National Kidney Foundation Offers 10 Reasons to Love Your Hard-Working Kidneys
Sometimes the more you know, the more you love. This March, as National Kidney Month begins, the National Kidney Foundation urges Americans to get to know two humble, hardworking organs: the kidneys. To help raise awareness and appreciation for all the vital functions the kidneys perform, the National Kidney Foundation offers 10 reasons for Americans to love their kidneys and take steps now to preserve kidney health. March 12 is World Kidney Day, the perfect time to get to know your kidneys.
10 Critical Things Healthy Kidneys Do
- Filter 200 liters of blood a day, removing two liters of toxins, wastes and water
- Regulate the body’s water balance
- Regulate blood pressure by controlling fluid levels and making the hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict
- Support healthy bones and tissues by producing the active form of vitamin D
- Produce the hormone that stimulates bone marrow to manufacture red blood cells
- Keep blood minerals in balance
- Keep electrolytes in balance
- Regulate blood acid levels
- Remove drugs from the blood
- Retrieve essential nutrients so that the body can reabsorb them
No wonder kidney specialists sometimes call the kidneys the body’s “master chemists.” When function is impaired, these processes are thrown off and serious health consequences ensue. A recent study of data from the National Kidney Foundation’s free, nationwide Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP) for people at risk for chronic kidney disease found, for example, that Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can strike young and middle-aged adults as well as the elderly, doubling their risk of premature heart attack, stroke and death.
The good news: The study also confirmed that simple urine and blood tests can detect signs of early CKD and emphasized the need for thorough testing for those at risk. The hope is that early detection will motivate people to make lifestyle changes that can help slow the progress of CKD, “including losing weight, controlling blood pressure, treating diabetes, and quitting smoking,” says Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH, vice chair of the KEEP Program, who led the study.
The National Kidney Foundation urges all Americans to love their kidneys. To learn more about CKD risk factors, prevention and treatment, visit www.kidney.org. The National Kidney Foundation will also offer free kidney screenings to people at risk for CKD in a number of cities across the U.S. on World Kidney Day, March 12. For locations and schedules, visit www.kidney.org
The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, influencing public policy in support of the kidney community and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.
The National Kidney Foundation would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of World Kidney Day activities in the United States.
Sponsors:
