The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of the spine.
Every day, the two kidneys filter about 120 to 150 quarts of blood to produce about 1 to 2 quarts of urine, composed of wastes and extra fluid.
The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of the bladder. The bladder stores urine. The muscles of the bladder wall remain relaxed while the bladder fills with urine. As the bladder fills to capacity, signals sent to the brain tell a person to find a toilet soon. When the bladder empties, urine flows out of the body through a tube called the urethra, located at the bottom of the bladder. In men the urethra is long, while in women it is short.
The kidneys are very important organs of the human body as, they filter harmful toxins and filters excess of water from our body.
Some people disregard the fact that kidneys need good care for the proper healthy and working. If proper care of the kidneys is not taken in time than regret full situations starts to appear.
Why Are the Kidneys So Important?
Most people know that a major function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body. These waste products and excess fluid are removed through the urine. The production of urine involves highly complex steps of excretion and re-absorption. This process is necessary to maintain a stable balance of body chemicals.
The critical regulation of the body's salt, potassium and acid content is performed by the kidneys. The kidneys also produce hormones that affect the function of other organs. For example, a hormone produced by the kidneys stimulates red blood cell production. Other hormones produced by the kidneys help regulate blood pressure and control calcium metabolism.
The kidneys are powerful chemical factories that perform the following functions:
• remove waste products from the body
• remove drugs from the body
• balance the body's fluids
• release hormones that regulate blood pressure
• produce an active form of vitamin D that promotes strong, healthy bones
• control the production of red blood cells
What Are the Warning Signs of Kidney Disease?
Kidney disease usually affects both kidneys. If the kidneys' ability to filter the blood is seriously damaged by disease, wastes and excess fluid may build up in the body. Although many forms of kidney disease do not produce symptoms until late in the course of the disease, there are six warning signs of kidney disease:
1. High blood pressure.
2. Blood and/or protein in the urine.
3. A creatinine and Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) blood test, outside the normal range. BUN and creatinine are waste that build up in your blood when your kidney function is reduced.
4. A glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 60. GFR is a measure of kidney function.
5. More frequent urination, particularly at night; difficult or painful urination.
6. Puffiness around eyes, swelling of hands and feet.
Here Are The Top 8 Common Habits That Damage Your Kidneys.
1. Insufficient Water Intake:
If you are not taking sufficient amount of water daily, then you are putting your kidneys at risk. As already mentioned the main function of our kidneys is to throw out the metabolic waste from our system and balance erythrocyte in the body.
If you will not drink enough of water to keep this process running, this will lead to the accumulation of harmful toxins in the body.
2. Keeping Your Bladder For Too Long:
Urinating and throwing out the wastes out of the bladder are highly recommended for a healthy life of kidneys. When we prolong urinating, this can lead to many serious complications, like increase of pressure in the kidneys which is also known as hydronephrosis. In this the kidney suffers with pressure and in some cases this can also leads to renal failure.
3. More than Required Consumption of Salt:
Yes, if you consume more than required salt than this can lead to the damage to the kidneys. Salt comes along with sodium and the intake of sodium is expelled majorly.
Sodium put our kidneys into stress if take in excess of amount. The studies shows that more than 90% American population take salt in more than required amount.
4. Excessive Consumption of Alcohol:
Alcohol is toxin which puts lot of pressure onto kidneys and liver. Consumption of alcohol in more than required amount causes uric acid to be deposited in the renal tubes which cause tubular obstruction and increase the chances to kidney failure.
5. High protein diet:
Taking the proteins is good for health but don’t intake proteins in excess. Too much proteins increase the metabolic loads and can damage the kidneys in the long run.
6. Excessive Consumption of Caffeine:
Intake of the products that contains high amount of caffeine like chocolate, coffee and soft drinks can cause in increase of blood pressure levels, which in turn will put pressure on kidneys and this can also cause kidney failure in the long run.
7. Smoking:
Smoking can cause a rapid increase in blood pressure and heart rate. In addition it causes the decrease in the blood flow and narrows the blood vessels in the kidneys.
It accelerates the dysfunction of the kidney and worsens the symptoms of existing diseases.
8. Taking Pain Killers:
Taking painkillers for the low grade pain are not good for the health of the kidneys. Medical experts say that taking pain killers on a regular basis can causes a serious damage to your kidneys. Also, it effects the functioning of the kidneys in a negative way.
Now that you have seen eight bad habits that damage kidneys, it is suggested that you should take good care of your kidneys by changing these bad habits.
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