MAINTAINING HEALTHY KIDNEYS

KAREN-LANG’ATA OUTPATIENT CENTER

Dr. Eva Njuguna
KIDNEYS
 KIDNEYS
• Two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a
fist located just below the rib cage, one on each
side of your spine.
• Functions
They balance the volume of water in the body
They filter the blood and eliminate the waste products
They produce hormones that regulate some
important body functions (blood pressure, making of
red blood cells, etc
Help keep bones healthy
 Why the concern?
• Sharp increase of chronic kidney disease
incidence worldwide
• 10% of the adult population suffer from CKD
• Few are aware of it
• Every year, millions die of complications related
to CKD
• Treatments like dialysis and kidney
transplantation are not affordable or are
extremely costly
 Common risk factors of kidney
disease
• Uncontrolled Hypertension
• Uncontrolled Diabetes
• Excessive alcohol use
• Long term use of medications (esp OTC) e.g
antibiotics, painkillers (NSAIDs)
• Family history of kidney disease
• Obesity
• Age >50
 Symptoms of kidney disease
• Early CKD has no symptoms you can lose up to
90% of your kidney function without any sign
• Puffiness of face, hands and feet
• High blood pressure
• Passage of cloudy, bloody or tea-coloured urine
• Urinary frequency, nocturia
• Fatigue
• Weight loss, Loss of apetite
Note:
• Early detection can prevent the progression of
the disease and avoid medical treatment
 Maintaining Healthy Kidneys
• 8 Golden rules:
– Eat well balanced diet
– Keep fit & active
– Keep regular control of your blood sugar level
– Monitor your blood pressure
– Stay hydrated – 8 glasses of water/day
– Do not smoke
– Do not take over-the-counter pills on a regular basis
– Get your kidney function tested – Urinalysis, RFTs
 Maintaining healthy kidneys
• Diet that is/has:
– Low sodium (salt)
– Low in fat especially saturated fat
– Low in dietary cholesterol
– High in dietary fibre (whole grains, vegetables and
fruits)
– Low in meat, especially red meat
• Weight control
 Screening
• 2 simple tests identify CKD best:
• Estimated GFR obtained from values of kidney function
test
• Urine albumin creatinine ratio
• Children with childhood obesity should also
be tested.
Maintaning Healthy Kidneys
 Treatment
• Control Blood Pressure and blood sugar
• Use medication as prescribed
• Dialysis
• Kidney transplant
• Dietary management
• Monitoring through lab tests
 Dietary management
• To be discussed with dietician and
nephrologist.
• No one special diet for all.
• General guidelines include:
• Limiting phosphorous intake (dairy products,
• Limiting protein intake
• Limiting potassium intake (e.g bananas, milk)
• Limiting sodium intake (salt) – 75% is from processed
foods