To maintain kidney health, it is essential to follow several recommendations.
Without kidneys, our body wouldn’t be able to survive, yet people often subject them to excessive stress. Alcohol abuse, an unhealthy diet, and smoking are harmful to the kidneys. Experts offer several recommendations for anyone wishing to maintain kidney health.
Hydration
Water is absolutely necessary for normal kidney function, as it helps them flush out harmful and unnecessary substances from the body. Drink more fluids. However, don’t be under the illusion that drinks like various sodas, tea, coffee, or beer provide the necessary water intake for your body. These drinks only stimulate urination without replenishing the body’s water supply. Therefore, you should drink 1-1.5 liters of clean, non-carbonated water daily.
Physical Activity
Avoid contact sports, such as martial arts, since strong pressure in the kidney area can damage them. Also, kidneys do not like bumpy roads: when traveling, take a comfortable pillow to place under your back.
Diet
Reduce the intake of salty foods. A large amount of sodium is harmful to the kidneys as it promotes the formation of kidney stones. Quit smoking. Tobacco smoke contains harmful substances, such as nicotine, which harm not only the kidneys but the entire body. Eat less protein-rich foods, especially red meat, as this food makes the kidneys’ task of cleansing the body twice as hard.
Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure
People prone to diabetes should monitor their blood sugar levels, as excessively high sugar levels can damage the kidneys. Keep an eye on your blood pressure: hypertension also negatively affects kidney function.
Exercise
Don’t forget about physical activity: toxins are expelled from the body through sweat, and thus, exercise eases the kidneys’ task of cleansing the body.
Healthy Foods
Finally, eat foods that are beneficial for your body. One such food is cranberries: they contain substances that improve the urinary system and kill bacteria that can harm the kidneys.
Summer Kidney Care
In summer, problems with kidneys can arise due to constant disturbances in the water-salt balance. To ease kidney function, doctors recommend diuretic and mildly laxative berries, vegetables, and fruits: watermelon, pumpkin, melon, apples. Vitamin A is crucial for them as it prevents the risk of stone formation. This vitamin is found in greens, red vegetables and fruits, sweet pepper, sea buckthorn, sea fish, and seafood.
As for salt, moderation is key: both excess and complete refusal can provoke kidney failure. The recommended daily salt intake is 5 grams. If you have kidney stones or a predisposition to stone formation, limit the amount of protein in your diet. It is especially important to avoid heavy red meat, such as old lamb, beef, pork, offal, broths, and aspic. Also, limit white cabbage and all leafy vegetables.
Folk Medicine Recipes
To cleanse the kidneys, prepare the following folk remedy: take 1 tablespoon of flax seeds, pour 1 glass of water (200 ml), boil for 5 minutes, and let cool. Before consumption, dilute the infusion with warm water and add a few drops of lemon juice to improve the taste. Drink the diluted infusion half a glass every 2 hours for 2 days.
Watermelon is excellent for kidney cleansing: eat as many of these wonderful berries as possible. Be cautious when buying watermelon – modern farms use a large amount of chemicals. Buy watermelons only from trusted producers.
Kidney treatment with walnuts: the recipe is very simple. Take 100 grams of walnuts, crush them, pour 2 glasses of boiling water over them, boil for 5 minutes, and let it infuse for about 3 hours. Take daily, half a glass in the morning and evening. This remedy is very helpful for kidney diseases.