If you don’t think about your kidney health often, you’re probably not aware of how to prevent kidney failure. Your kidneys are your body’s filtration system – they filter waste and extra fluid out of your body through urine. When the kidneys fail to do their job, the whole system collapses, causing kidney failure.
Keep Kidneys Healthy and Prevent Kidney Failure
Kidney failure often isn’t diagnosed until it’s too late. It’s only when the disease is in the advanced stage (needing dialysis or transplant), the symptoms show up. How to prevent kidney failure? The key to preventing kidney failure is finding the disease in its nascent stage, much before the trouble starts. You must take an annual test, especially if you are at risk (family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes) of kidney failure. You can test the performance of your kidneys through KIDPRO, a preventive health checkup package. KIDPRO includes a combination of blood tests for assessing how good your kidneys are in filtering the fluids and excreting the wastes.
Tips to Prevent Kidney Failure
If you’re wondering how to prevent kidney failure, we have listed a few tips that will help you in protecting your kidney health. Because diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol put pressure on the kidneys to work harder than usual, these tips are related to managing these three conditions.
1. Manage diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease, the best way to protect your kidneys from damage is to keep their numbers within the normal range and take all the medicines as prescribed. 
2. Eat a heart-healthy diet.
Consume foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, and whole grains. Cut down on sugar and salt.
3. Aim for a healthy weight.
Obesity increases your risk for conditions such as diabetes, and high blood pressure, which eventually causes kidney failure. So, talk to your dietitian for a realistic diet plan.
4. Get enough sleep.
Sleeping for at least 7 to 8 hours each night is a must.
5. Drink enough water.
Keep your body hydrated as water increases blood flow to your kidneys.
6. Limit alcohol.
Alcohol not only increases your blood pressure but also makes you gain weight. So, avoid it.
7. Stop smoking.
Smoking damages your kidney function by reducing blood flow to the kidneys.
8. Reduce stress.
Anxiety and stress increase your blood pressure. So try to relax your mind with the help of yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises.
9. Exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes every day.
Swimming, running, and walking help you manage risk conditions, maintain a healthy weight and reduce stress.
These tips might have given you a fair idea of how to prevent kidney failure or slow down its progression. Eating right, being active, and living a healthy lifestyle can keep your kidneys healthy for the longest time possible.
