Select Page

My introduction to the kidney took place very early as a high school senior watching my Grandmother go through something called hemodialysis which was so foreign to me then.  Strangely, we became reacquainted early in my professional career as a Renal Dietitian.  Our relationship became very intense as I realized it was my responsibility to assist in providing a safe quality of life for patients fully understanding how by just eating the wrong foods could turn their lives into shambles.  So, let’s talk about our Kidneys as it relates to Food and our Bodies:

 

I firmly believe you are what you eat. Have you ever wondered what exactly is this substance called food?  We all know that Food was given to us at the very beginning of (human) life in the Garden of Eden as stated, the fruit trees, the seed-bearing plants, and the green plants were all provided as “food” a substance to maintain life and growth.  However, food is made up of “organic chemicals” such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus, amino acids, lipids, and glucose just to mention a few.   The body must have a daily supply of these chemicals (food) in the correct proportion to sustain life so naturally we “eat”.  The very process of eating, digestion/metabolism/absorption is where we really start Kicking with the Kidney.  I refer to the kidney as The REGULATOR because that is what they do, regulate by filtering out and back in what is required to maintain a perfect balance within our body which is call Homeostasis.  For example, if you drink an excess amount of water, more than what your body needs, the regulator- your kidneys sense this fluid overload and through a series of metabolic processes filters the excess water into the bladder and it is urinated out, resulting in a stable balance of fluid within the body.  Excess fluid results in edema, increased blood pressure and a variety of other negative metabolic disturbances, thus a perfect balance is always maintained by the Kidneys.   The Kidneys also plays the same exact role in maintaining the balance of certain minerals within the body such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and uric acid.  When levels of each one of these elements become too high in the blood stream metabolic complications occurs however, the kidney is extremely efficient in sensing when these levels are out of balance and appropriately regulates them through the process of elimination through urination.

 

Side Bar:  I use to take a multi-vitamin daily, the excess amount of the B-Vitamins my body did not need would end up in the commode. My Kidneys was telling me that I did not need the Vitamins, so I stopped taking them daily.

 

Are you listening, is your Kidneys trying to tell you something too?  More to come: