There are so many reasons that can affect the health of your kidney. The reasons can be natural, made or genetical. Here are some of the reasons:
Protein Overload
Protein is an essential part of a healthy diet but too much of it in the body leads to serious health problems like kidney failure. This is because the kidneys have to work extra long to remove the extra protein and thereby stress themselves out. It is best to eat small portions of eggs, fish, meat, vegetables and nuts at a time.
Excess of Salt
Excess of salt will result in the blood pressure rising and speed up kidney damage. Excess salt also leads to kidney stones which causes nausea, heightened pain and trouble while passing urine.
Habit of Smoking
Smoking is a dangerous habit that leads to many health hazards. It can lead to high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. This in turn can lead to kidney failure. Again smoking can affect the effectiveness of medicines taken to treat the above health problems. Smoking also damages blood flow to the kidney and this causes kidney problems in those already suffering from kidney diseases.
Heavy Alcohol Drinking
Men and women who are heavy drinkers and have more than 14 or 7 drinks per week respectively double the risk of kidney disease. This is not always the case and sometimes having four or five drinks in less than 2 hours can cause ‘acute kidney injury’, leading to serious kidney damage. In such cases the patient will need dialysis to keep the kidneys working.
Regular Use of Sodas
Many adults and children have the habit of reaching for a soda to quench their thirst. If you drink 2 or more sodas every day, then you are a candidate for some serious kidney disease. Those who drink sodas have kidneys that worked 30% less after 20 years compared with others who maybe took some sugar sweetened soft drink.
Watch for Dehydration
There is no doubt that kidneys need the right amount of water to work efficiently. Without enough supply of water on a regular basis can cause severe kidney damage. To check whether you are drinking enough water, you can check the colour of your urine. If the urine is light yellow in colour then your intake of water is sufficient. A darker colour or brown colour to the urine means your kidney has some sort of problem.
Use of certain Medicines
Regular high dose of certain medicines especially pain control medications like aspirin and ibuprofen can cause kidney damage. This does not mean you have to avoid them when required. The best option is to consult your doctor before taking the medicines and get them in the right dosage for you.
Use of illegal Drugs
Habitual use of illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin or meth can cause permanent kidney damage. These drugs hike the blood pressure and thus become one of the main factors for resultant kidney disease.
Over Exercising
Working out or exercise is good for the body but as usual too much is too bad. Too hard at work out for too long can cause a condition in which the muscles get damaged and tissue breaks down very fast. This condition dumps impurities into the blood that can finally hurt the kidneys resulting in kidney failure. It is right to build up a workout gradually and not make them intense suddenly. If at all you have severe muscle pain and dark coloured urine you should not wait to consult your doctor.