Essential Foods to Include in Your Diet for Preventing Kidney Failure

The goal is to keep the kidneys healthy and reduce any chances of getting kidney failure.

Did you know that a diet full of saturated fat, sugar and salt can lead to kidney failure, in fact faster than you thought.

First things fast,

What is kidney failure?

Basically, loss of kidney function over time is what kidney failure means.

The main role of the kidneys is to filter out wastes from the bloodstream through urine.

When you have too much urine output, like in individuals with type 2 diabetes, or no urine output at all then it could, in one way or another indicate a  problem with the kidneys. Blood tests have to be done to diagnose kidney failure.

What are the Risk factors of kidney failure?

1. Obese and overweight.
2. Diabetes, any form of diabetes.
3. Uncontrolled high blood pressure.
4. Smoking and alcohol.
5. Older generations, people above 50 years of age.

How can you reduce your risk of developing kidney failure?

1. Maintain an everyday nutritious balanced diet.
2. Keep your blood pressure in check.
3. Keep physically fit, every day.
4. Control your blood glucose levels.
5. Keep hydrated.
6. Lose some weight.
7. Don’t just swallow OTC(over-the-counter) pills. 
8. Stop smoking and use of alcohol.

Kidney disease can be prevented and end stage disease delayed with appropriate access to basic diagnostic and early treatment.

1. Maintaining an everyday nutritious diet.

A kidney-friendly diet may look too restrictive, especially when you have to watch on micronutrients like potassium, sodium and phosphorus.

You do not want to develop kidney failure first, so you have to adjust your diet.

When your kidneys don’t work well there can be;

• A build-up of potassium can lead to irregular heartbeats and even muscle weaknesses.
• A build-up of phosphorus can lead to bone weakness as it can drain off calcium from bones and deposit it to blood vessels and other organs like the heart, also increasing the risk of heart disease. 
• Sodium is important in the body as it controls fluid balance, when there’s too much sodium buildup there’s certainly a risk of fluid overload, causing edema, and sometimes difficulty in breathing when there’s fluid surrounding the lungs.

How do you prevent a build-up of these minerals?

Avoid processed foods and meats that contain added sodium, preservatives and chemicals.
Drink enough water to help flush it out, only when already diagnosed with kidney failure would you need to watch out on fluid intake and output.

Limit intakes of unhealthy snacks.

Reduce spices, and add salt to already cooked food.

2. Keeping your blood pressure in check

Uncontrolled high blood pressure has many effects on the body.

One which is constricting the blood vessels and affecting blood flow. When blood flow is affected then the kidney function will be affected as well, and that is why high blood pressure has to be controlled. 

You can totally adjust your diet to control your blood pressure, by reducing your intake of sodium. Sodium often raises blood pressure and it is found naturally in foods but common in unhealthy processed snacks and meats like bacon and sausage. 

Diet that contains too much saturated fat can lead to a build-up of plaques in the blood vessels, again affecting the normal blood flow, hence affecting kidney function.

3. Keeping physically fit

Exercising should be taken more seriously, just like medications. Being physically fit can lead to weight loss, being obese and overweight are top risk factors for the development of high blood pressure and even diabetes. Which both can affect kidney function. 

Being physically fit also keeps blood flowing optimally hence your kidneys will work well. 

4. Control your blood glucose levels

Diabetes nephropathy is one of the most common diabetes complications. Once you have diabetes mellitus, you have to keep your blood glucose level under control. Hyperglycemia left uncontrolled can damage the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys affecting kidney function, as the kidneys are working hard to filter off the excess sugar in your bloodstream. 

Choosing the right foods to eat, healthy snacks, and doing portion control is important in order to keep the blood glucose level in check. Close monitoring of blood glucose levels is also very important.

5. Keep hydrated

Water plays a role in helping flush out wastes from the body via urine. The more water you take the more you improve your kidney function. 

Except in patients already diagnosed with kidney failure would there be a need to watch and control your fluid intake?

6. Weight management

Losing a few pounds will not only help you manage your blood glucose level but also will help you control your blood pressure. All that will eventually prevent kidney failure. Adopting a few principles for weight loss is one way to go. Also, it’s important to avoid these common weight loss mistakes in order to achieve long-lasting weight loss results. Weight loss has shown positive results in even reversing pre-diabetes according to researchers. What you need to do is to start a weight loss journey.

Don’t just swallow OTC pills, get medications only prescribed by a professional. As pills like antibiotics have also shown effects on the kidneys.

To achieve healthy kidneys, the first step is to change your diet to promote kidney function and prevent the onset of kidney failure.