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Our kidneys are two bean shaped organs pivotal for cleansing our blood and even have a role in blood pressure. Though it’s the norm to be born with two, it’s possibly to live with one kidney. Look after your kidneys, as transplants are difficult and incur a life long need for concomitant medications. To raise  awareness, there’s Kidney Day on the 8th of March. We could think of our blood as flowing along a conveyor belt in the kidneys factories in order to check and remove any irregular parts. It really is mind boggling to think that every drop of liquid nearly that is taken in orally has to flow from the intestines into the blood. Dialysis is a machine that operates for patients with compromised kidney functions; as usually our blood must flow through minor ducts and be filtered in nephrons within the kidney. The whole process is complex and efficient in keeping the blood regulated and ‘clean’ of toxins. When we are dehydrated, the ‘wash out’ of toxins is harder and the toxin accumulation in severe absence of liquid for several days should guarantee death. Keeping your fluid levels up doesn’t mean gulping down excessive liquid intakes. The question of how much liquid is needed is not simple. About 1,5 litres for an adult may be fine. Yet various food types carry along different liquid contents. Soup gives more fluid than a hamburger. Then realise climate temperature can effect liquid needs, as sweat is liquid loss. It’s not a matter of exact measurement but more of using common sense. Frequent trips to the toilet to empty the bladder signify kidney stress, take into account possibly frequent high beverage drinking or consider a test for diabetes.  Anyway, after the kidneys ‘wash’ our blood, the wastes of our bodies is permitted exit via the bladder. The muscular bladder stores urine for some time, before urination. The bladder is a storage bag with limited capacity and it will release (involuntarily) some urine if over fill. To support the kidneys, avoid high salt and sugar in the diet, and drink ample fluids. Not just every day, every second our kidneys are enacting out their role in detoxification. Maybe give them a little bit of a lighter work load, by feeding in less toxins and more nutrient rich substances. Drugs can be noxious and yet also life saving, in all cases drugs must be detoxified to a degree before leaving the body. Drugs can be effectively dealt with by our kidneys. Be open to watching your healthy lifestyle and give a little help to your kidneys, as they have a real contribution in keeping us healthy. Anastacia Sampson D.N. Med |