10 Terrible Choices You Make For Your Kidneys

Do you remember Muna Obiekwe of blessed memory? He was a well loved Nigerian actor who died in January 2015 of kidney failure. Needless to say, his passing was tragic. A couple of weeks ago, I got to hear about the relative of a friend who also lost his life to kidney failure early this year. What makes it more painful is that these deaths are needless and often caused by the victims themselves due to poor lifestyle choices. 


The kidneys are those two little bean shaped organs somewhere inside your body (near the middle part of your back actually). Small as they are, they are incredibly important to you. In the spirit of preventing that, I strongly suggest you get to familiarize with your kidneys and find out what you do to hurt them.

Some of the more important jobs your kidneys perform are: removing toxic waste and water from your body, helping you control your blood pressure, helping to produce red blood cells (which are responsible for circulating oxygen in your body), balancing the chemicals in your body, among others. You can begin to imagine just how many things could go wrong when anything bad happens to those two little guys.

These below are 10 common bad habits you might be guilty of and should stop doing to ensure the health and  full functionality of your kidneys.

1. Not emptying your bladder quickly.
2. Eating too much meat which increases the metabolic load of the kidney.
3. Painkiller abuse (we really need to cut down on self medication in this part of the World!)
4. Drinking too much alcohol (ya heard!!!).
5. Eating too much salt (all you folks who love food spicy!).
6. Not treating common infections e.g common cold, tonsillitis properly.
7. Drinking too much caffeine (note that caffeine is present in cola drinks, eg coke, pepsi, energy drinks and also in a lot of analgesics. Coffee isn't the only culprit)
8. Not drinking enough water (I doubt that you can overdose on water, never heard of a water-high!).
9. Smoking: smoking narrows and hardens blood vessels which affects blood supply to body organs, kidneys inclusive.
10. Overloading your body with sugar (that is you overworking your kidneys

On a final note, never ignore the soreness of the waist, swelling of the feet, changes in urine color or volume, increase in night urination, high blood pressure and other such symptoms. Once detected, you should go and see your doctor immediately. Each year, lots of people die of kidney disease all over the world, and the number of people suffering from chronic renal failure, and need dialysis or kidney transplantation to stay alive keeps increasing.

Statistics have it that, worldwide, more than a million patients are waiting for kidney transplants, but only a few thousands will receive transplants because of shortage of suitable organ donors.

Protect your kidneys jealously!


Cover image via Functionalmedicineprofessionals.com