7 ways you could be damaging your kidneys

Kidneys play a major role in keeping your body healthy by controlling blood pressure and flushing out all toxins from your blood. There are several things among your daily habits that can be harmful for your kidneys. One very important thing you should know is that kidney damage takes place over a long period of time and is often irreversible. So before it’s too late take control of these 7 habits that could be harmful for your kidneys.

High protein intake increases the burden on your kidneys to eliminate more blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in the blood. Increased workload on the kidneys can cause a gradual breakdown of filtration process of your kidneys. If you have healthy kidneys, then your protein intake should be half of your body weight (in pounds) in grams per day. For example, if your weight is 160 pounds, you can eat up to 80 grams of protein without damaging your kidneys.

Many people do not know that common problems like cough and cold, sore throat, tonsillitis and pharyngitis can triggers kidney damage if not treated at the right time. If you don’t find relief for cold and symptoms like headache, vomiting, nausea, tiredness, low appetite within a week or two you should consult your doctor immediately.

Salt contains sodium which directly causes the blood pressure to increase. Since kidneys play a role in regulating BP, high salt intake affects kidney function and is the leading contributor of kidney failure cases.

Did you know--It takes hardly 2 soda cans everyday to reduce your kidney function drastically? In a study, it was found that participants who drank two cans of soda beverages had high levels of protein in their urine (after 3-year follow up), which is a major risk factor for developing end-stage renal disease.

If you have a habit of popping pills every time you have minor pain, fever or cold, then you could be damaging your kidneys. Long-term use or high dose of some medications can harm the kidney tissues as well as reduce the flow of blood to the kidneys. The effect of medication on kidneys is seen quite later in life when the damage has progressed to chronic kidney failure.

Not responding to thirst coupled with excessive sweating can make severely dehydrated. When you’re dehydrated, your kidneys don’t get sufficient amount of fluids required to carry out necessary functions properly. Severe dehydration puts you in the pre-renal state, where the kidneys are impaired and you’re just one stage away from developing kidney failure.

We all know the hazards of smoking and drinking very well. Smoking does not directly affect the kidneys but it can aggravate your existing health problems (blood pressure, diabetes) and make you more likely to develop kidney diseases. Heavy alcohol intake, on the other hand, leads to uric acid deposition in kidney tubules. This causes obstruction of tubules, increasing the risk of kidney failure.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

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