Kidney damage can start early in life or take place later on. One can live a life without doing anything to harm the kidneys but still experience kidney disease. The body is a complex series of systems affected by environment, food, and genetics, so there are no guarantees that a healthy lifestyle will shield you from trouble.

Looking after your body, however, is a way to prevent kidney disease, extend the life of these organs, prolong the period before symptoms of genetic disease are triggered, or reduce symptoms and even prevent the onset of kidney failure.

What Are Kidneys?

A balanced body contains two kidneys shaped like very large lima beans, one on either side of the body in the upper abdominal cavity. They are filters where waste and liquids stop before being ushered into your bladder for elimination.

If the kidneys are working effectively, your urine will be yellow in the morning becoming clearer as the day progresses. The best way to filter out toxins is to drink water and you can tell you are drinking enough by your colorless, odorless urine.

Can You Live Without a kidney?

Your system requires at least one kidney to survive, but many people live with just this one. It’s possible to lose a kidney to disease or injury and survive if the other kidney remains whole and healthy. Healthy individuals can also donate a kidney to someone who needs a transplant and possesses a matching blood profile (usually a family member).

Kidney Health

How does a person prevent kidney disease which is not genetic? What can he or she do to reverse problems like persistently itchy skin, tiredness, a burning or itching sensation when they pee, or poor appetite? There are several things you might already be doing and some changes you could make. Any change for the better could prevent the onset of disease, reverse symptoms, or limit damage almost immediately.

Lifestyle

An unhealthy attitude to exercise and diet has caused many of the illnesses doctors see today; what they would refer to as modern diseases. They have always been present, but issues such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, depression, and Type 2 Diabetes appear more often now than in previous generations as a result of environmental toxins and sometimes personal choices. Symptoms often begin with a sedentary routine and poor diet if they are not triggered by genetics.

Exercise

When the heart functions well, every other part of the body has a better chance of doing its job. Blood flow is consistent; volume is full. Every organ and all cells receive the amount of oxygen they require. Nutrients and hormones are circulated at the rate and in amounts necessary for good health, including healthy kidneys.

Diet

What nutrients are being circulated? A poor diet full of saturated fat and refined carbohydrates plus too little clear fluid might be full of calories but still starve the body of vitamins and minerals that facilitate organ function and keep a body clean. That’s the irony here: an obese person could be malnourished and sick. His kidneys will bear the brunt of bad eating as they try to filter out bad things from blood and waste but lack sufficient nutrients and water to do so.

It’s possible to tell you aren’t drinking enough water or toxicity from fatty or GMO food (pesticide-laden) is high. Going to the toilet could be an excruciating experience as toxins cause a burning sensation.

In an otherwise healthy person, this is an easy fix involving over-the-counter medication or a prescription, cranberry juice, and lots of water. When this problem is over, consider it a sign to drink more clear fluids and start buying non-GMO ingredients.

Alcohol and Cigarettes

Cut out two of the world’s biggest killers: alcohol and tobacco. A little drink now and then is okay, but excessive drinking is destroying cells. There is no such thing as a maximum amount of healthy smoking: this is always a bad habit and a kidney killer.