Enrich's Guide to Eating and Drinking for Kidney Function

Your kidney is a vital organ, keeping you alive and well for all of life’s ups and downs. Here at Enrich, we want to help you to nurture your kidneys health through mindful and conscious choices, as good renal (kidney) function is essential to everyday life. Our kidneys serve to filter our blood, regulate blood pressure and remove waste from the body and as such the food and drinks we consume impact the functionality of it as an organ. We hope this guide will answer any questions you have about the impact nutrition and hydration can have on your renal health and empower you to cultivate habits that have a positive effect on the future.

How are kidney function and hydration linked?

Before we see how these are linked, it’s important to note that our kidneys serve to filter our blood, regulate blood pressure and remove waste from the body and as such the food and drinks we consume impact the functionality of it as an organ.

A such, kidney function and hydration are very closely linked. More than half of your body is made of water, and all parts of your body need water to work well. That includes your kidneys. Your kidneys will naturally maintain healthy hydration in the body, it does this in a few ways. The most obvious one is the feeling of thirst. Your kidneys and brain send a signal, and this reminds your body to drink water and hydrate itself. When water enters the body, it helps to remove waste from your blood and excretes it in the form of urine. Our kidneys also make urine so that there isn’t a possibility of building up too much water in the body. Water also helps blood vessels stay open. Then blood can move through the blood vessels to carry nutrients to your kidneys.

If you aren’t drinking enough water, it forces the kidneys to retain water. The kidneys reabsorb water, and this decreases our blood pressure. Not consuming enough water can lead to dehydration and this can playa role in the development of UTIs and kidney stones. Kidney stones are mineral deposits that form in the kidneys and if left untreated, can cause severe pain, bleeding and inflammation in the body. If severe dehydration occurs, the kidneys can go into failure and or develop into chronic kidney disease.

So, as you can see, hydration is a huge factor for the functionality of our kidneys and everyday living. Along with hydration, nutrition and diet have a major role to play in its overall wellbeing too.

How are nutrition and kidney function linked?

Like hydration and kidney function, nutrition and kidney function are closely linked. To achieve good kidney function, its essential to be following healthy dietary habits. To maintain good kidney function, it is essential to follow a diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables, low sodium foods, lean protein and whole grains.

However, following a poor, unhealthy diet can lead to a lack of functionality in the kidneys. Key nutrients in the diet such as potassium, sodium and protein all play a role in kidney function. Our kidneys regulate our bodies levels of these nutrients and so excessive amounts makes it more difficult for our kidneys to remove and process them. This extra strain being put on the kidneys make it more difficult for them to work properly and as a result, waste builds up in the blood, including waste products from food. This continuous cycle can cause the body to retain water in the bloodstream. This increases blood pressure and eventually, the combination of poor nutrition and lack of hydration could lead to kidney disease, whether that’s short or long term.

Small dietary tip:

Sodium is probably one of the easiest nutrients to reduce consumption of in our diets. Try, when you are cooking, instead of flavouring only with salt try using chilli, black pepper, herbs and spices, or lemon juice.

Another easy dietary guideline to follow is to limit alcohol consumption. When we drink excessive amounts of alcohol, the kidneys must work harder to filter out the alcohol from the body so limiting our consumption will help improve overall kidney function.