Kidneys are located in the middle of the backside of the body. They clean all of the blood in the body with an intricate filtration system, the waste goes out as urine. The filters are very small vessels and can be damaged by high blood glucose, high blood pressure and chronic use of over the counter anti-inflammatory medication. (1)
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is on the rise and can be explained by an increase in diabetes and hypertension, this is because they are the leading cause of CKD. (2) The best thing you can to protect your kidneys is to manage blood pressure and blood sugar like a champion!
Reduce blood pressure with the DASH diet, (dietary approaches to stop hypertension). A study of the DASH diet saw a decrease in blood pressure in as little as 8 weeks. (3) Start with these two dietary changes: reduce the amount of sodium in your diet to 2,300 milligrams and increase the amount of potassium containing fruits and vegetables you eat to 4-5 servings per day.
You can integrate a DASH diet easily with the Idaho plate method which provides a great guide for how to set up a meal balanced in all food groups that can help you manage blood glucose. ½ of your meal should consist of vegetables, ¼ of your meal should be whole grains, ¼ of your meal should be meat/protein and ½ cup of fruit and 1 cup of milk. (4)(5)
It is possible to protect the longevity your kidneys and prevent unwarranted damage with these two methods to approach hypertension and managing blood glucose. Don’t delay, get started today.
