How To Keep Your Kidneys Healthy

Here's a fact you can impress your friends with -- every 30 minutes your kidneys filter all the blood in your body eliminating waste and excess fluid. Pretty amazing isn't it. Yet, how many of us really know how well are kidneys are functioning? One in three Americans are at risk for developing kidney disease and approximately 26 million Americans have kidney disease with most not knowing it. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition causing reduced kidney function over a period of time. It is diagnosed when a person's glomerular filtration rate remains below 60 milliliters per minute for more than 3 months or when a person's urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio is over 30 milligrams of albumin for each gram of creatinine. Most people are not aware they even have CKD until the later stages of it. Symptoms of CKD can include: • Feeling more tired and having less energy • Trouble concentrating • A poor appetite • Trouble sleeping • Muscle cramping at night • Swollen feet and ankles • Puffiness around your eyes, especially in the morning • Dry, itchy skin • Needing to urinate more often, especially at night CKD at happen to anyone at any age but it is more likely to develop in certain people or situations than others. Risk factors that increasing kidney disease include: • Diabetes • Age • Family history of CKD • High blood pressure • If you are African American, Hispanic American, Pacific Islander or American Indian How to protect your kidneys We may ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
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