Kidneys play a big role in filtering the blood and removing toxic substances from the food we eat, expelling these toxins out in the form of waste products. Kidneys also help maintain the delicate balance of fluids in the body.
If our kidneys are not working properly, our body cannot function. The breakdown of kidneys can lead to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), an umbrella term that covers various conditions that damage your kidneys and decrease their performance ability.
Anyone can be at risk of potential kidney disease, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle can dramatically decrease your risk. It’s important to know what can cause kidney damage, and here are the 20 that might surprise you.
1. Alcohol
Alcohol can be considered the most socially acceptable drug. Technically a depressant, which means it slows down your brain and affects the way it sends and receives messages, alcohol can also badly damage your kidneys by changing the way they function.
Drinking alcohol frequently can increase the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, which can be a precursor to kidney disease and can lead to eventual kidney failure.
Aside from damage to your kidneys, excessive alcohol consumption also puts you at a higher risk of hypertension and stroke.
2. Smoking
Not only are smokers at a much higher risk of many various types of cancer like lung, bladder and mouth cancers, smoking also increases the risk of lung and heart disease, as well as pregnancy complications, stroke, and kidney problems.
According to data published by the National Kidney Foundation, smoking cigarettes causes 1 in 5 deaths in the United States every year.
It is thought to be the most preventable risk factor for many harmful diseases and illnesses. One cigarette alone contains over 4800 chemicals, and 69 of those are known carcinogens.
Smoking harms the kidneys by increasing blood pressure and heart rate, creating added stress on kidney function.
It also reduces blood flow, narrows blood vessels, and damages the arterioles – delicate branches of the arteries.
3. Excess Painkillers
It’s normal to take the painkillers whenever you are feeling pain. Most people take these painkillers without realizing the long-term side effects that they can cause.
In what is called an analgesic, it’s any medicine that is taken to relieve you of pain. Over the counter, analgesics include aspirin, paracetamol, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.
These medicines are not dangerous to the body when taken moderately due to your medical condition.
However, they can become dangerous to your kidneys if taken over a long period.
An increased amount can be fatal to the kidneys especially when taken over an extended period of time.
This occurs when you have a chronic problem that requires the drugs to be taken in.
It’s believed that 3 per cent of chronic kidney diseases each year are caused by taking too much of these drugs such as ibuprofen.
This applies to over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
It’s important to consult your doctor for the prescription or don’t take more than one what is prescribed.
4. Not exercise
It is essential for people who are obese to exercise. Any weight they lose reduces their risk of kidney disease, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
Those with an excess of salt in their diet can benefit from exercise and so can their kidneys. Salt causes raised blood pressure and affect how the kidneys function.
The sweat that exercise produces is another way for the body to expel salt. This can relieve the kidneys the burden of processing all that salt.
A recent study into the incidences of kidney stones came up with interesting findings related to exercise.
The study was conducted by the University Of Washington School Of Medicine in Seattle and was funded by the Women’s Health Initiative. 85,000 women aged 50 and over were monitored.
Aspects of their diets, body mass index and exercise habits were scrutinized. After 8 years, there was a link established between exercise and a lowered incidence of kidney stones.
5. Carbonated Beverages
Carbonated beverages are drinks that have been infused with carbon dioxide gas. It’s this pressurization of carbon dioxide that creates the bubbles and fizzing that makes these drinks so refreshing.
But drinking too much may increase blood pressure, reduce kidney function and heighten the risk of developing kidney stones.
Research has found there is a link between high sugar content of fizzy drinks and cancer, with one study suggesting that drinking two of these soda drinks a week increases the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas, which can double the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Frequent consumption of carbonated beverages can also raise the risk of heart disease and cause liver damage, premature ageing and obesity.
Luckily, you can kick the soda habit by substituting them with other types of beverages like fruit-infused water, coconut water, green tea, lemon/lime water or vegetable juice.
6. Genetically Modified Foods
GMOs (Genetically modified organisms/food) are products of modern biotechnological constructs and organisms whose DNA has been modified in a way that would not occur naturally.
The benefits of GMOs include better food taste and quality and longer shelf life, but because GMOs are still relatively new, there are some uncertainties in terms of what harm it could do to animals and humans.
GMOs go through rigorous standards to ensure they’re safe for human consumption, and according to the FDA’s website, they are as safe to consume as non-genetically engineered foods.
A study conducted by Egyptian researchers found that rats given genetically-modified soy were found to have deadly amounts of toxicity in their kidneys, liver, blood and even DNA.
Avoid processed food as much as possible, always read the labels, and ensure you know what you’re buying.
It can be hard to avoid GMOs in this day and age, but with a little extra attention, you will be able to accomplish it.
7. Not sleeping
Sleep is vital for the whole body. It gives a chance for the organs, muscles, and tissue a chance to regenerate and recharge.
The kidneys are no different. They use the ‘downtime’ while we’re sleeping to process excess fluids and rest before the activities of the next day.
The kidney is programmed to function differently during the night as the demands on it are different.
A study was conducted by researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Women who were sleep-deprived were shown to experience a more rapid decline in kidney function.
Those who got 5 hours’ sleep or less a night had a 65% higher risk of rapid kidney function decline.
The research excluded male subjects, but in all likelihood, the effects will be similar. What concerns academics is that, over the last 20 years, the average amount of sleep people get has decreased.
About 20 years ago, an average night’s sleep consisted of 8 hours. In more recent years, it’s declined to 6.5 hours.
And it’s expected to decrease even further. At this stage, experts recommend that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
8. Fluid Intake
Our bodies are made up of roughly 60% water. The fluid is important for many reasons, including the delivery of nutrients throughout the blood, the replacement of fluid lost through sweating and to help many chemical reactions that happen in our body.
The human body can’t store water, and as such it must be replaced daily. Most mature adults can lose almost 3 litres a day, so it’s important to stay hydrated.
Signs of dehydration include dark urine headaches, tiredness and lack of concentration. But on the other end of the scale, excessive fluid can be just as harmful.
In a study published by Circulation, it was discovered that excessive fluid intake can increase morbidity and mortality in stage 5 CKD patients, and greater fluid retention in those patients was linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular death.
Some people require a higher fluid intake than others, including those on a high protein or high fibre diet, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people who are very physically active, or who are exposed to warmer conditions than most.
Drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia, also known as water intoxication. It’s rare, but it can occur when large amounts of water are consumed in a short time frame.
When this happens, the kidneys cannot excrete enough fluid in order to properly filter and flush out the water.
Hyponatraemia can lead to headaches and blurred visions, convulsion, swelling of the brain and possible death, though you’d need to consume many litres in a very short period of time for this to happen.
In a nutshell, the kidneys are the unsung heroes of the human body. Without them, we can’t survive.
It’s important to make the right decisions when it comes to the foods we eat and the lifestyles we lead, in order to allow them to function correctly.
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