Te tiaki i ō whanewhane Looking after your kidneys
Having healthy kidneys is important for your general health and wellbeing. There are ways you can protect your kidneys. Making healthy changes will also help if you have chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Make healthy choices
The choices you make every day do matter. Over time, what you eat and drink and how you live can improve your blood pressure and cholesterol. This will decrease your risk of kidney disease as well as heart disease and stroke.
The more healthy changes you make, the better it is. Changes you can make include:
- if you smoke, stop smoking
- keep physically active
- eat well
- aim for a healthy weight — if you need to lose weight, losing just 5% to 10% of your body weight can make a big difference
- limiting the amount of alcohol you drink.
Drink plenty of fluid
Drinking enough fluid every day is an important part of kidney health.
Water is best but other suitable fluids include, milk, tea, coffee and soup.
The easiest way to tell if you are drinking enough is to check the colour and amount of your wee (urine). Except for first thing in the morning, your wee should be almost clear and there should be plenty of it. If it is dark yellow, it usually means you are not drinking enough. However, taking some vitamin supplements can make your wee look darker.
Keep your blood pressure under control
Having high blood pressure (hypertension) can damage the blood vessels in your kidneys, meaning your kidneys function less well.
If the blood vessels in your kidneys are damaged, they may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from your body. Having extra fluid in your blood vessels can then raise your blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle.
High blood pressure (hypertension) (internal link)
Eating well, staying a healthy weight, keeping physically active and taking any medicine prescribed by your healthcare provider will all help control your blood pressure.
Keep your cholesterol under control
High cholesterol (hyperlipidaemia) can damage the blood vessels in your kidneys and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Eating well, keeping active and taking any medicine prescribed by your healthcare provider will help keep your cholesterol levels under control.
Manage your diabetes
If you have diabetes, make sure you keep your blood glucose levels under control.
Have a regular HbA1c test. This looks at your average level of blood glucose over the past 3 months. You should have this test every 6 to 12 months so talk to your healthcare provider if you have not had one for a while.
Manage your medicines
Check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before taking supplements, alternative medicines or over-the-counter medicines to make sure they will not damage your kidneys.
Herbal supplements can be risky for people with kidney disease. Discuss any herbal supplements you are taking with your healthcare provider or pharmacist.
Be careful when taking some pain relief medicines. The group of pain relief medicines called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can harm your kidneys. Examples include ibuprofen (Nurofen, Brufen), diclofenac (Voltaren) and celecoxib.
Pain relief medicines for adults (internal link)
Be aware of taking combinations of medicines that could harm your kidneys. In particular, you need to be careful taking NSAIDs if you are on blood pressure pills.