Diets for Healthy Kidney Function

Your kidneys play an important role in keeping your body healthy and running smoothly. Your kidneys are constantly working to "detox" your body, ridding it of excess fluids and waste products. The main function of your kidneys is to filter waste and excess fluid out of your blood, which eventually leaves your body as urine. Kidneys also help to maintain blood pressure and keep your bones and blood healthy. Maintaining a diet low in sodium and high in fruits and vegetables, as well as consuming plenty of water and lean protein, can help keep your kidneys healthy.

Limit Sodium Intake

• Your kidneys are instrumental in maintaining healthy sodium levels in your body. If you're consuming too much sodium--and most Americans are, in fact, consuming double their recommended daily intake--you kidneys need to work overtime to get rid of all that excess salt. For optimum kidney health, avoid salting food yourself, and ask restaurants to put sauces and marinades on the side.

  If you're concerned about sodium in your diet, you may also want to avoid fast food. Most fast food meals are sponges for salt, and contain at least a full day's worth of sodium, if not more. Most packaged foods, too, contain high sodium levels, and you should check the sodium content in the foods you eat on a regular basis. Choose low-sodium options whenever you can.

Drink Plenty of Water... But Not Too Much

• The kidneys break down toxins and waste products with the help of the water we drink. Without adequate water, the kidneys are unable to function properly. However, some experts--such as Stanley Goldfarb, M.D., a kidney expert at the University of Pennsylvania--have reported that drinking excessive amounts of water reduces the kidney's abilities to filter out waste. Five glasses of water a day is more than enough to maintain healthy kidney function.

Eat Simply

• Since the kidney works constantly to filter waste out of the body, one of the best things you can do for your kidneys is make the job easier. Avoid processed foods high in fat, sugar and preservatives that the kidneys have to work hard to excrete. Instead, opt for simple foods found in nature: fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

  Many types of berries--notably, cranberries and blueberries--contain antioxidants that can help the kidneys preform. Other foods that contain healthy antioxidants include tomatoes, dark, leafy greens, grapes and soy.