8 Habits That Are Ruining Your Kidneys Without You Knowing It

The kidneys rarely get the attention they deserve. They’re among the most important organs in the human body, but we don’t think highly enough of them. The kidneys filter our blood of toxins and keep the electrolyte balance in our bodies steady. Even knowing that, we ‘bash’ them all the time, bombarding our bodies with sugar, alcohol, and many types of toxins that can overwhelm the kidneys easily.

Ask yourself – how much water do you drink per day? Do you think a liter is enough? Not drinking plenty of water harms the kidneys and is behind a variety of health problems that have been plaguing you lately. Below you can see some nasty habits we all have that are destroying our kidneys every day.

Too Much Sugar and Salt

The worst habit that we rarely pay attention to when it comes to the health of our kidneys is consuming too much sugar and salt. It’s easy to get excess salt and sugar into our bodies since they’re in literally everything we eat. High sugar and salt consumption can damage the kidneys severely and destroy your overall health.

Not Enough Water

In order to function properly, the kidneys require a lot of water. Rarely anyone drinks the recommended intake per day, resulting in dehydrated kidneys. Insufficient water intake is a reason for serious kidney problems, so make sure to drink plenty of water every day.

Too Much Alcohol

Your kidneys can filter out alcohol on a regular basis, but not if you drink too much all the time. Stick to the recommended 6 units of alcohol per week – it’ll do your kidneys and overall health a lot of good.

High Levels of Animal Protein

Do you eat too much red and processed meat? While protein is important for our muscles, a lot of it drastically increases the chances of kidney problems. People who eat a lot of read meat have a 40% higher chance of developing end-stage kidney disease.

Painkillers and NSAIDs

Popping painkillers all the time just because you can’t bear any pain is about the worst thing you can do for your kidneys. NSAIDs are damaging too. If you’re also dehydrated or suffer from low blood pressure, they can cause irreversible damage to your kidneys, drastically reducing the quality of life.

Smoking

If you’re a smoker, you should know that this nasty habit is among the worst for your kidneys. It’s bad for your lungs and the whole body, to be honest, so you might want to give up smoking altogether.

No Rest

No rest for the wicked, right? You may think that you’re young and able to do everything, working late night shifts just to earn some extra bucks in. However, rest is very important for our health and lack of it can harm your kidneys in many ways. Make sure to sleep at least 7 hours overnight and find ways to cope with stress before it destroys your kidneys and life.

Too Much Junk Food

Remember the kidneys’ primary functions of filtering toxins out of our blood? Well, if you eat too much junk food, the fat, salt, and everything else in a burger or fries can’t be properly processed by the kidneys. The occasional burger is fine, but if you eat it every day, your kidneys will suffer.