What causes kidney disease?
This is a bit of a hot topic in our household. My view is that kidney disease is indirectly caused by excessive consumption of sugar and carbohydrates. My husband’s view is that it’s caused by too much protein.
I recently suffered from kidney pain, which, of course, made me panic, but thankfully, I remembered what my mother says when there is an issue beyond our control; she says “let’s pray.” So I prayed, which calmed me down and gave me a feeling of peace about the situation.
Due to all the above-mentioned, I decided to do a bit of research to find out what causes kidney disease and what can be done to alleviate the pain. I implemented some of my findings, which helped tremendously. I can confidently say that the pain subsided the first couple of days and is now completely gone (I will share what I did later on).
What role do kidneys play in the body?
The list below details some of the functions that kidneys play in the body;
- Clean your blood
- Keep your bones healthy
- Maintain your blood pressure level
- Remove toxins from your body as well as excess water
- Balance important minerals in your body
- Help make red blood cells
As you can see from the list above these small bean shaped organs play a pivotal part in keeping us healthy. Kidneys can make a big difference in someone’s wellbeing as I learned recently. Thus, knowing and understanding how we can keep kidneys healthy is important.
Is there a difference between kidney disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD)?
According to Cleveland Clinic, kidney disease occurs when the kidneys are damaged and aren’t filtering blood, whereas in chronic kidney disease is a long-term condition where the damage happens over several years during which time the kidneys aren’t functioning as well as they should.
Most studies state different causes of kidney disease but the most common ones are:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Severe obesity
- Family history of CKD
- Smoking
- Polycystic kidney disease
- High cholesterol
- Kidney infection
- Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney)
- Long -term, regular consumption of certain medicines
There are 5 different stages of CKD, which I will discuss in a different blog post because there is so much to write about the stages and how different foods affect each stage. In this particular post, I really wanted to share what helped me so that not only do I have a record of it but in hopes that it might help someone.
Natural Remedies for Kidney Pain
What I’m about to share worked for me. It doesn’t by any means mean that it will work for you, but I highly recommend giving it a try, but first please consult your doctor especially if you take medication.
I’m not an expert on the condition but I think it’s helpful to share what has worked for me because it’s thanks to the natural health experts I listen to that I was able to implement their advice.
There only three steps to follow;
- Reduce your carb intake; if your kidneys are throbbing, completely stop eating carbs for at least two to three full days, depending on your pain levels. I didn’t have carbs for 3 full days before I re-introduced small amounts of homemade carbs, not processed carbs.
- Stop eating sugar for at least 3 full days, then you could gradually introduce a little bit of honey, about half a teaspoon, just to keep your cravings at bay.
- Drink plenty of water (more than usual).
What triggered the Kidney pain?
We went on a short break where I over indulged in both savoury and sweet baked goods. I’m by no means overweight. In fact, I think I could do with a bit more healthy fat, but this just goes to show that sometimes our outward appearance can be deceiving and fool us into thinking we are invincible (we’re not). What we eat does affect our health, so we need to take steps to help ourselves.
In addition to quitting sugar and processed carbs, I mixed organic turmeric powder (1 heaped teaspoon full) mixed with half a cup of water and drank this for three days. I also chopped up tiny pieces of garlic to take as you would with capsules or tablets. The turmeric was to tackle the inflammation, the garlic was in case there was an infection. Garlic works as nature’s antibiotic. During this three-day cleanse, I made a warm clove drink twice a day because it’s my go-to for pain relief. Cloves are fantastic for pain relief. I also used a homemade castor oil compress, which I put on the kidney area for at least 6–8 hours each day. Castor oil draws out impurities from the body.
It’s important to note that during that healing period I didn’t consume any sugar or processed carbs. However, after around day three, I treated myself to two biscuits, which is now my limit if I’m having an unhealthy treat.
In case you’re wondering whether I actually got checked by my doctor, I had a full health check which came out fine. Albeit, I forgot to mention the kidneys because I wasn’t in pain. Needless to say, I will be making an appointment to verify if indeed there is a need to completely change my diet.
The National Health Service (NHS) states that lifestyle changes can help you remain as healthy as possible and is the number one way to treat CKD. The other treatments like dialysis, kidney transplant and medicine to control associated problems are listed after. Basically before it’s too late, we need to look after our kidneys through dietary changes which is hard but definitely worth the effort.
I hope this blog post has been useful. If so, please leave a comment on any tips you might have regarding kidneys. As previously mentioned, I will be writing another blog post about kidneys without my personal experiences included. I will also do some research on protein and the impact it has on the kidneys.
To conclude this post, I will quote the National Kidney Foundation on whether sugar can cause kidney disease.
“A high level of sugar in your blood can cause problems in many parts of your body, including your heart, kidneys, eyes, and brain. Over time, this can lead to kidney disease and kidney failure.”
References
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd/causes
https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15096-chronic-kidney-disease
Wellbeing Corner 