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Nutrition for Kidneys

Your kidneys are important organs in your body, responsible especially for the removal of wastes. The kidneys do the job of creating urine with excess water and waste they remove from your bloodstream. It's an important job, as it's equally important to keep your kidneys healthy and functioning properly. Learn a few nutritional tips on what you can do to keep your kidneys, and the rest of your body, healthy and fit.

  1. Cut Back on Sodium

    • Salt and greasy foods can significantly raise your blood pressure, and in doing so affect your kidneys. As mentioned, the blood vessels are where kidneys do much of their work, and having high blood pressure can affect their ability to properly cleanse your blood. If you are trying to eat right for your kidneys, make sure you cut out foods high in salt and fat, especially fast foods which typically have extremely high levels of sodium.

    Eat Plenty of Fruits and Veggies

    • Part of promoting kidney health is to insure you are getting a balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables, which contain vitamins and minerals essential to a properly functioning system. Focus on eating plenty of dark fruits, such as cranberries, prunes and plums. Darker fruits have high antioxidant content. Antioxidants are important because they can help keep your kidneys defended against harmful chemicals as they filter waste out of your blood.

    Drink Lots of Water

    • Make sure you are drinking the recommended eight glasses of water a day. Without proper water intake your kidneys will not be able to produce enough urine, which can lead to a urinary tract infection that can spread to your kidneys. Staying hydrated is the best thing you can do to help remove the waste from your body.

    Watch Protein

    • Protein is an essential part of a daily diet; it aids in regeneration and upkeep of all your body's cells. But getting too much protein can place a heavy workload on your kidneys and cause problems. Protein can be found in foods like lean chicken, beef, fish, nuts and eggs, so if your diet consists of mostly these foods, you'll want to replace some with other foods. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist to find out how much protein you need, as each person varies depending on health issues and weight.

    Drink a Cleansing Beverage

    • Certain beverages are thought to help in cleansing your system, including your kidneys. The first is cranberry juice, which assists in the prevention of kidney and urinary tract infection. You can also take a cranberry supplement if you don't like the flavor. Another good beverage is hot water with a little lemon juice. Lemon juice will help in the removal of certain wastes from your body, thus lessening the workload on your kidneys. Try drinking a couple glasses of one of these beverages daily to help aid your system in waste removal, and remember to avoid juices loaded down with sugar and artificial sweeteners.

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