quality of life? It is, and in this World Kidney Day post, we list 8 tips to help you manage your kidney health moving forward.
8 Tips/Golden Rules to Manage Kidney Health
1. Exercise
a. Maintain a healthy body weight that keeps you from being overweight or significantly obese can help reduce blood pressure and chronic kidney disease risk. The ability to lose 5% of your body weight can lower your risk for many diseases inclusive of kidney disease. Getting in some form of cardio and endurance training 2x to 3x a week is better than do nothing at all. So it is advised to get moving by doing something.
2. Eat Healthily
a. Eating a healthy diet can help maintain or even lower your body weight, reduce your blood pressure, prevent diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic kidney disease conditions.
b. Consider reducing your salt intake. The recommended sodium intake is 5-6 grams of salt per day. Inclusive of salts that are already in your foods. (around a teaspoon). To reduce your salt intake, try and limit the amount of processed and restaurant food that is intake and never add more salt to their food if you decide to eat it. It will be easier to control your salt intake if you prepare the food at home utilizing fresh herbs and spices.
3. Control your blood sugar
a. About half of the people who have diabetes do not know they have diabetes. Therefore, you need to check your blood sugar level as part of your general body checkup. It is essential for those who are approaching middle age or older. About half of people who have diabetes develop kidney damage, but this is preventable if the diabetes is well controlled. Make sure to check your kidney function regularly with blood and urine tests.
4. Monitor your blood pressure
a. About half of people who have high blood pressure do not know they have high blood pressure. Therefore, it is crucial to check blood pressure as part of annual checkups and even more so if suffering from chronic diseases. Those approaching middle age or older need to take heed to these warnings and check more often. High blood pressure can damage your kidneys; this is highly likely when associated with other factors like diabetes, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular diseases. By controlling blood pressure, kidney disease risks can be lowered tremendously. Try to take deep breaths, relax and get proper rest.
5. Drink Healthy Liquids
a. Water of course is by far the way to go when keeping the body hydrated, but drinking liquids such as green tea, matcha, moringa, or veggie/fruits juices helps the body/kidneys too.
b. Drinking about one to two liters (quarts) per day for a healthy person in a descent climate condition are an optimum amount of liquid to intake to stay hydrated and keep the kidneys functioning well.
c. Do note, that fluid intake may need to be adjusted if you have kidney, heart, or liver disease. Consult your Physician on the appropriate fluid intake for your specific condition(s).
6. Stop smoking
a. Smoking slows down the blood movement to the kidneys. When less blood reaches the kidneys, it can decrease their ability to perform properly. Smoking also increases the risk of kidney cancer by about 50 percent. Making the puffing on a cigarette not worth degenerating your kidney health
7. Limit /Stop (OTC) drugs Intake
a. Common drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS)/ painkillers (i.e. drugs like ibuprofen) can harm not only the liver, but the kidneys too; especially when taken constantly.
b. If you think you have kidney disease, have it, or have decreased kidney function, understand that by taking just a few doses of OTC’s can harm your kidneys. So be mindful of what and how much you are putting in your body to limit the risk.
8. High risk’ factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD)
a. Have your doctor run lab test to see if:
· you have diabetes
· you have hypertension
· you are obese
· you have a family history of kidney disease
· you are of African, Asian or Aboriginal ethnicity
World Kidney Day global campaign started in 2006 with the theme “are your Kidneys O.K?”. Throughout the years, the campaigns and themes have consistently brought awareness of the importance of keeping kidneys functioning at an optimal level to stay healthy. This World Kidney Day begin using 1 or all 8 tips to have your kidneys work at their best.
To learn more about World Kidney Day and Kidney Disease visit this link.
This is about more than just a one day affair, this is about a movement push forward healthy living every day.