Maintaining kidney health is critical for overall well-being. If your kidneys are healthy, they will filter the blood and discharge waste properly and create hormones to assist your systematic functions to operate correctly. However, the advent of the modern lifestyle has imposed a huge toll on the kidney as well as the overall health of an individual. It is very important to know that most of the patients who have early-stage kidney diseases do not even know about it.

Over the last decade, the number of patients with kidney diseases has increased remarkably. As per the recent data, kidney diseases will be the 5^th leading cause of death by 2040, which was otherwise 27^th in the 1990s. Approximately, 1/6^th of the total kidney patients live in India, where the treatment cost affects the livelihood not only of patients but their families also. It is taking shape of a pandemic and therefore, kidney health cannot be left alone undiscussed.

Latest research has highlighted the fact that kidney diseases are manageable if identified and detected at the early stage otherwise if ignored, it is very difficult to manage during their progressive stages. However, in a time when kidney functions are strongly compromised with the sedentary lifestyle habits, timely education to keep yourself aware remains an important aspect to ensure kidney health.

For healthy kidneys, one should follow golden rules as per Ayurveda:

Never stop the natural urges: Natural urges including the urge to urinate should not be suppressed because if controlled or stopped, serious health conditions may appear. According to Aacharya Vaghbhata, all these urges when forcefully suppressed or controlled lead to vitiation (impair Vata) and cause various kidney diseases.

Drink plenty amount of water when thirsty: Water facilitates the removal of wastes from the bloodstream in the form of urine via the kidneys. It also keeps your blood capillaries open, allowing blood to flow freely to your kidneys. Mild dehydration might make you exhausted and limit your ability to perform basic bodily tasks. Dehydration can cause kidney damage, so it’s crucial to drink enough water.

Do not consume processed or canned food: Processed food consumption has gone up rapidly and also it has been proven many times in the past. Recent research suggests that excessive sugar, Salt content, Processing chemicals like Sodium, Phosphorus increases the load and causes kidney damage which shows a multi-fold increase in the Kidney related problems

Stay physically active and manage obesity: Regular exercise benefits your health in more than one aspect. Additionally, practice yoga and meditation to manage stress. Physical activities have the potential to reduce the risk of chronic renal disease. It can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke, and both are crucial in preventing kidney damage. Additionally, physical activity also reduces the chances of other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, etc which are the risk factors for kidney disease.

Avoid self-medication: Medicines save and improve people’s lives, but it is really easy to ignore their potential risks and side effects.Importantly, several medications can have a detrimental impact on your kidney health. That is why it is crucial to talk to your doctor if you are frequently consuming some medication that can potentially harm your kidneys. Some of these medications include pain killers or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-viral medications, antibiotics, they may influence kidney functions and can cause kidney damage. Therefore, self-medication should be avoided, and if required, one should consume the medication under the supervision of health care professionals.

To keep you healthy, the team of experts in AHRC, deciphering the keys to better the health of an individual with relentless efforts in narrowing down the best available options.