Insufficient water intake
- Drinking too little water can reduce blood flow to kidneys which can be damaging to the kidney in addition to preventing the proper filtering of toxins out from your body.
- Make sure your drink about 2 litres of water daily to replenish the daily water loss from urine, breathing, sweating and evaporation from skin.
- Drinking enough water may also prevent painful kidney stones.
- For those with heart and kidney diseases, fluid intake should be reduced according to the advice of your healthcare providers.
High salt intake
- High consumption of salt can increase the blood pressure which can be detrimental to your kidneys.
- It is recommended that adult should not consume more than 6g of salt (2.4g sodium) a day.
- Adopt a low salt diet for better cardiovascular health!
Abuse of Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) painkillers
- NSAIDs are generally safe and useful for short term treatment of pain and fever.
- Prolonged use of NSAIDs can be harmful to the kidneys where they reduce the production of prostaglandins which are important to maintain blood flow to kidneys.
- Patients with history of heart failure and kidney disease are at particularly high risk of salt and water retention which will lead to oedema.
High dietary protein/meat intake
- Animal protein is a major source of purines which are precursors for uric acid that can cause kidney stones formation.
- The risk of kidney stone formation is further increased if fluid intake is low.
- Time to cut down on meat consumption which can also be beneficial to your cardiovascular health.
Excessive consumption of processed food
- Processed food and beverages contain high amount of sodium, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and phosphorus-based food additives
- As such, modern diet which involves excessive consumption of processed foodstuff out of convenience is associated with increased cardiovascular risks such as high blood pressure as well as chronic kidney disease.
- Chronic MSG intake has also been shown to induce kidney damage via oxidative stress.
- It’s probably worth spending some time cooking nutritious meals at home!
Taking too much sugar in diet
- Eating too much sugary food is known to cause obesity which is associated with high blood pressure as well as diabetes. These are well-established causes of kidney disease.
- Time to keep that sweet tooth in check!
Not getting enough sleep
- Sleep deprivation has long been shown to cause cardiovascular diseases and diabetes which are both known to damage the kidneys
- Latest study has linked sleep deprivation to the decline in kidney health and it has also been suggested that kidney function is regulated by the sleep-wake cycle.
- Do not skimp on your sleep!
Alcohol consumption and smoking
- While small amount of alcohol consumption is harmless, chronic alcoholism is known to be associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease.
- Heavy drinkers who are also smokers have approximately 5 times the risk of developing chronic kidney disease compared to those who do not smoke or drink in excess.
References:
- National Kidney Foundation Inc.
- NHS. How much salt is good for me? https://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1138.aspx?CategoryID=51
- Maung et al. (2016). Sleep disorders and chronic kidney disease. World J Nephrol. 5(3): 224–232.
- Sharma, A. (2015). Monosodium glutamate-induced oxidative kidney damage and possible mechanisms: a mini-review. J Biomed Sci 22: 93.
- Gutiérrez, O. (2013). “Sodium and phosphorus-based food additives: persistent but surmountable hurdles in the management of nutrition in chronic kidney disease. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 20(2): 150-156.
- American Sleep Apnea Association. Research: Sleep problems impact kidney health. https://www.sleepapnea.org/research-sleep-deprivation-kidney-health/
- Delimaris, I. (2013). Adverse Effects Associated with Protein Intake above the Recommended Dietary Allowance for Adults. ISRN Nutr. 2013. doi: 10.5402/2013/126929
- Yacoub et. al. (2010). Association between smoking and chronic kidney disease: a case control study.” BMC Public Health 10: 731.