Detoxification is important. When ‘detox’ is mentioned, many think of the liver and taking a liver support supplement. But what about other detoxification organs, like the kidneys.
What are Kidneys?
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs in the renal system. We mostly know it for filtering waste materials from food, medications, and toxic substances. In addition, they help the body pass waste as urine.
How do the kidneys work?
The primary function of the kidneys is to filter waste products and excess fluid from the body. These waste products and excess fluids are transported out of the body through the urine. This process is necessary to maintain a stable balance of body chemicals.
Kidneys regulate the body’s salt and acid content. They also produce hormones that affect other organs of the body. For example, the kidneys produce hormones that help stimulate the production of red blood cells, thus kidneys help in the distribution of the oxygen in the body and regulating blood pressure.
Kidneys also have functions in:
- Regulation of your electrolytes.
- Activates Vitamin D – Vitamin D activates several genes including the osteoblasts for healthy bones.
- Regulates Acidity – through the electrolyte balance and buffering system of the kidneys, they help regulate your body acidity.
Symptoms of Kidney problems:
- Puffy fingers, toes, ankles and eye area
- Regular headaches
- General fatigue
- Dry, itchy Skin
- Unexplained nausea
- Pain in the lower rib area on your back
- Inability to concentrate
- Muscle cramps
- Strong odour and dark colour of Urine
- Nightsweats
How many symptoms can you relate to? Suffering from 4 or more symptoms, make an appointment to check your kidney status.
What can you do?
- Replenish your body with water.
Make sure you are always hydrated, drink plenty of clean filtered water.
- The amount of water you should drink varies on your body weight and activity levels. The average person should drink 1.5 to 2 litres of filtered water every day. If the weather is hot and humid (like our Queensland Summers), you’ll need to increase the amount.
- Use a water bottle – to make sure are hitting the right amount of water every day, I suggest you drink with a water bottle (around 500ml -1 litre). This way you can track easily how much are you drinking rather than drinking with glasses of water.
- Remind yourself to drink water – find yourself forgetting to drink water? Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to drink water at regular intervals during the day (eg each hour drink 150ml).
- Reduce caffeinated beverages
A high intake of caffeinated beverages like coffee and energy drinks can cause a spike in blood pressure. High blood pressure is the biggest cause of kidney disease.
- Minimize table salt.
Although your body needs sodium to function, too much sodium can be bad to your kidneys. The sodium can build up in your body, causing your blood pressure to rise and increasing damage to your kidneys.
- Reduce processed foods.
Processed foods have a lot of salt in them too so reducing them helps kidney health.
- Include these healthy foods on your diet:
Cucumber, bananas, lemons, asparagus, celery, apple can be added to your food in a salad or as a juice.
ADDITIONAL TIP!
Don’t like the taste of water? Add some lemon, lime or mint leaves for flavour.
Want help discovering your kidney detoxification status. Book an appointment here: https://my-naturopath-gold-coast.cliniko.com/bookings
