The kidneys are vital organs responsible for filtering blood from capillaries and removing extra water and waste from your body. Your kidneys also help to produce certain hormones and control your blood pressure, along with maintaining overall fluid and mineral balance in the body.
How does diabetes affect the kidneys? According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease (Diabetic kidney disease or diabetic nephropathy). Diabetes can cause damage to the filters in your kidneys over time.
How does Diabetes Cause Kidney Disease?
Diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar level. When blood sugar levels are not managed, it can damage the blood vessels in your kidneys leading to improper filtering of the blood. As a result, the waste from the body is not excreted properly and leads to what is called diabetic kidney disease. Kidney disease or failure is a debilitating condition that can exacerbate health conditions for diabetics.
Diabetic kidney disease or diabetic nephropathy is a serious kidney-related complication of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that almost a third of diabetics or one out of four adults with diabetes will develop chronic kidney disease (CKD). In India, the results of a 2017 study published in the journal Diabetes Care identified the prevalence of diabetic kidney disease in urban Indians as 2.2 per cent.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in later stages of kidney disease, the signs and symptoms include:
- Appetite loss
- Confusion or difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
- High blood pressure
- Increased urge to urinate
- Nausea and vomiting
- Persistent itching
- Protein in the urine
- Swelling (edema) of feet, ankles, hands or eyes
Early Diagnosis Can Help
Getting an early diagnosis can help treat your condition before it does more damage to your body. Type 1 diabetes is easily diagnosed in its early stages before kidney damage occurs. However, Type 2 diabetes often goes undiagnosed for years.
Since Type 2 diabetes is not easily recognized and thus could be living in the body for many years, this could lead to high glucose (sugar) content in the blood to damage the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys. If you have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, a microalbumin test done annually is recommended. This will help your doctor detect any kidney damage.
Ways You Can Keep Your Kidneys Healthy If You Have Diabetes
The best way you can prevent or delay diabetic kidney disease is by taking a holistic approach towards your health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and treating your diabetes and high blood pressure. Here are some ways to do that.
Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet
A healthy diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables is critical when it comes to kidney health. In a study published in March 2013 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, researchers noted that including more fruits and vegetables in your diet can minimize the risk for kidney injury and metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the body produces too much acid, can’t excrete enough acid, or can’t balance the acid. Fruits and veggies help the kidneys remove excess acid from the body and excrete it in the urine. Along with that, having a low glycemic index diet is also important.
Additionally, you can also try to include a low-fat, low-protein diet as having too much animal protein can easily lead to kidney stones. You should also ensure that your diet does not contain high levels of sugar and calories. Avoid intake of high levels of salt and sodium.
Keep More Physically Active
If you are trying to prevent kidney disease, regular exercise can benefit. Research has found out that those people living chronic kidney disease (CKD) who exercised not only improved their overall physical fitness but also had healthier blood pressure and heart rates.
Exercises like jogging, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, and dancing are particularly good options for diabetic patients. Additionally, resistance training can aid walking ability, yoga can help with muscle strength, and cardiovascular exercise can improve aerobic capacity.
Take Omega-3 for Dialysis
A study published in June 2013 in Kidney International reported that omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in fish oil, may protect dialysis patients from sudden cardiac death. The research observed that participants who had higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids had a lower risk of sudden cardiac death.
Sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, as well as flaxseed and walnuts.
More tips to protect diabetic kidney disease are:
- Check your blood glucose regularly. Monitoring your blood glucose (sugar) levels can help you keep the kidneys stay healthy. Because the high glucose content in your bloodstream can damage the kidneys, controlling the level of glucose is an important step. Talk to your doctor about a healthy blood sugar range and try to keep your levels within this goal.
- Get screened early for kidney disease. Getting screened for any form of kidney disease can help slow down the condition and manage it.
- Quit smoking and avoid consuming alcohol. Smoking cigarettes reduces blood flow to the kidneys, causing a decrease in its function. Smoking cigarettes also increases blood sugar levels, which can worsen kidney function. Consuming alcohol regularly doesn’t help your kidney health. Drinking excessive alcohol leads to more urination, which can then lead to dehydration. Thus, chronic alcoholism can wear your kidneys down as they have to work harder to produce more urine all the time.
- Manage your weight. Obesity is linked with kidney disease. Most people with type 2 diabetes are already overweight. As their weight increases, they become more insulin insensitive, and this can escalate the chances of diabetic nephropathy. Include regular exercise in your daily routine to maintain a healthy weight.
- Use medication with caution. With your doctor’s consultation, you can try nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen. Keep in mind that regular use of such drugs may result in kidney damage.
