Your kidneys might be small in size, but they play a vital role in your overall health. They act as a filter, removing extra fluid and waste from your blood, so your body can achieve optimal performance. If they can’t perform their job, the water and toxins will build up in your body, leading to significant problems, ranging from exhaustion to kidney disease.
You can avoid serious problems by detoxing and cleansing your kidneys. Let’s go over seven natural ways you can accomplish this. Then, get to work, so you can maintain healthy kidneys throughout your life.
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1. Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated detoxes and cleanses your kidneys, making it easier for them to perform their duties. When you are hydrated, your kidneys can easily remove water and toxins and turn them into urine for you to expel.
Though, the question is, how much water and other healthy fluids should you drink? While eight glasses of water a day is the general recommendation, you might need more or less, depending on your situation. Instead of counting your glasses of water, you should look for warning signs that you’re dehydrated.
Your urine is the best indicator of dehydration. You should expel around six cups of urine each day. If you’re not urinating enough, you need to increase your healthy fluid intake. Also, your urine should be clear or close to clear in color. It can have a slightly yellow tone, but you’re likely dehydrated if it’s a deep yellow color. When you increase your fluid intake, the color should lighten.
You can look for other signs of dehydration, as well. Other symptoms include headaches, dry mouth, dizziness, and fatigue. If you notice any of these signs, reach for some water. Once you rehydrate, you should feel much better.
2. Limit Sodium Intake
If you eat a sodium-rich diet, you’re far from alone. Americans consume around 3,400 mg of sodium daily, exceeding the recommended intake by more than 1,000 mg. Consuming too much sodium is horrible for your kidneys. First, a high sodium diet increases the amount of calcium in your urine. That increases your risk of forming kidney stones.
Sodium can also increase your blood pressure, damaging your kidney in the process. High blood pressure damages the arteries tasked with carrying blood to the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure.
If you’re serious about reducing sodium intake, limit the processed foods that you eat. Instead, choose fresh, whole foods, and don’t reach for the table salt. Your kidneys will thank you for it.
3. Eat Foods That Support Kidneys
You can detox and cleanse your kidneys quickly by filling your diet with superfoods. The National Kidney Association recommends seven kidney-friendly superfoods. These foods are full of nutrients and antioxidants, so your kidneys will get a nice boost.
You’ve heard the saying that an apple a day can keep the doctor away. That includes the nephrologist. With antioxidants and soluble fiber, you’ll be on the road to good kidney health when you eat apples. Don’t forget to eat the peel, as well. It contains some nutrients that you’ll want to include in your diet.
You’ll also want to add blueberries to your diet. This low-calorie fruit is loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C, and fiber. You can even get enormous benefits when you consume frozen blueberries. That makes blueberries an excellent choice, even when they aren’t in season.
Strawberries are as healthy as they are delicious. You can expect fiber, antioxidants, and a load of vitamins when you eat strawberries. These small berries also have anti-inflammatory properties.
Kale has long been known as a superfood, and for a good reason. When you eat kale, you can expect lots of vitamins A and C plus tons of minerals. You’ll be on the path to better health when you eat a diet rich in kale.
Spinach is yet another kidney-friendly superfood. You’ll get vitamins A, C, and K when you eat spinach, plus a nice serving of folate. Then, of course, you will get beta-carotene and magnesium when you eat spinach. It’s even easy to add spinach into your diet. You can replace lettuce with spinach when you eat salads. Then, you’ll get the kidney-boosting benefits along with a delicious taste.
You might be surprised, but sweet potatoes are also an excellent food for kidney health. They also contain beta-carotene, plus a nice assortment of vitamins. You can also expect a nice dose of fiber when you eat sweet potatoes. This is the guilt-free way to take in some carbohydrates.
Salmon, cod, Atlantic mackerel, and other fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids should also be part of your diet. Omega-3 fatty acids have numerous health benefits, including lowering your blood pressure. Plus, you’ll get a lot of protein when you eat fish, so you’ll have the energy you need for the day. Try to eat at least one of these kidney-healthy foods each day. The more you eat, the more benefits you’ll enjoy.
4. Try Herbal Teas
Herbal teas have long been used for weight loss and full body detoxes. You can also use herbal teas to detox your kidneys, so they perform optimally. Three herbal teas stand out if you want to cleanse your kidneys.
First, you can try stinging nettle leaf herbal tea. Ancient practitioners used stinging nettle to treat an assortment of ailments, and it’s still used today. Stinging nettle herbal tea contains antioxidants, might lower your blood pressure, and appears to have anti-inflammatory properties. These benefits can help your kidneys function.
Hydrangea leaf tea is another good option. Researchers discovered that the plant’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties could protect the kidneys in animals. Many believe it can do the same for humans.
Add sambong herbal tea to your shopping list, as well. This tea can help your kidneys function at optimal levels. Sambong tea contains B. balsamifera, which might have the power to prevent kidney stones from forming.
5. Take the Right Vitamins and Supplements
Vitamins and supplements can help you detox and cleanse your kidneys. If you are worried about getting kidney stones, add a vitamin B-6 supplement to your diet. Research has shown that vitamin B-6 reduces the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones.
If you want to protect your kidneys, try alpha-lipoic acid and Andrographis. Alpha-lipoic acid’s antioxidant properties can protect your kidneys from damage, while Andrographis can prevent damage from drinking alcohol.
If your kidneys already have some oxidative damage, you might be able to reverse it with a moringa supplement. This supplement can also reduce inflammation and protect your kidneys. You can then take an N-acetyl cysteine or resveratrol supplement to protect your kidneys from dangerous toxins.
Your doctor can help you choose the supplements that will work best for you. After analyzing your blood work, your physician can determine your deficiencies and provide you with a plan.
6. Avoid Artificial Sweeteners
You might have swapped processed sugar for artificial sweeteners as a way to get healthy. Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners have some adverse side effects that can harm your kidneys. If you want to detox and cleanse your kidneys naturally, you need to remove artificial sweeteners from your diet.
First, researchers have found that drinking diet soda increases your risk of obesity. Obesity is one of the risk factors for developing kidney disease. Drinking diet soda can also increase your risk of getting type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. That means you’ll be more likely to end up with kidney disease.
If you’re hooked on artificial sweeteners, the idea of giving them up might seem overwhelming. Fortunately, you can satisfy your sweet tooth by eating fresh fruit. The natural sugars in the fruit will give you a sugar rush, and you will get a nice helping of nutrients.
It might be difficult at first, but it will be well worth it when you finally kick your artificial sweetener habit. Your kidneys will be healthier, and as a bonus, your taste buds will learn to appreciate natural flavors. Healthy foods will taste much better once you stop gorging on artificial sweeteners.
7. Try a Two-day Kidney Cleanse
If you want to jump-start your detox, you can do a two-day kidney cleanse. Get cleared by a doctor if you have kidney disease or kidney stones. You don’t want to do anything to put yourself at risk.
Then, you can create your own two-day kidney cleanse. The key is to include foods that support kidney health. You can eat those foods as they are or blend them into juices or smoothies. You might want to do a little of both so you don’t get bored on your two-day kidney cleanse.
Final Thoughts
Your kidneys are essential to your overall health, and you need to protect them. Be proactive regarding your kidney health by detoxing and cleansing them regularly.
You can start with a two-day kidney cleanse and then incorporate other methods to maintain your kidney health. With the right strategy, you can keep your kidneys in excellent working order.
References
The following are the sources that were used while doing research for this article:
- “6 Tips To Be ‘Water Wise’ for Healthy Kidneys.” National Kidney Foundation, 1 Sept. 2020, www.kidney.org/content/6-tips-be-water-wise-healthy-kidneys.
- “Sodium in Your Diet.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2 Apr. 2020, www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/sodium-your-diet
- Jharris, By. “How To Eat a Low Sodium Diet | Kidney Stone Evaluation And Treatment Program.” The University of Chicago, 22 Sept. 2020, kidneystones.uchicago.edu/how-to-eat-a-low-salt-diet.
- “7 Kidney-Friendly Superfoods.” National Kidney Foundation, 1 Sept. 2020, www.kidney.org/content/7-kidney-friendly-superfoods.
- “Total Coumarins from Hydrangea Paniculata Show Renal Protective Effects in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Kidney Injury via Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities.” PubMed Central (PMC), 30 Oct. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5735979.
- “Effect of Blumea Balsamifera Extract on the Phase and Morphology of Calcium Oxalate Crystals.” PubMed Central (PMC), 1 Oct. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772838.
- “Vitamin B6 Intake and the Risk of Incident Kidney Stones.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, 17 Mar. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752631/.
- “Supplements That Can Improve Your Kidney Health.” Miami Kidney Group, 11 Sept. 2020, www.miamikidney.com/single-post/Supplements-That-Can-Improve-Your-Kidney-Health.
- Fowler, Sharon. “Diet Soda Intake Is Associated with Long-Term Increases in Waist Circumference in a Biethnic Cohort of Older Adults: The San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging.” PubMed, Apr. 2015, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25780952.
- Nettleton, Jennifer. “Diet Soda Intake and Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).” Diabetes Care, 1 Apr. 2009, care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.
- Lockett, Eleesha M. “Doing a Natural Kidney Cleanse at Home.” Healthline, 2 May 2019, www.healthline.com/health/kidney-cleanse#sample-cleanse.